The Dining Table

The Dining Table

Crain’s Chicago Business presents The Dining Table with “Check Please!” creator, David Manilow. David tells the story of Chicago through the intimate stories that drive the business of food. You’ll savor the tales about what makes the unique Chicago food scene come to life and hear from those making it happen.

Episodes

Fried chicken and a fancy tasting menu

April 23, 2025 • 28 mins
On this week's episode, we go from fried chicken sandwiches to what might be the most intimate tasting menu in Chicago. Chef Ethan Lim has created an homage to his Cambodian heritage in a little storefront on West Armitage. Host David Manilow talks to Lim about his long journey to create Hermosa. Plus, hear how his cultural roots fed his culinary dreams.
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TV star Alton Brown returns to Chicago — and has a lot to say

April 17, 2025 • 22 mins
Alton Brown, one of the Food Network’s most prolific stars, says the best thing about the 1980s was living in Chicago. As the former host of "Good Eats," Brown has plenty say about the evolution of food television. In this episode, Dining Table host David Manilow digs into Brown’s favorite Chicago places and his dining pet peeves. Plus, you’ll hear about his culinary variety show "Alton Brown Live: Last Bite," which makes a tour s...
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Why are these Michelin-starred chefs cooking in a barn?

April 9, 2025 • 26 mins
This week we’re on a mission. Host David Manilow wants to learn why some of Chicago’s most decorated chefs are driving to a small town in Michigan to prepare meals served in a barn. In this episode, we’ll get the answer from James Gray, co-founder of Farrand Hall Hospitality. Plus, learn how this star chef series got started on a 12-acre farm in southwest Michigan — and where it goes from here.
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One of the best tacos in the city and more authentic Mexican gems

April 2, 2025 • 11 mins

When it comes to authentic Mexican restaurants in Chicago, it’s hard to know where to start — there are about a thousand of them. This is the April edition of “Where Dave Ate” and these are host David Manilow's recommendations. Get ready for a food journey from Little Village to Logan Square to the Dunning neighborhood, with more stops in between.

In this episode, learn where to have great chilaquiles for breakfast, get a taste of t...

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What’s cooking at the Obama Presidential Center?

March 26, 2025 • 29 mins
We’ve heard plenty about the development and design of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. But what’s going to be on the menu? In this episode, David Manilow talks with Peach’s chef Cliff Rome, the visionary running food services at the upcoming Obama center. Hear how he plans to honor his native South Side. Plus, hear about Manilow's connection to a younger Barack Obama, then a state senator.
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The scion of the Morton's empire is growing 'third places'

March 19, 2025 • 36 mins
There’s a term in sociology known as “third places” — they’re the spots that blend work and leisure. In this episode, host David Manilow talks with David Morton, the founder and CEO of Episcope Hospitality, previously known as DMK Restaurants. Morton has worked to build a multi-layered approach to hospitality that emphasizes human interaction. Plus, hear what it was like to grow up as the son of the famed Arnie Morton, in a family...
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How Shaw's Crab House remains a classic after 40 years

March 12, 2025 • 22 mins
Four decades equals 10 million oysters: That's just some of the math in the story of Shaw’s Crab House. In this episode, host David Manilow talks with Bill Nevruz, executive partner at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Nevruz has led Shaw's Crab House for 25 years. Learn how Shaw's got its name and why it still feels like a classic to customers and Chicago chefs alike. Plus, hear how legendary restaurateur and Shaw’s co-founder R...
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Why Chicago chefs love Thai food

March 5, 2025 • 12 mins
It’s time for the March edition of "Where Dave Ate," and host David Manilow takes us on a tour through his recommended Thai food destinations. In this episode, you’ll also hear about the favorite Thai restaurants of Chicago chefs Genie Kwon and Tim Flores of Kasama and Jake Potashnick of Feld. Plus, chef Arun Sampanthavivat describes how Thai cuisine let’s him take diners on a journey.
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How the “Ramen Lord” rules over one of the toughest reservations in town

February 26, 2025 • 37 mins
From Oak Park to Japan, Mike Sattenover, the chef-owner of Logan Square’s Akahoshi Ramen, has had an adventurous awakening to the world of ramen. In this episode, hear how he became known as “Ramen Lord” and why his ramen shop is one of Chicago’s toughest reservations. Host David Manilow explores the meticulous process of noodle-making and what drinks pair best with ramen. Plus, Sattenover shares his deep respect for scratch cooki...
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Perilla raises the bar at hidden sushi handroll spot

February 19, 2025 • 27 mins
The partners at Perilla Fare in the West Loop have been busy. They opened Perilla Steakhouse downtown last summer and now have launched a hot new sushi handroll bar — Noriko — in the original spot's basement. In this episode, host David Manilow talks with partners Andy Lim and Thomas Oh about what it means to mix a “moody” vibe with a communal dining experience. Plus, you’ll hear how they bridge the gap between their Korean cultur...
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The fairytale continues with Wolf & Company

February 12, 2025 • 25 mins
There’s something rare about a dining experience with great burgers on an elevated menu — and served in bar setting. Sol Ashbach seems to have figured that out. He started with Little Bad Wolf in Andersonville, then opened Gretel in Logan Square, and has added The Good Wolf next door to the original spot in Andersonville. And next, the fairytale continues with his most ambitious project yet. In this episode, host David Manilow tal...
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Could this be Chicago's next great restaurant?

February 5, 2025 • 16 mins
It's time for our February edition of "Where Dave Ate" — but this month’s episode is all about where host David Manilow wants to eat. With the help of artificial intelligence, Manilow is creating Chicago's next great restaurant. So what's on the menu, where is it located and what’s the vibe? Manilow’s AI-driven conversation with “Gemini” reveals all that and more.
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How martial arts and hospitality go hand-in-hand

January 29, 2025 • 38 mins
Jason Chan has been a notable and beloved figure in the Chicago restaurant scene for decades. In this episode, Chan describes how becoming a master martial artist has gone hand-in-hand with delivering great hospitality. He likens a restaurant to a dōjō, the place where immersive training occurs. Host David Manilow talks to Chan about being a major player in West Loop dining ahead of its time now as a hotspot. Plus, hear about Chan’...
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How do the hidden gems survive?

January 22, 2025 • 22 mins
There are hot restaurants in trendy neighborhoods that almost everyone seems to know about — and then there are a slew of hidden family-owned spots you’ve probably passed by hundreds of times. How do they make it without a star chef or hot West Loop address? In this episode, host David Manilow talks to the mother-daughter owners of Suda's Lebanese Cuisine in Lincoln Park. They discuss their secret to survival, as well as how a par...
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The rise of the Chicago-style bagel

January 15, 2025 • 16 mins
As a born and raised Chicagoan, David Manilow likes almost all kinds of Chicago food — but the one thing he never gets here is a bagel. Manilow eats them in New York, but why not Chicago? During this episode, we’re going to answer that question. On the Dining Table this week, hear his conversation with Hannah Tillett-Banaszak and Mike Banaszak of the popular Tilly Bagel Shop in the South Loop on the rise of the Chicago-style bagel...
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What's trending on Chicago's dining scene in 2025

January 8, 2025 • 26 mins
As we kick off the new year, host David Manilow looks forward to some of the exciting new restaurant openings. We welcome Crain’s reporters Ally Marotti and Jack Grieve to "The Table" to hear what'll be trending on the dining scene in 2025 and break down the impact as the local tipped minimum wage begins to be phased out. We'll also predict what’s ahead on season 4 of FX’s “The Bear” when it premieres in July. Plus, Marotti and Gr...
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Chicago chefs' restaurant recommendations for high-end holidays

December 18, 2024 • 14 mins
Host David Manilow offers up a list of restaurants this week where you might consider celebrating during the holidays, based on the recommendations of acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs who've been featured in the past. Hear about a great group of steakhouses, new restaurants and Michelin-star winners that stretch from the West Loop to Lincoln Park and Bucktown to River North.
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David Manilow's favorite new restaurants of 2024

December 11, 2024 • 19 mins
As the year comes to a close, host David Manilow is sharing three of his favorite new spots. He’ll take us from the Near West Side to Lincoln Park to Pilsen. One restaurant is an ode to the melting pot that is Chicago, while another is the rare example of a coffee shop worth visiting for the food alone. Plus, the Michelin stars are out. We’ll share the good news and the bad news for Chicago.
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The rise of modern Filipino restaurants

December 4, 2024 • 16 mins
It's time for the December edition of "Where Dave Ate." This month, host David Manilow travels around Chicago to experience the art of Filipino cooking. The food is sweet and savory and, because the Philippines include thousands of islands, every region makes it differently. In this episode, we hear from two Filipino brothers who came to Chicago to open Cebu. Plus, we’ll revisit Manilow’s conversation with Kasama’s much-lauded che...
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Memories of a teenage barback from The Duck Inn’s Kevin Hickey

November 20, 2024 • 43 mins
In some bygone era, 14-year-old Kevin Hickey was prepping jello shots and making burgers at his uncle’s bar in the Gold Coast. Now he has a Michelin star under his belt. In this episode, David Manilow tracks Hickey’s 35-year history in the Chicago restaurant biz — a trek from Rush and Division streets to his days as executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel. Plus, learn why he returned home to Bridgeport 10 years ago to open The ...
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