The best restaurants in Roscoe Village

This likeable boite from Sandy Chen (Koi Fine Asian Cuisine in Evanston) exudes southern French charm across two roomy floors and a modern essentialist Provencal menu. Housemade breads and oft-changing charcuterie (from rillettes to smoked scallops) make ideal starters. Escargot fiends will appreciate the deconstructed, wood-grilled version, and purists will revel in flavorful bistro staples like duck and bouillabaisse. 

Drawing inspiration from the streets of Bangkok, this small Roscoe Village restaurant dishes out exceptional southern Thai-style fried chicken, which is served with chili honey. There’s also a selection of housemade curries—the green curry with chicken is our go-to—as well as stir fried noodles and rice plates. Of course, you’ll want to complement such savory bites with a tropical cocktail like the My Thai slushy and the Monkey Business (gin, banana Combier, honey, lime).

We’d hit this small spot just for its frothy, boozy margaritas (particularly the tamarind). The key to avoiding hangovers is filling up on the fantastic food, but skip the chips and salsa, and instead start with the coctel de camarón—plump shrimp, avocado and sweet tomato sauce on saltines. We love the plantain-stuffed enchiladas slathered in chocolaty mole, and carnivores will swoon over the revoltijo ajijic, a plank of plantains topped with diced steak, onion, peppers and mushrooms and Chihuahua cheese. The flan or the dulce de leche–stuffed crêpes are fine finishes. 

The second location of the late night hot dog and fried shrimp joint is a little glitzier (televisions, seats), but the most important difference is that it also offers burgers, thin, griddled patties with perfectly melted cheese, LTO and special sauce. The Depression Dogs are just as good as at the original, and fried shrimp dunked in spicy cocktail sauce is just what you'll want to eat after a night of drinking.

Don’t get us wrong, we love the fresh toppings, including meaty chunks of mild sausage and fresh vegetables that are crisp and crunchy when you bite into them. But it’s really the sauce—full of fresh tomato flavor, speckled with oregano, basil and the faintest hint of red pepper—that’s made this pizzeria an institution. Both the deep-dish and the (not very thin) thin-crust resist sogginess after a night in the fridge, making them the breakfast of champions.