Bon Appetit names Chicago ‘Restaurant City of the Year’

The rest of the country is about to learn what Chicagoans already know: the food here is good. Now, it’s “Restaurant City of the Year” good.

Bon Appetit magazine gave Chicago its annual honor, which went to Washington, D.C., in 2016 and San Francisco in 2015.

Special projects editor Julia Kramer listed eight reasons why “the Midwest is Best” in her August article, citing the restaurants Elske, Hanbun, Smyth, Mi Tocaya Antojeria, Giant, Fat Rice and Cellar Door Provisions as examples of innovative Chicago cuisine.

“Chicago is clearly America’s most exciting city to eat in right now,” Kramer wrote. “I can’t remember a time that I’ve been as psyched to eat there as I’ve been this year. Where other cities fall into soulless trend cycles, Chicago has a way of generating distinctively personal restaurants.”

The magazine also named four Chicago restaurants as finalists in its roundup of the 50 Best New Restaurants in America: Elske, Smyth and The Loyalist, Mi Tocaya Antojeria and Giant.

Kramer, a Chicago native, also celebrates artful desserts, mezcal and the Chicago hot dog — with a twist.