Hop on the Red Line and shoot straight past the Loop to Chinatown, where restaurant upon restaurant awaits.
Best of the nightlife Three Happiness (Original) Despite being off Chinatown's main drag, this small, unassuming restaurant is just as popular as its more central counterparts, as evidenced by the line near the door in mid-afternoon. The decor is nothing fancy, and aside from some Chinese lanterns and strung lights, it's just a handful of tables (one with a bonus lazy Susan in the center that allows easy sharing) in a small room. The crowded space and language barrier may make this place a bit hectic, but the food, heaping plates of authentic Mandarin and Cantonese cuisine, is clearly sumptuous.
Good for groups
Tommy Gun's Garage
Tommy Gun's Garage's warehouse setting boasts concrete floors and a rear entrance ... enterable if youse know da password. A trip to Tommy Gun's is as good as transportation back to the 1920s, complete with gangsters and flappers, Roaring '20s music and memorabilia, old school photos and more. As an interactive "speakeasy," Tommy Gun's Garage offers a family-friendly musical comedy revue with the expected cast of characters. Says Tommy's, "After youse have been served our great food (a choice of five entrees like Frankie's east broiled pork chops), and our fine hooch (alcohol) by da mugs and molls, join Vito, Gloves and others for non-stop comedy and dangerous fun." Tickets, which include the show and dinner (soup, salads, rolls, dessert and your choice of pasta, beef, fish, chicken or pork entree), run $50-$60.
Cheap eats
Furama
Hong Kong-style dim sum served daily. Waiters parade around the restaurant with steam carts, show you the goods and let you choose what (and how much) you want during the daily 9 a.m.-4 p.m. dim sum session. The food is good, from standbys like spring rolls and meat dumplings to more rare items like quail eggs and chicken feet. You settle up at the end of the meal, usually for less than $10. Dinner (sans the dim sum option) features entrees like shark's fin soup, scallops with broccoli in XO sauce, and sauteed squid with celery in a shrimp paste sauce. Plum wine and the Chinese beer Chin Tao round out the drink options. Free parking, semi-private rooms (reservations requested).
Where to chill
Phoenix
Directly across from Chinatown Square is this two-in-one dining destination. Praised by Chicago critics (proven by an entrance decorated with its accolades), this restaurant has remained popular for its diversity of options. Downstairs is the Dumpling House, a casual, cafe-style spot that provides what few Chinatown restaurants do: round-the-clock dim sum. Here patrons can nosh on cold plates, Szechwan noodle dishes or Shanghai dim sum items like crispy scallion cake or steamed juicy dumpling with minced pork and ginger.
In-the-know spot
Won Kow
Prepare to kow-tow over Won Kow, a Chinatown eatery that serves up a side of history along with its dim sum. Starring in Chicagoans' hungry dreams of Chinese food since 1927, Won Kow is Chinatown's oldest eatery, and gosh darn it, it knows what it's doing. The food is awesome (fans of the place are apt to use capital letters for emphasis), the service is very friendly and the decor...leaves a little to be desired, but it's more than worth a trip all the same.
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