Chicago's Top 10 Restaurants of 2009

2211 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 (map)

Sure, you step up to order, but this urban-cozy storefront from Pastoral fromager Daniel Sirko is anything but ordinary. Scented with house-roasted meats, it’s where the likes of smoky speck with celery root cream and truffle oil on ciabatta are de rigueur. A create-your-own sandwich board and salad with market-driven ingredients and homemade mozzarella continue the theme.

2119 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60608 (map)

Comfortably hip Pilsen restaurant from the crew behind Lula Cafe does simple, locally focused food.

201 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601 (map)

More scene-driven than its ’09 contemporaries, this theWit-centered, second-floor dining room with a sexy-strange ceiling fresco keeps things affordable while turning out oft-changing dishes like bucatini carbonara and bone-in skate wing picatta with Brussels sprouts

159 E Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603 (map)

The setting alone--in the Renzo Piano-designed wing of the Art Institute--drops jaws. Fortunately, this sustainable, mostly lunchtime spot from Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano elicits its own “oohs” and “ahhs.” The reason? Dishes such as grilled, sliced Midwestern beef tagliata with local veggies and Anson Mills polenta.

4111 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60613 (map)

Modern American in execution, this restaurant plucks its produce from local purveyors and serves it communally in quaint surrounds. Following suit, sustainable fish and seafood and free-range meat dishes--think Mint Creek Farms lamb pot au feu--never overreach. Instead, they’re prepared with restraint, allowing the integrity of ingredients to shine through.

4344 N Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 (map)

Unpretentious and utterly unexpected along an uninspiring stretch of Albany Park, this Mediterranean and Moroccan deli specializes in pastilles, Algerian flatbreads and homemade falafel. From desserts to a daily tagine that can be grabbed to go, it feeds your need to have an effortless dinner party, pronto.

3023 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60657 (map)

A veteran of Frontera Grill decided to go it alone, opening this sub-level BYOB where farm-driven Mexican plates like shareable pasilla-glazed ribs with radishes, plantains and crema create a stir. Needless to say, more substantial dishes, such as Cornish hen in almond, olive, red chile and raisin-backed Oaxacan Mole Almendrado--are every bit as enticing as the hibiscus flan.