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.
Address: 1477 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
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.
Shallots Bistro in Skokie (north of Chicago) is the kosher dining room on Carpenter Road with French-Mediterranean dishes, a kosher wine list and Friday-night menus.
Tip: Friday-night Shabbat dinner is the special event; the prix-fixe runs 19:00 with traditional courses and a kosher wine pairing.
Soul Veg City in Chicago is the African Hebrew Israelite vegan soul-food kitchen on 75th Street, with protein-tuna salad and the kalebone cuts based on wheat gluten.
Tip: Order the kalebone (seasoned wheat-gluten) plate with mac and cheese, greens and cornbread. Plant-based soul-food at its source.
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.
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.
