Voted coolest neighborhood in the country.

Order the beef empanada first, fried, with the chimichurri. The chicken and ham and cheese are both worth getting. Spinach and cheese is the vegetarian option but not the standout. Skip the espresso. The yerba mate fits the concept better. Argentinian sandwiches and brunch dishes are worth exploring if you are staying for a full meal. Thursday through Saturday it becomes Ñ at Night through a side door: cocktails, DJs, and bar food. New ownership, new format, still finding its rhythm.

Order the sandwich: candied jalapeño butter and kale slaw give it something fresher than the category usually delivers. The schmaltz mashed potatoes are the side to get. The kale coleslaw is excellent. The mac and cheese is fine with a pimento sourness that distracts after a few bites. Biscuits are good and small; save the extra honey butter for morning toast. Chocolate toffee cookie at the end is the right size and the right call. Cage-free chicken, Midwestern sourcing, fryer oil recycled into biodiesel.

The brisket first, then the pulled pork, then whatever Allen would order which is the smoked sausage. Kansas City-style house sauces, thick and well made. The sides earn their place: mac and cheese with real depth, smoky collard greens, apple coleslaw with great crunch. Do not skip the cornbread — sweet, moist, compound honey butter, one of the best in the city. Counter service into a gorgeous dining room with river views. The summer patio overlooking the boat dock is one of the best in Chicago.

Dark Matter's Mesoamerican-themed location in Avondale. Arched painted windows, warm adobe tones, wrought iron chandeliers, and funky llama trinkets throughout. The most visually surprising location in the collective and one of the more transportive rooms in the neighborhood. Same great coffee, same Do-Rite donuts, completely different vibe.

Avondale sandwich shop built around midwestern comfort food and the regional flavors of central Illinois. The MaidWrong loose meat sandwich and Cubano are the moves. Tater tots are well fried. Everything is large, heavy, and priced fairly. Split with someone. This is an excellent hangover lunch and a questionable choice before anything that requires sustained focus. Small space, tough parking, more grab and go than sit down.

Avondale Thai spot with a respected pedigree and a menu that covers all the classics competently. The beef noodle soup broth is the highlight, though the meat portion skimps. The khao soi runs a little sweet and the som tum a little tame. Good outdoor seating. A reliable neighborhood option for Thai food in the area, not a destination.

No sign outside. Maybe ten seats inside. Four Letter Word is not interested in being convenient, and that's exactly why it's the best coffee shop in Chicago for people who actually care about coffee. They roast their own beans, run a fully manual machine, and deliver with the kind of barista-to-barista consistency that other shops aspire to. The blueberry old fashioned donut is the move if you want one. Their second location is on a small island in Istanbul, which tracks completely.

Parachute HiFi is the more casual, walk-in-friendly evolution of the original Parachute, but the food still carries Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark’s unmistakable point of view. The room now leans into a vinyl listening bar feel, with warm wood, a wall of records, DJs, and a sound system that makes music part of the experience. Order the burger, the tteokbokki pad thai, and the hand rolls. It is relaxed, fun, deeply delicious, and still one of Avondale’s heavy hitters.

A Ukrainian restaurant from the team behind Parachute, built as a 100th birthday gift for a grandmother from Kharkiv. The Zakusky cart alone is worth the trip. The honey cake is why you come back.

One of the most beautiful café spaces in Chicago, and it actually backs it up. Milli by Metric is a converted industrial warehouse in Avondale with warm stone, tall ceilings, and a coffee program serious enough to have roasters working in the back. The passion fruit croissant is a must. The chocolate chip cookie is among the best in the city, charred at the edges, intentionally, in the best possible way. Parking is rough. Go anyway.