David Hammond

Aug 23, 2024 | resto.newcity.com | David Hammond

Mexican cuisine is the most popular and enduring North American food tradition. When I first had Mexican food in the 1970s, there were only a few Mexican restaurants in Chicago, but now our city is estimated to have close to 2,500 Mexican restaurants. The wonderfulness of Mexican food is being discovered all over Europe. I’ve had passable Tex-Mex chow in Florence and amazing Mexican-British fusion food in London at Wahaca, where we greatly enjoyed the minty pea empanada.

Aug 9, 2024 | resto.newcity.com | David Hammond

Chicago has a well-documented range of food and drink that, if not unique to the city, were at least introduced on menus here. Many of those foods are well-known, like deep dish pizza and Italian beef, but many others are relatively unknown, like the Jim Shoe and taffy grapes. On a recent road trip, we found foods that St. Louis lays claim to as their very own.

Aug 2, 2024 | resto.newcity.com | David Hammond

There are almost too many new places opening this summer in Chicago. Here are five of the most awesome restaurants you’ll want to check out during what many consider the month for tourism in the city—make your reservations now. And, yes, there are a lot of new steakhouses. 1 Bonyeon (651 West Washington) This ultra-luxe place for steak promises a peak experience for carnivores: a multi-course beef omakase menu, which means small bites of many, many premium chucks of red meat.

Jun 28, 2024 | resto.newcity.com | David Hammond

Hot and sunny summer is in full swing, which means more R&R and less labor… including labor in the kitchen. So, take the opportunity to have someone else cook and clean up afterwards by checking out some new Chicago restaurants. 1 Dearly Beloved (900 North Franklin) It’s a restaurant; it’s a cocktail bar; it’s a fancy new “stylistically sinister” place that, we’re told, promises a different kind of dining (and drinking) experience.

Jun 7, 2024 | resto.newcity.com | David Hammond

Years ago, I was sitting at the Long Bar in Raffles, Singapore; it was a steamy afternoon, and I was eager to sip on a Singapore Sling, a cocktail invented over a century ago at this very location of the international luxury hotel chain. My heart sank when I ordered, and the bartender grabbed a plastic jug and poured the bright red liquid into a Hurricane-type glass. I drank it (of course!), but it didn’t blow me away, far from it, and as I recall it was expensive.