-
Virtue
Southern
Skillet cornbread arrives with a steak knife and honey butter, which tells you most of what you need to know about Erick Williams's Southern restaurant in Hyde Park. The dining room is warm and unhurried, the kind of place the university crowd treats as a standing Thursday plan. Williams holds two James Beard Awards, and the Michelin Guide gives it a Bib Gourmand. The cooking is rooted and serious without ever feeling like a lecture.
Eight honors, in evidence:
The record strongest first
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Emerging Chef · Damarr Brown
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Winner · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Erick Williams
- Food & Wine The Top 15 US Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- Time Out #12 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
One number, weighted & current 92
How we score
Nearby in the record closest first
- Cantina Rosa Eat · 63
- Kilwins Eat · 62
- Daisy’s Po-Boy and Tavern Cajun & Creole Eat · 80
- Sophy Hyde Park Stay · 74
- Cafe 53 Eat · 65
- Sip & Savor Eat · 65
- Plein Air Cafe & Eatery Eat · 81
- Build Coffee Eat · 78
Something wrong with this entry? Tell us — closed, moved, miscategorized, we want to know.