"I have never been a crazy eater, so I never really experience the fun and cool places to eat around the city of Chicago. I picked my favorite places that have more to do with tradition within my family! These spots are where I've been eating since I was a little kid."
1. Portillo’s- There’s seriously nothing better than Portillo’s. I don’t live in Illinois anymore, so whenever I visit, I make it my mission to hit Portillo’s at least once in my time back. The Chocolate Cake Shake is what visitors usually try, and fall in love with. Their hotdogs and burgers are more than great, but it’s the French-Fries and Beef & Cheddar Croissant that pushes me through the doors. Anyone who lives, or has ever lived in the Chicago land area knows that Portillo’s is a must have.
2. Lakeview Bar & Grill (Yorkville)- This is by far my family’s favorite restaurant. We go so often that we are basically family with the owner, and the entire staff knows us by name. My mom and I like to go on Wednesday for the crab legs special. My dad will always get the Halibut, and order us all their famous Onion Pedals as an appetizer. It’s the best restaurant in my hometown of Yorkville. Totally worth the one-hour drive outside the city.
3. Yakzies- Being just down the street from Wrigley Field, I’ve gotten to know this place pretty well. It’s almost tradition for my family to stop in before a Cubs game or concert to get some great beer and wings. My favorite is the Onion Maze, which is basically a big brick of fried onions. You’re supposed to share it, but I don’t.
4. Ignotz- If you like Italian, you’ll love Ignotz. Arguably one of the most hospitable restaurants in the area, you’ll always be greeted with smiles and a big “Hello!”. This is our go to spot before we head out towards the United Center for some Blackhawk hockey.
5. Twin Anchors- If you want the best ribs in Chicago, go to Twin Anchors. They fall right off the bone and melt in your mouth. The onion rings are pretty delicious as well. Also, a scene from one of my favorite movies, The Dark Knight, was filmed there. So I always have a blast at Twin Anchors.
6. Byron’s Hotdogs- The best Chicago-style hotdog I’ve ever had was at Byron’s. It’s on the way home from Wrigley Field, so of course we have to stop and grab an unhealthy amount of hotdogs to eat on the way home.
7. Wiener Circle- I’m honestly a bit scared of this place, because I hate confrontation and hostility, but that is exactly why people go to the Wiener Circle! It’s loud, it’s busy, and you can’t mess around there. It’s the mutual verbal abuse between the servers and customers that make the Wiener Circle a fun place to be at after a night out. They’ll be rude to you, but you have to be rude right back. That’s the essence of this place.
8. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria- Chicago is famous for their deep-dish pizza. How can you not love Lou Malnati’s? There is no better deep-dish pizza in Chicago.
9. Southern Belles Pancake House- This is my favorite breakfast place to go to in the Chicago suburbs. I hold this place responsible for my love of breakfast skillets.
10. Crusade Burger Bar- This place is right in downtown Yorkville, and no one makes burgers better. Killer burgers, great beer on tap, and these crazy shakes that would make your jaw drop. I consider myself lucky that my parents house is just down the road, so when I visit them I can eat at this place as much as I want."
ABOUT LUKE UNDERHILL
With diverse influences ranging from Gavin DeGraw and Bruce Springsteen to Ed Sheeran and Ben Folds, the multi-talented 21-year-old singer/songwriter, Luke Underhill, is making his mark in the format. The Chicago area performer’s emotional renditions of his songs have already earned him comparisons to a young John Mayer – while some more upbeat arrangements inspire exciting flashes of early Bryan Adams. After releasing his debut studio EP in 2017 with Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz) and Michael Clouse (Jeff Buckley) at the helm, the young talent is ready to take his growing fan base deeper into the heart of his music with the Revolver Recordings EP, The Left Side.
Since it’s release, The Left Side has received rave reviews and has independently accumulated more than 62K streams on Spotify while celebrating premiere playlist placement. Underhill simultaneously released acoustic videos for all 7, self-penned tracks on the EP that have garnered more than 173K views collectively on YouTube.
The future proves to be bright for this budding star as he is diligently writing for a follow-up album to The Left Side. Continuing to tour in and around Chicago and traveling to Nashville and LA regularly to perform and co-write, Underhill is not slowing down any time soon.
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