Joe Flamm’s Guide to Chicago’s Best Southside Neighborhood Eats

They do sandwiches, have a great deli, and carry imported Italian products. It’s a staple for me—my family and I go every other week at least.

In Hyde Park, Erick Williams is killing it with his spots. I had a date night with my wife where we went to Virtue for dinner and then to Cantina Rosa, his bespoke cocktail bar with Mexican influences. It was just so well done—the food is world-class.

It’s an awesome family-run business. The food’s delicious, and Marcos, his dad, and the staff are the nicest people on Earth. Depending on how many people I’m with, I’ll order half a pound of carnitas, tortillas, all the salsas, and a side of chicharrones. They also, low-key, kill the catering game. They even invented a crate of chicharrones for me because of my giant catering orders. It’s one of my greatest claims to fame.

You love the pizza place you grew up with—and I grew up two blocks away from Vito and Nick’s. My go-to order is sausage, onion, and mushroom.

This place doesn’t get nearly enough love—and it’s absolutely insane. You can see whole tunas being broken down there. It’s in a Chinatown mall, and everything on the menu is great. The fish is top quality. It’s part of my pickup rotation every other week.