These 4 IL Restaurants 'Define Dining,' New Top 100 Ranking Says

Four restaurants have been named to a ranking of 100 nationwide that “delight their communities and make them better.”

Resy, an online restaurant reservation service, said “The Resy 100” is a “curation of restaurants that thrill us, that serve exceptional food that alternately might be comforting or daring, traditional or completely new.”

“These are places that make us want to return again and again, and define the best of our dining culture today,” the company, which represents some 10,000 eateries nationwide, said with the release of the rankings.

“... They don’t have to be new,” the company said of the 100 restaurants on the list. “They don’t have to have a famous chef at the helm. They could be absolutely anywhere — as we’ve learned, a great meal can find you where you least expect it, whether you’ve traversed the country or just headed down the block. They are, simply, excellent and cherished. They delight their communities, and make them better.”

Restaurants from Illinois included in the ranking are:

• Lula Cafe, 2537 N Kedzie Boulevard in Chicago, has been ranked 29th nationally on Resy's list. "Lula Cafe is such a special place for Chicagoans. It is the textbook definition of a charming neighborhood spot," according to Ariel Kanter, a Resy Chicago Writer.
• The Duck Inn, 2701 South Eleanor Street in Chicago, has been ranked 65th on Resy's list. "You need to love duck to go here. And if you do, you won’t be disappointed. There’s rotisserie duck, duck dogs, duck wings with Japanese barbecue sauce, and duck fat French fries. And yet it manages not to be gimmicky at all," according to Ariel Kanter, a Resy Chicago writer.
• Chef's Special Cafe Bar, 2165 N. Western Avenue in Chicago, has been ranked 72nd on Resy's list.
• Cafe Yaya, 2431 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, was ranked 98th on Resy's list. "By day Yaya fulfills its cafe vibes, including with sandwiches and pastries. By night it feels like a more freeform riff on Galit’s cooking — with Mediterranean as a baseline but also French and Southern accents woven in," according to Resy's review of the restaurant.