Atelier, Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining, two award winning restaurants worth leaving the Loop for

CHICAGO — Chicago has one of the hottest food scenes in the country, and while many associated this scene with the West Loop or River North, foodies in the know, say you can find some of the most delicious and exciting foods in the neighborhoods.

David Manilow has been following this city’s food scene for years. He created the Emmy-award-winning TV show “Check Please,” which can still be seen in other markets. He now works for Crain’s Chicago Business.

“You can explore to find (spots) in neighborhoods, and some of them are in little strip malls and some are on streets that you don’t normally go to,” Manilow said. “I think there’s more and more people that will just go, because Chicago is just this great city of neighborhoods, and through social media, you will find out a place you’ll just want go.”

One of those restaurants could be Atelier, which opened last February and is located on the North Side at the former site of Michelin-star restaurant Elizabeth. If you blink, you’ll miss the fine dining spot. It’s squeezed in between a soccer store and a tire shop on Western Avenue in Lincoln Square.

Tim Lacey owns Atelier, and the critics are giving it rave reviews. A lot of the credit goes to its 30-something, Kentucky-born, chef de cuisine, Christian Hunter.

“I came to Chicago to hone my skills,” he said. “This is a journey to me to represent myself as a chef, not only as a Black chef but just to show how my skills are compared to the best food cities in the world.”

Just last month Michelin added Atelier to its 2023 Star Guide, a top honor in the culinary world. 

“It is absolutely a challenge,” Hunter said. “But the opportunity to be able to do something that very few have done, especially in this industry, you know, looking like me, it’s an opportunity that rarely comes by, so I had to take it. “

Hunter is a James Beard finalist and says he brings his hometown roots to his dishes every night. 

“I grew up with Sunday dinner, and like, that was my feeling that Sunday dinner was always, like, more special,” Hunter said.

The thing is, it doesn’t take a fancy address or pristine surroundings to produce some of the best food in this city. That’s not really the secret to success.

“I like the homey feel of it, you know, of the neighborhood and how that plays into the space itself,” he said. “

A little further north is further proof of that. Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining is tucked away on Howard Street in Rogers Park.

Chef Mona Sang says she doesn’t mind being off the beaten path.

“You’re like between two kinds of, like, places you never would find a ‘fine dining restaurant,’” she said.

Sang’s mother Mai is a survivor of the genocide of Cambodia in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Captured by the Khmer Rouge, they tortured her and forced her to work in rice fields. She lost her husband and two sons.

“She cooked when she was young and she cooked during the war. She cooked after the war,” she said.

Sang was born in a refugee camp. Her family made their way to Chicago and she eventually found the restaurant. She and her 80-year-old mother cook every meal. To them, it’s not just a restaurant.

Sang says with each ingredient, her mother has been able to work through the trauma of war and open up to her family. 

“Five or 10 years ago, my mom and I would have never thought about eating at a place like this. We grew up poor. We know what starvation is like.”

For Sang, it’s not about the awards or accolades. She says it’s about being in the kitchen with her mother. They serve up traditional dishes from her country to a packed house almost nightly. 

“She’s 80 and the strongest woman I know,” she said.

Foodies say, the secret to award-winning and phenomenal food, might not always be the location. 

“For me, it’s an adventure city. You can get lost in this city, you can get lost all over the place,” Manilow said. “Getting out there and extending yourself and expanding your comfort zone is great.”