Amitabul in Chicago is the Norwood Park vegan Korean kitchen on Milwaukee from monk-trained Dave Choi, with macrobiotic bibimbap and warming Korean stews.
Tip: Order the Dosa Heaven Mandu (Korean dumplings) and the Mandala Mandu Soup. Both are the menu's standouts.
Address: 6207 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60646
The Chicago Diner in Chicago is the Lakeview vegetarian diner on Halsted since 1983, the Meat Free Since '83 slogan, with veg deep-dish, jerk seitan and shakes.
Tip: The vegan radical reuben with seitan corned beef and the vegan-mac-with-buffalo-jackfruit are the menu's defining orders.
Handlebar Bar & Grill in Chicago is the Wicker Park vegetarian bar-and-grill on North Avenue with a strong vegetarian menu and a tree-lined back patio in summer.
Tip: The Buffalo-tempeh wings and the seitan-Reuben are both menu staples. Sit at the back patio in summer.
Wheat's End Cafe in Chicago is the East Lakeview fully gluten-free cafe-bakery on Wells, with separate-kitchen certification, biscuits, breakfast sandwiches and pies.
Tip: The pie counter at the front sells whole pies to take home; the back-room cafe runs full breakfast service until 14:00.
Defloured Bakery in Chicago is the Andersonville gluten-free, dedicated-kitchen bakery on Balmoral Avenue, with sandwich loaves, cupcakes and birthday-size cakes.
Tip: Sandwich loaves are baked Tuesday and Friday only; pre-order on the website by the Monday or Thursday before for pickup.
Ghareeb Nawaz in Chicago is the West Ridge Pakistani halal kitchen on Devon, with a $7 special, daily-changing biryanis and one of the cheapest meals in the city.
Tip: Cash only. The chicken biryani special is $7 and feeds two. Open until 02:00, the only Devon plate at that hour.
Milt's Barbecue for the Perplexed in Chicago is the Lakeview kosher BBQ kitchen on Broadway, a glatt-kosher smokehouse with brisket, pulled chicken and rib tips.
Tip: Closed Friday from sundown to Saturday sundown. The brisket plate with pickles and white bread is the canonical order.
