Taking Your Family on a Chicago Food Tour

In Chicago with the family? There are tons of places you could go and enjoy a world-class, fine-dining meal, but that’s not always a popular option when you’re traveling with kids. Here are a few places to go to enjoy some kid-friendly foods and kid-friendly atmospheres, but while still enjoying some of the most noteworthy foods Chicago has to offer. Add them all together to create your own family-friendly food tour of Chicago.

1. Portillo’s

Portillo’s is a Chicago institution that’s become popular in locations across the Midwest as well. The casual and affordable eatery is known for its Chicago dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, but the extensive menu also includes a range of eats like pasta and salads. Get some of the chocolate cake for dessert!

2. Pizzeria Uno

There are tons of places to find deep-dish pizza in Chicago and everyone has their favorite spot. Whatever your opinion, Pizzeria Uno is hard to pass up. The eatery, with its two locations just off Mag Mile, crams diners into a small, vintage-style space and then fills them up with hearty pizza made with fresh ingredients. You won’t look at pizza the same way again — and, hey, what kid doesn’t like pizza?

Pizzeria Uno. Photo: Calvin L. Leake – Dreamstime.com

3. Garrett Popcorn Shops

Just as pizza is always a safe bet with kids, so is popcorn. Stop by a Garrett Popcorn Shops location around the city and pick out your favorite variety. One of the most popular is the Garrett Mix, a combination of cheddar cheese popcorn and caramel corn. Eat your goods while you walk about the city; you definitely won’t be alone. Once you start to notice them, you’ll see tons of tourists roaming town with striped Garrett’s bags in hand.

4. Billy Goat Tavern

There are two locations for this famed Chicago burger spot, one off Mag Mile and one at Navy Pier, so you should be able to swing by one or the either while seeing the sights. The low-key, affordable restaurant keeps a simple menu of burgers and chips, but the talented crew has managed perfect simplicity over the decades the restaurant’s been around.

5. Do-Rite Donut

And, lastly, before you head back home, fill up on the breakfast of champions — donuts. Do-Rite Donut has been king of the city’s donut landscape for a while now and everyone has a favorite from the shop’s endless varieties of donuts. Grab a few to sample, keeping an eye out for the buttermilk old-fashioned and the candied maple bacon.