On June 15, the culinary world will descend on Chicago for the James Beard Awards. For the uninitiated, this esteemed ceremony, hosted by the James Beard Foundation, recognizes the country’s best chefs, restaurateurs, authors, and journalists — the people dedicated to cooking, sharing, and celebrating life’s greatest pleasure: food.
Where to Eat in Chicago, From Touchdown to Takeoff
Heading to the city for the James Beard Awards? We’ve got you covered.
Whether you’ve just landed at O’Hare or Midway Airports in preparation for the event, are looking for a beloved restaurant for your friends, or need a late-night bite after your own party, these are the spots the nominees (and future winners) are sure to hit. Don’t miss out, as these are some of Chicago’s hottest spots — and a big reason why the food world’s biggest night takes place in our great city.
This content was produced in partnership with Chicago O’Hare & Midway International Airports, two award-winning airports that boast more than 270 restaurants and shops. Learn more at flychicago.com/midway/eatshopmore and flychicago.com/ohare/eatshopmore and follow @fly2ohare @fly2midway.
Where to Eat in Chicago, From Touchdown to Takeoff
Heading to the city for the James Beard Awards? We’ve got you covered.
On June 15, the culinary world will descend on Chicago for the James Beard Awards. For the uninitiated, this esteemed ceremony, hosted by the James Beard Foundation, recognizes the country’s best chefs, restaurateurs, authors, and journalists — the people dedicated to cooking, sharing, and celebrating life’s greatest pleasure: food.
Whether you’ve just landed at O’Hare or Midway Airports in preparation for the event, are looking for a beloved restaurant for your friends, or need a late-night bite after your own party, these are the spots the nominees (and future winners) are sure to hit. Don’t miss out, as these are some of Chicago’s hottest spots — and a big reason why the food world’s biggest night takes place in our great city.
This content was produced in partnership with Chicago O’Hare & Midway International Airports, two award-winning airports that boast more than 270 restaurants and shops. Learn more at flychicago.com/midway/eatshopmore and flychicago.com/ohare/eatshopmore and follow @fly2ohare @fly2midway.
Publican Tavern
Whether you’ve just arrived or are heading home, O’Hare Airport has plenty of spots to enjoy a great meal. Take Publican Tavern, for example. From One-Off Hospitality, Publican brings tasty seasonal sandwiches, salads, and mains to Terminal 3. Pop into the warm, welcoming space for a comforting bite, whether you want to dig into a luscious pork chop or a light avocado salad. Short on time? Pull up to the bar for a snack and a drink. The Hot Doug’s bratwurst will shore you up for the rest of your journey.
Tallboy Taco
If you’re flying into Midway, we suggest hitting up Tallboy Taco for a grab-and-go meal to power your day. In the morning, fuel up with a steak, egg, and cheese taco or a breakfast burrito with plenty of guac. If it’s later, go for a carne asada taco or maybe a mix-and-match with a combo of your favorite fillings. Quesadillas, bowls, and light salads are on the menu, too. No matter what you go for, be sure to pair it with an agua fresca — a cool and refreshing sipper for warm summer days.
Kasama
From James Beard Award winners Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores, Kasama brings the city’s first Filipino tasting menu to the Ukrainian Village. And since it opened, it’s been a hotspot for industry folks, out-of-towners, locals, and everyone in between. The multi-course meal rotates often, but expect each dish to give you a delicious, elegant take on Filipino cuisine, from the crispiest lumpia to a truffle-laden croissant. If you’re short on time, don’t fret. You can always stop into Kasama’s grab-and-go cafe. Here, every day starts better with a longanisa, hashbrown, egg, and cheese sandwich. Pro tip: On weekends, you must get the pork belly adobo.
Virtue Restaurant
Chef Erick Williams already has a James Beard Award under his belt for his exceptional cooking. At his bustling, friendly spot in Hyde Park, you can dive into the food of the American South (and immediately understand all the accolades). Think: biscuits with pimento cheese, green tomatoes with Gulf shrimp, and blackened catfish with Carolina gold rice. And do yourself a favor and save room for dessert. The chocolate peanut butter pie topped with crisp cocoa nibs is too good to miss.
Cariño
Named after the Spanish term of endearment, Cariño embodies its name. Sitting at the chef’s counter, guests feel taken care of from the start of the meal to the very end. The tasting menu pulls inspiration from chef Norman Fenton’s time in Mexico and Central America. As a nominee for the 2026 James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes, Fenton’s food feels comforting, striking, and playful all at once: huitlacoche-stuffed ravioli, garnished with corn silk in a pool of a truffle sauce and oyster michelada topped with beer foam.
Indienne
While the city has scores of fine dining restaurants and Indian restaurants, Indienne bridges the gap with a progressive Indian tasting menu in a friendly, convivial atmosphere. Housed in a former 19th-century printing warehouse, the space is bright and open with pink banquettes and industrial lighting. And while the space is pretty, the food is beautiful. The attention to detail, color, shapes, and flavor (and how they all come together in each bite) is apparent in every dish, from the flower- and pea-specked avocado bhel to the sunny yellow carrot halwa with layers of pistachio semifreddo, coconut mousse, poached meringue, and edible gold.
Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless
Craving some chips and guac while waiting for your flight at O’Hare? Rick Bayless has got you covered. His Tortas Frontera concept brings locally sourced ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques to airport dining. Whether you’re hanging at terminals 1, 3, or 5, you can dig into seriously fresh tortas packed with chili-rubbed cauliflower or chipotle chicken. There are also soups and salads if you’re craving something lighter, and plenty of shaken cocktails for those traveling jitters. If you only have time for a snack, Bayless knows what every traveler craves: that’s chips and guac topped with bacon, cotija cheese, serrano peppers, and lots of refreshing tomatillo and chipotle salsa.
Feld
Dining at Feld is a marathon, not a race. At $225 per person, the tasting menu typically includes anywhere from 25 to 30 dishes and unfolds over the course of three hours. Ahead of Feld’s opening last year, chef Jacob Potashnick documented the process of launching a restaurant and shared behind-the-scenes content on TikTok. Potashnick has since established himself as a player in Chicago’s fine-dining scene and earned a 2026 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Great Lakes.
HaiSous
Thai Dang of HaiSous was nominated as James Beard’s Best Chef of the Great Lakes in 2025. His restaurant, which he runs with his wife and director of operations, Danielle, celebrates the fresh and funky flavors of Vietnam. The $65 grand tasting menu, serves up nine family-style dishes inspired by dishes served to Vietnamese royalty, and an optional $40 per person beverage pairing. Like tapioca dumplings or a fig salad with snow mushrooms and Vietnamese coriander. Finished off with a sweet potato for dessert — topped with vanilla custard and coconut cream.
Oriole
Oriole may not seem like much from the outside. But within its converted warehouse walls, an open kitchen run by chef Noah Sandoval churns out an elegant and thoughtful two-Michelin-star tasting menu. The menu, which rotates often, costs around $300 for upwards of a dozen courses, has French and Japanese influences, and helped Sandoval secure the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Try its cured kampachi topped with osetra caviar, or a langostine topped with a lemon egg sauce.
Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio
At this casual West Loop restaurant, chef Bailey Sullivan leads the kitchen, rolling out delicate handmade pastas under the guidance of mentor, owner, and fellow former Top Chef contestant Sarah Grueneberg. Her menu blends Italian tradition and technique with seasonal produce and contemporary twists, resulting in dishes like a roasted celery root and aged Gouda ravioli in a Dijon-braised rabbit ragu and a whole-bird chicken Parmesan built for sharing. Sullivan began her tenure at Monteverde as a line cook and worked her way up to executive chef. Today, her cooking has earned her a 2026 James Beard Award nomination in the Emerging Chef category.