Chicago

Irazu on North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood has been the city’s only Costa Rican restaurant since it opened in 1991, serving the casados, gallo pinto, and the home cooking of Central America that Chicago’s Costa Rican community and the curious eaters who found Irazu have been coming back for over 30 years.

Chilam Balam on North Broadway in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood has been one of the city’s most celebrated Mexican restaurants since chef Rodrigo Monterrey opened it, building a menu around authentic regional Mexican cooking that goes well beyond the Tex-Mex and generic Mexican-American cuisine that most Chicago neighborhoods had access to. It appeared in Season 12,

Nana Organic appeared in Season 12, Episode 6 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Gettin’ Fresh,” which aired September 26, 2011, as a Chicago Bridgeport neighborhood organic cafe building a seasonal breakfast and lunch menu around certified organic and locally sourced ingredients with the kind of genuine farm-to-table commitment that the episode title called for. The

Taste of Peru on North Clark Street in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood has been bringing authentic Peruvian cooking to the city since it opened, serving ceviche, lomo saltado, aji de gallina, and the full Peruvian coastal and highland food traditions in a setting that earns a devoted following from Chicago’s Latin American community and the

Tre Kronor on West Foster Avenue in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood has been serving Swedish and Scandinavian food since Ann Magnuson and her family opened it, named for the three crowns of the Swedish coat of arms. It appeared in Season 7, Episode 4 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Global Grub,” which aired August 24,