From home-style to fine dining, Illinois serves up a generous portion of culinary delights. Everybody knows Chicago is famous for deep-dish pizza, prime-aged steak and the best hot dogs in the nation, but Chicago cuisine also has a soulful side, with many excellent venues that celebrate history and culture through the art of soulful cuisine.
A growing crop of African-American chefs are leading the operations at many well-regarded restaurants. From Italian to Caribbean to American fare, they represent an accomplished corps of professionals with satisfied customers of all ethnicities.
5 Loaves Eatery: 773.873.6666
Alice's Restaurant: 773.921.1100
Blu 47: 773.536.6000
Edna's: 773.638.7079
Peacock Cafe & Restaurant: 773.262.2005
Pearl’s Place: 773.285.1700
Sweet Maple Cafe: 312.243.8908
Sweet Potatoes Cafe: 773.536.5555
Valois: 773.667.0647
Vee Vee’s: 773.465.2424
E'Town River Restaurant: 618.287.2333
Flavor (Flossmoor, Ill.)
Iceburg Restaurant (Country Club Hills, Ill.)
Indigo (Springfield, Ill.)
Maple Tree Inn (Blue Island, Ill.)
Masala Yangu (Naperville, Ill.)
Merle's BBQ (Evanston, Ill.)
Priscilla’s Ultimate Soul Food (Hillside, Ill.)
The Rhythm Kitchen Cafe (Peoria, Ill.)
Soul Da Soul Bar B Que Ribs (Kankakee, Ill.): 815.932.3663
Ain't She Sweet Café: 773.373.3530
DiCola’s Seafood: 773.238.7071
Garrett Popcorn (multiple locations)
Harold's Chicken Shack: 312.362.0442
Lem's Bar-B-Q House: 773.994.2428
Leon’s Bar B Que The Original (multiple locations): 773.731.1454
Original Rainbow Cone: 773.238.7075
Quench (no pork/vegetarian-friendly): 773.874.3278
Taste Bud: 773.722.8277
Hecky's (Evanston, Ill.)
Illinois Machine Shed (Rockford, Ill.)
Joe Roger's Original Recipe Chili Parlor (Springfield, Ill.)
Shemwell's BBQ (Cairo, Ill.)
The Olympic Tavern (Rockford, Ill.)
Check out what else we have to offer on our web site and start planning your 3-Day Getaway now! You can also find lots to do on EnjoyIllinois.com or by calling 1-800-2CONNECT.