Today, Michelin named the 59 Chicago restaurants on its 2015 Bib Gourmand list. Separate from the travel guide's much sweated over star rankings, which have yet to be announced, the Bib Gourmand designation is given to outstanding eateries that offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for under $40 (minus tax and tip). That being said, in some of these cases, you'll have to stay away from meat if you want to hit that price. There are 11 newcomers on the 2015 list, including Hyde Park's A10 and Avondale's Parachute. Not all restaurants are new to Chicago, some dating back to 2012, but are new to the list. For the record, we granted five of these rookies four stars; three earned three stars; and one (Table, Donkey and Stick) scraped together just two stars from our critics. Here are the freshmen 11:
A10
Azzurra EnoTavola
Beatrix
Carriage House
The Dawson
Dusek's Board and Beer
Herb
Parachute
Table, Donkey and Stick
Untitled
TWO
Last year, 69 restaurants were deemed Bib Gourmand good. So what got the axe? Ada Street, Antique Taco, ATK, Autre Monde, Deca, Found, Gemini Bistro, Juno, Kabul House, Libertad, Marion Street Cheese Market, Mercat a la Planxa, Nabuki, Opart Thai House, Owen & Engine, Q BBQ, Sen, Smak-Tak, Urban Belly and Yolo were bumped. That's not necessarily bad news: Some of them might have been upgraded up to Michelin star status. (We're guessing probably Juno, though the place was closed for a while due to fire.)
The other restaurants on Chicago's 2015 Bib Gourmand:
Arami
Au Cheval
Avec
Balena
bellyQ
Belly Shack
Browntrout
Ceres' Table
Chilam Balam
County
Cumin
DeCOLORES
Fat Rice
Frontera Grill
Gather
Gilt Bar
Girl & The Goat
Green Zebra
GT Fish & Oyster
Han 202
Homestyle Taste
Hopleaf
Jaipur
Jam
Jin Thai
Kai Zan
Kurah
Lao Hunan
Lao Sze Chuan
Lula Cafe
Mana Food Bar
Maude's Liquor Bar
Mixteco Grill
Mott St.
Nana
Nightwood
Paramount Room
The Publican
Pump Room
The Purple Pig
Riccardo Trattoria
Slurping Turtle
Smoque BBQ
Sol de Mexico
Spacca Napoli
Sushi Dokku
TAC Quick
Wood