The Neighborhood Built on Repeat Visits

Boystown's forty-year-old landmark vegan diner that doesn't ask you to be vegan about it. Real cheese and eggs available, no lecture included. Get the Reuben and split it. Order the milkshake without second-guessing yourself. The chicken fried steak eats like diner food should. Sweet potato fries need salt. Full bar, sober options equally considered. An institution that's earned every year it's been on Halsted.

Lakeview Swedish-American diner with 80 years of history and a menu that makes no apologies for being exactly what it is. Get the stuffed potato pancakes and split them. Order the Swedish sampler on your first visit. The cinnamon rolls come with your meal. Loud, lively, correct for a hangover, and carrying more Chicago history per booth than almost anywhere else in the neighborhood.

Small-batch on-site roaster on Lincoln Avenue in Lakeview with a cozy, laptop-friendly interior and a small patio. Bean selection rotates frequently and is limited by design. The coffee is fine and the baked goods are standard. A reliable neighborhood option for the block. Not a destination.

Dark Matter's cyberpunk location on Belmont in Lakeview. Wires, steam pipes, and eyeballs in goo covering the walls. Good back patio for when the weather cooperates. Same excellent coffee and Do-Rite donuts as the rest of the collective, in a room that is genuinely hard to look away from.

Lakeview coffee shop with one of the most photographable interiors in the city. Brass monkey lighting, banquettes, palm trees, exposed brick — the room is genuinely beautiful and the Instagram presence is earned. The coffee is over-extracted, runs too hot, and the pastries don't stick with you. Allen called it a nothing burger. He's right. Go for the photos. Don't go for the coffee.

Chicago tavern style done correctly. Paper thin cracker crust, square cut, traditional ingredients. This is a Lakeview outpost of a beloved suburban original and it brought its standards with it. Not a destination pizza. An excellent delivery option for nights when you want something technically honest and reliably good. Check for their occasional chef takeover specials.

Roman-style pizza sold by weight at three Chicago locations. The 48-hour fermented dough is light, airy, and perfectly crisped on the bottom. Toppings rotate hourly and run from traditional meatball to potato rosemary to lemon. Grab and go or eat there — either works. If you're reheating at home, get a cast iron screaming hot first. A couple of pieces is enough, which is both the appeal and the problem.

Tuk Tuk focuses on Isan cuisine from northeastern Thailand — loud, sour, funky, and spicy in all the right ways. The grilled pork neck is the move, and the jaew dipping sauce alone is reason enough to come back. Som tum passes the test. Mango sticky rice when it's available. Lakeview location is the original and small; Wicker Park is newer and easier to get into. One of the better Thai restaurants in Chicago.