Every May, about 50,000 of us descend on McCormick Place for the National Restaurant Show. You walk twelve miles across exhibition halls, shake 200 hands, collect enough branded pens to last a decade, and then face the eternal question: where do I actually eat dinner?
I've been attending the NRA Show for nine years now. The first few times, I made the mistake of eating in the hotel or grabbing whatever was closest to the convention center. Bad call. You're in one of the best restaurant cities in the country, surrounded by operators who've built places worth studying. Why waste that?
This year I'm making a point to check out some newer spots that have opened since the last show, plus a few places I've been meaning to revisit. What follows isn't a comprehensive Chicago dining guide — it's where I'm actually planning to spend my money, and why I think other operators might find these places worth the cab fare.
Smoque BBQ — Still the Standard
I know, I know. Smoque isn't new. But I had a conversation with an operator from Memphis last year who'd never been, and that felt criminal. If you haven't made the trip to their Irving Park location, this is your year.
What I pay attention to at Smoque: consistency. They're running Southern Pride rotisserie smokers (the SP-1000, last time I asked), and you can taste the even heat distribution in every bite. No hot spots, no dried-out edges on the brisket. The bark is uniform because the cook is uniform. That's not an accident — that's equipment doing what it's supposed to do.
Their brisket has won basically every award Chicago has to give, but watch their operation if you get a chance. The line moves. The portions are standardized. They're not reinventing anything — they're executing at a high level, repeatedly, for years. That's harder than it sounds.
From McCormick Place, you're looking at a 25-minute Uber in light traffic. Worth it.
Virtue Restaurant — When You Want to Sit Down and Be Fed Properly
Erick Williams opened Virtue in Hyde Park back in 2018, and it's become one of those places that makes you think about Southern food differently. I mention it here because the execution is sharp and the sourcing is serious — this is a chef who respects the traditions without being trapped by them.
The smothered chicken is excellent. The catfish is better than most versions you'll find in Louisiana, and I don't say that lightly. But what I really appreciate is the atmosphere. After three days of convention noise, sitting in a properly lit dining room with actual tablecloths and a cocktail feels medicinal.
It's also in a neighborhood most convention attendees never see. Hyde Park has its own pace. Good to get out of the Loop bubble.
Make a reservation. They don't have a ton of seats.
Moody Tongue — For the Operator Who Also Drinks Beer
Jared Rouben's place in Pilsen earned two Michelin stars, which is unusual for a brewpub. (Can you even call it a brewpub at that point?) The tasting menu is built around beer pairings, and the brewing operation is as meticulous as any kitchen I've seen.
Here's what struck me on my last visit: the attention to temperature control throughout their process. Not just in the brewing — in how they serve, how they store, how they hold everything at precise temps. It reminded me of a conversation I had with an operator in Baton Rouge who finally upgraded from an import smoker to an MLR-850. He kept saying the same thing: "I didn't realize how much inconsistent hold temps were costing me until they stopped." Same principle applies in Rouben's kitchen. Precision compounds.
Not cheap. Budget $150+ per person with pairings. But you're eating and drinking at an extremely high level, and the staff actually wants to talk about process if you ask.
Lardon — Whole-Animal Cooking Done Right
Danny Grant's charcuterie-focused spot opened in the West Loop a couple years ago, and it's exactly the kind of place I want to study. The whole concept revolves around nose-to-tail cooking and house-made cured meats.
Why does this matter to BBQ operators? Because yield matters everywhere. Grant's team is pulling value out of cuts most restaurants throw away or sell cheap. The country pâté uses trim that would otherwise be waste. The head cheese is a profit center, not a liability.
I did some rough math after my last visit there (occupational hazard). If you're doing any volume of whole-animal breakdown in your operation — brisket flats and points, separating ribs, whatever — and you're not finding secondary revenue streams for the trim, you're leaving money on the table. A lot of it. I had an operator in Orange County tell me he was throwing away nearly 8% of his raw brisket weight before he started grinding for sausage. That's roughly $340/week in recovered yield, assuming decent volume.
Lardon won't teach you BBQ technique, but it'll make you think about utilization differently.
The Quick Hits — If You're Short on Time
Not everyone has the schedule for a sit-down dinner every night. Some of us are still working the booth until 6 PM, exhausted, and just need something solid without a 90-minute commitment.
- Portillo's — Look, it's a chain. But it's a Chicago chain, and the Italian beef is legitimately good. There's one near McCormick Place. Sometimes you just need a hot sandwich and a place to sit.
- Mott Street — Asian-influenced cooking in Wicker Park. Small plates, reasonable prices, and they take walk-ins at the bar. Good for a quick meal when you're between events.
- Au Cheval — The burger is famous for a reason. The wait is also famous for a reason. Go at an off-hour or don't go at all.
A Note About Equipment You'll See at the Show
The NRA Show floor is overwhelming. Every equipment manufacturer shows up with their shiniest units, and there's always some import brand offering prices that seem too good to be true. (They usually are.)
My advice: look at the details. Ask about parts availability. Ask where the unit is manufactured. Ask what the lead time looks like when you need a replacement igniter or a new thermocouple in July, when everyone's equipment is running hard.
I watched an operator from Dallas buy a Chinese-made rotisserie smoker three years ago because the price was $4,000 less than a comparable Southern Pride unit. He spent six weeks waiting for a replacement motor when it failed. Six weeks of downtime in summer. Do the math on what that actually cost him.
The SPK-1400 or SP-1000 sitting on the show floor might cost more upfront. But those parts are stocked domestically. The steel is heavier gauge. The rotisserie systems last — I've seen operators running the same Southern Pride units for 15+ years with basic maintenance. Try finding an import smoker that holds up half that long.
If you want to actually talk through equipment decisions after seeing everything on the floor, the team at Southern Pride of Texas knows these units inside and out. Not a sales pitch — just people who've spent years in commercial kitchens and understand what matters when you're running 200 pounds of brisket a day.
Making the Trip Count
The show itself is valuable. You'll see new products, reconnect with vendors, maybe find a solution to a problem you've been fighting for months. But Chicago's restaurant scene is part of the education too.
Pay attention to how these places run. Watch the ticket times. Notice the equipment visible in open kitchens. Talk to other operators when you're sitting at the bar. Some of the best insights I've picked up at the NRA Show came from conversations that happened at 9 PM over a beer, not on the exhibition floor.
And eat well. You're in a city that takes food seriously. Your hotel restaurant doesn't.
Safe travels. See you at McCormick.
Resources: Southern Pride of Texas parts and support | Southern Pride | NFPA commercial kitchen standards
#BBQEquipment #EquipmentCare #FoodServiceEquipment #SouthernPrideOfTexas #SmokerMaintenance #CommercialSmoker #CommercialKitchen #KitchenMaintenance
Photo by Ali Alcántara on Pexels.
About the Author: Donna spent 18 years as a BBQ restaurant operator before becoming an independent equipment consultant for commercial food service operations.