I have such a huge love for food in general, it really is difficult for me to pick my favorite restaurant, food item, etc. Thus, I think I’d like to start with the restaurant that keeps me coming back, because to me consistency is really key. While I adore fine dining, I also like different types of places.

I’ve enjoyed many experiences at Big Jones over the three years I’ve lived in Andersonville. Everything from experimenting in my new neighborhood, to a last minute dining idea, to impressing out-of-town (including international) guests with a great taste of creativity in Chicago. “Southern heirloom cooking” at Big Jones is a hit! It is truly a unique treat in my neighborhood. The Art Nuevo styled font on the quaint looking awning above Big Jones’ door draws you in.

The most delicious single bite of food in the Chicago land area exists in Naperville. The flavors, textures, and layers of the falafel sandwich found at Naf Naf Mediterranean Grill perfectly marry to create a simply divine, yet foodgasmic morsel. The handmade pita pillows nestle a handsomely dressed (with chili paste, tahini and pickled vegetables) falafel.

A cooking class demonstration at Charlie Trotter's is my most memorable dining experience. I saved the menu from this experience. Thirty-five of us who had the intuitive good fortune to purchase a $100 ticket for a school fundraiser were equally blown away and hopefully all have treasured the experience as I. Back then, Charlie Trotter's ruled the Chicago fine dining destination spots.

Before children, the Mister and I made a decision to try one new restaurant a week. That, as it turned out, was overly ambitious even without a toddler and a newborn, so our weekly endeavor became a “special occasion” endeavor. Like any upstanding hipster living in Chicago, we only wanted to go to a place that met the following criteria:

I recently headed south on Milwaukee and ended up at Frontier, the former Corosh spot. I’ve found myself there multiple times; meeting friends for drinks, stopping by with my boyfriend on my way home for one more IPA, going and leaving because there is a ridiculous wait for a table (and a bar-stool?- not a chance).

We and another couple had dinner at Taxim last night, a restaurant in the vibrant Wicker Park area. The restaurant is a single storefront space with only a blackboard on the sidewalk and a small sign next to the door to announce its presence. You walk in by a small bar area, and the restaurant space itself is a series of copper topped tables with wooden benches on the wall sides decorated with a variety of throw pillows of different designs and colors. The ceilings are very high, giving the room a pleasant sense of openness.

Whether I have a craving for an overwhelming portion of chicken parmesan or the city’s tastiest bowl of bottomless salad, Graziano’s is the place I go to satiate my hunger. For more than ten years, Graziano’s Brick Oven Pizza has sent me home with doggy bag after doggy bag of Italian classics. Good for lunch or dinner, alone, with my wife, or with a large group of family and friends, the exposed brick walls, accessible seating options, and friendly service keep me coming back... for the food!

Anybody who has had the opportunity to spend time in Argentina would likely agree that it would take an exceptionally unobservant individual to pass through the colorful Boca district of Buenos Aires without taking away a lasting impression of its unique food, drink, and dance. Argentina boasts one of the world's most perfect marriages of culture and cuisine, and there is perhaps no place in the country where that marriage is more wholly and elegantly manifest than La Boca.

It's a cool Sunday morning and my wife and I are driving our oldest son back up to his college. We swing by and pick up our oldest daughter who lives up in the Lincoln Square area. We all agree on heading over to Pannenkoeken Cafe for breakfast. My wife and daughter have been raving about this place for a while. They have wanted to take us there, so we decide to go.