Oriole is our highest-rated restaurant, and will give you one of the best meals of your life for a high price tag ($295). Despite the price, the environment (which you enter through a non-working freight elevator in an alley in the West Loop) isn’t stuffy at all. Attentive servers provide just the right amount of context while presenting you with dishes that will reframe your thoughts—like a truffle pasta with the power to finally convince you that truffles aren’t just a scam.

Kasama is a chameleon. By day this Ukrainian Village Filipino spot is a low-key cafe that serves a longanisa breakfast sandwich that could lure any chronic snooze button-hitter out of bed. By night it transforms into a softly lit, fine dining restaurant. Whether we’re just grabbing lunch or celebrating an anniversary with a $255, 13-course dinner, the warm service and spectacular food have us wishing every meal had an “instant replay” option.

This tasting menu spot doesn’t have a team of servers in uniform, wine pairings, or a hushed atmosphere filled with couples who just dusted off their anniversary outfits. It’s a BYOB place in Wicker Park that serves an incredible 14-course dinner for $165 set to the soundtrack of alt hip-hop. The chefs are also the servers, and they’ll casually drop foie gras pancakes in a raisin-miso broth on the table as if they aren’t about to change your life.

Kyoten was our highest-rated sushi restaurant until it was dethroned by Kyoten Next Door, its younger sibling. This 10-seat sushi omakase takes everything that's great about the original and does it better in a more casual setting and for less money. It's still expensive ($159 for 18 courses) but dinner at this Logan Square spot involves phenomenal nigiri made with high-quality fish, heavily seasoned large-grained rice, and blowtorched wagyu that puts your favorite steakhouse to shame.

If Xocome Antojeria in Archer Heights were a movie, then the protagonist would be the unbelievable masa, the base for the restaurant’s incredible tacos, tlacoyos, picaditas, enchiladas, and giant quesadillas. And while the masa is the main reason we wish this counter-service spot were open for longer hours the fillings aren’t just supporting characters—they’re stars in their own right. Everything from the rich red mole to the earthy huitlacoche hongos is perfectly seasoned.

In a perhaps not-very-interesting turn of events, Chicago’s most famous restaurant is one of our highest-rated. If you have a fancy restaurant bucket list, Alinea is probably on it. Of course, fame and 50-minute features on Chef’s Table don’t necessarily mean a place is worth your time (or in this case, several hundred dollars)—but Alinea definitely is. Regardless of which tasting menu you choose, the mish-mash of flavors is devastatingly good with Thai, Mexican, and French inspirations at play.

A few things set Chicago apart from other major U.S. cities. One, you can find reasonably sized apartments that won’t force you to store your old yearbooks in your oven. Two, we have Monteverde. This is the first place we make reservations at when someone from the East Coast tells us they're visiting. Every Italian dish is fantastic, from the housemade pastas like cacio e pepe and gnochetti con pesto, to the ragu alla Napoletana, which is one of the most delicious plates of food we’ve eaten.

Let us tell you about the power of Mariscos San Pedro, a Mexican seafood spot from the team behind Obelix (which, yes, is also on this list). It makes us sweat and cry tears of pineapple broth-y joy with its spicy hibiscus-and-beet-cured scallop aguachile. It turns seafood non-enthusiasts into octopus evangelists thanks to a creative spin on a Sonoran dog. No matter what dishes make it to the table, expect spicy, bold, and smoky flavors to crash the wildly delicious party.

At some point during a meal here everyone experiences what we call “The Galit Moment”—the inevitable realization that this place is f*cking good. The smoky cinnamon-braised brisket hummus could make it happen. Or it could be the falafel with mango and pickled turnips. Perhaps the mushroom-stuffed cabbage with saffron mujadara will be the culprit. This Middle Eastern spot’s $88 tasting menu is just that great.

The sandwiches at J.P. Graziano are so incredible, we had a friend fly across the country with a muffaletta in their carry-on, eat it the next day, and still declare it the one they’ve ever had. This iconic family-run Italian deli and sub shop in the West Loop has been around since 1937, long before the West Loop was the Disney World of restaurants. And now that J.P.’s takeout window is open until 1am on the weekends, it provides a way better late-night option than we deserve.