Chef and partner Tony Mantuano opened this Michigan Avenue institution more than 30 years ago, and ever since then it’s gained a loyal following (including fans like the Obamas) for its modern takes on upscale Italian. Couple that with a recent “Top Chef” win for executive chef Joe Flamm, and there’s more reason now than ever to sample through the seasonal and regional fare it does best. For spring, that means plates like the aglio e olio (a ramp pasta dough filled with parmesan and spicy olive oil) or the wild boar chop (with vin santo glaze, morels, and charred spring onions). Try them in the five-course or eight-course offering, which can be paired alongside two kinds of wine menus from beverage director Rachael Lowe — the global, featuring wines from around the world, or the reserve Italian, a medley of regional showstoppers. 

There are just 14 seats at this suburban destination, where diners can sample chef Michael Lachowicz‘s elevated French cuisine via a six-course or nine-course tasting menu. With the decadence of these dishes, it’s best to pace oneself — a fennel pollen-dusted filet of dover sole is served over toasted barley pilaf and fennel coulis, followed by a poussin leg and thigh lollipop filled with truffle puree, for example. And then, there’s dessert — possibly the banana and pistachios with gingerbread crumble, white chocolate ganache, bruleed banana slices, and Caribbean rum syrup. Three wine flights of various calibers — the George Trois, the premium, and the platinum — are available to accompany it all.

Just a few years after Frontera Grill came Topolobampo, the fine dining Mexican restaurant from Rick Bayless and team that specializes in contemporary Mexican fare rooted in regional flavors. A seven-course tasting menu changes seasonally and has been influenced by themes like “Pre-Columbian” and “Winter Beach Vacation,” complete with seaside go-tos like Oaxaca seared scallops and Veracruz lobster chilpachole. This spring brings with the “Art Menu,” a series of plates inspired by the emotions that art can provoke. A serving of spring vegetables, Tabasco-style verde peas, garlic chives, and Baja abalone, for example, is dubbed “Exuberance,” while a melding of lamb loin, lamb belly, chayote gratin, and shaved foie gras is reminiscent of “Lust.” A wine pairing provides a pour with every course and highlights a range of regions, from Rioja, to the Rhône. 

It’s been 15 years since this Lincoln Park mainstay opened doors — and in that time it’s had plenty of reasons to celebrate, from seven years of Michelin star standing, to a best restaurant of the year win at the Jean Banchet Awards. Hats off to the chefs who have helped earn that praise — currently Lee Wolen and pastry powerhouse Meg Galus. A nine-course menu showcases their kitchen prowess, from grilled bass with maitake mushrooms and mandarin, to a pineapple finale of brown sugar pineapple puree, Tonka bean sablé, and black lime. Alisandro Serna handles the wine picks, a collection sourced from around the world (think New York Riesling, South African pinotage). The menu changes daily, giving diners even more reason to revisit soon (as if the starting snack alone — a crispy nori chip with a kick of smoked carrot tartare and cilantro — wasn’t enough).

There may be no better way to experience One Off Hospitality’s very first restaurant than with its tasting menu, a 10-course sampling of the modern American fare that helped put Restaurant Row on the map. Chef Ryan Pfeiffer kicks things off with eight savory courses, such as pickled and roasted sunchokes with cider and miso mousse and misoyaki-marintated wagyu beef with kombu mayonnaise. Two sweet dishes from pastry chef Nicole Guini follow and are as clever as they are flavorful — a Glacier Blue cheesecake is met with green olive and rye-juniper crumble, serving as a fun, edible riff on a dirty martini. 

Food lovers travel far and wide for a coveted reservation at Alinea, where Grant Achatz has been delivering groundbreaking tasting menus since 2005. These days, the Lincoln Park mainstay offers two menu lengths: The Salon Menu, with 19 courses; and the 25-course Gallery and Kitchen Table menus. Those numbers might suggest diners come hungry (dare we say famished?) — but there’s also this: Several courses are but bite-sized accompaniments to main event compilations; supporting acts to primary plates. It’s evidenced by a bite of brown spice encapsulated mandarin juice and sage, a course created to deliver a burst of acidity when paired with poached Australian spanner crab (with Madras curry-pumpkin emulsion, coconut pudding, and ginger gel). Then there’s the banana split, a liquid ganache of banana, pineapple, chocolate, and roasted peanuts that is served with a distillation of Luxardo cherries (meant to evoke the “cherry on top” finale). Three wine pairing options — the Alinea (the rarest and most limited in availability), the Reserve, and the Standard - stand up to all of it.