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Tasting $185-285Tasting menuChef Grant Achatz, Dave Beran (alumnus)
Next in Chicago is the Achatz-Kokonas Fulton Market tasting menu that changes theme every season, from Childhood to Sicily to Vegan to Trio.
Book60 days ahead
TipTickets, not reservations: you buy by season on Tock, and they sell out the morning they drop.
Mako 1 ★ ★ 4.2
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Tasting $185Japanese sushiChef B.K. Park
Mako in Chicago is B.K. Park's Michelin-starred 22-seat omakase counter at 731 W Lake Street in the West Loop, with fish flown twice weekly from Toyosu.
Book21 days ahead
TipSit at the wood corner of the counter, closest to the rice cooker; the timing of the nigiri is sharpest there.
Esmé 1 ★ ★ 4.1
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Tasting $185Tasting menuChef Jenner Tomaska
Esmé in Chicago is Jenner Tomaska's Michelin-starred Lincoln Park tasting menu, themed seasonally around a guest artist whose work runs on the plates.
Book30 days ahead
TipSit at the chef's counter for the longer between-course explanations of the current theme.
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Tasting $105Middle EasternChef Zachary Engel
Galit in Chicago is James Beard winner Zachary Engel's Michelin-starred Middle Eastern dining room on Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, with a choose-your-own.
Book30 days ahead
TipOrder the laffa straight off the hearth as your opening course; the warm bread is the anchor for every spread on the meze list.
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Tasting $285-465Tasting menuChef Grant Achatz
Alinea in Chicago is Grant Achatz's three-Michelin-star Lincoln Park dining room, the original American modernist tasting menu since 2005 at 1723 N Halsted.
Book60 days ahead
TipSalon is the shortest flow and the easiest to book; Kitchen Table is the deepest dive into the menu.
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Tasting $295Tasting menuChef John and Karen Shields
Smyth in Chicago is the two-Michelin-star West Loop tasting menu from John and Karen Shields, paired with The Loyalist downstairs and produce from their own.
Book30 days ahead
TipAsk for the wine-pairing 'reserve' option if you have a long evening; the cellar lists a deep run of Burgundy.