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Friends of Eater Pick the Best Dining Neighborhood of 2014

As we put a cap on 2014, Eater surveyed a group of critics, writers, and all around experts for their take on the past year. We asked them eight questions: from Top Standbys to Top Newcomers, from Best Meals to Restaurants Broken Up With. All answers will be revealed—cut, pasted, unedited and unadulterated—by the time we pop the cork on 2015.

Buzzy openings like Salero have kept the West Loop and Fulton Market hotter than hot
Buzzy openings like Salero have kept the West Loop and Fulton Market hotter than hot
Marc Much

Q: What was the best dining neighborhood in 2014?

Mike Gebert, Reader: I've said Chinatown before and I'm sticking with it because it's endlessly interesting, not least because this year it really went beyond being Chinese food with Thai, Korean, and ramen. I go to Chinatown to see the future.

Sarah Freeman, Zagat: The West Loop's still go it. I'm waiting for the area to cool off, but new restaurants such as Tete Charcuterie, Green Street Smoked Meats, Salero and coming-soon Formento's and El Che Bar prove that will not happen anytime soon.

Chandra Ram, Plate: Avondale and surrounding neighborhoods are killing it right now. Team North Side!

Amy Cavanaugh, Time Out Chicago: Evanston. The town has had a serious run on new restaurants and bars, like Boltwood and Temperance Beer Co., that when added to Found, Hewn, Farmhouse and others, make it a destination. Plus, there's so much more to come in 2015.

Michael Nagrant, RedEye: Randolph and Fulton Market corridor, aka West Loop.

Chris LaMorte, UrbanDaddy: West Loop/Warehouse District.

Melissa McEwen, Chicagoist: West Loop.

Penny Pollack, Chicago Magazine: River North.