Unsure where Chicago's insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which local businesses have been getting extra notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Chicago businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra hot, right now.
Hob Sushi
Open since last April, this sushi bar, wine bar and Japanese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, sushi bars saw review counts increase by a median of 1.9 percent over the past month, but Hob Sushi saw a 12.5 percent increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 220 percent.
Located at 2156 N. Clybourn Ave. (between Wayne and Shakespeare avenues) in Lincoln Park, Hob Sushi offers a tuna poke bowl with cashews and pineapple, a Dragon roll with avocado, eel and soy and a Volcano roll with smoked salmon, crab stick, avocado and more. (View the full menu here.)
il Porcellino
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Near North's il Porcellino, the bar and Italian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.3 percent over the past month, il Porcellino bagged a 6.5 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating.
Open at 59 W. Hubbard since 2017, il Porcellino offers a whole wheat capellini with roasted tomato sauce, olive oil and basil, a gnocchi bolognese with prime beef and a fettuccine Alfredo with crispy prosciutto. (Check out the menu here.)
Daebak Korean BBQ
Daebak Korean BBQ is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 2017 S. Wells St., Floor 2, the popular Korean spot, which offers barbecue and more, has seen an 8 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3 percent for all businesses tagged "Barbeque" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 320 percent.
Daebak Korean BBQ offers a kimchi pancake, a premium seared pork belly, a spicy seafood and tofu soup and more. (View the menu here.) Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya
Wicker Park's Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya is the city's buzziest ramen spot by the numbers.
The popular izakaya, which offers ramen and more and opened at 1482 N. Milwaukee Ave. (between Evergreen Avenue and Honore Street) in 2016, increased its review count by 3.5 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.5 percent for the Yelp category "Ramen." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.6 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya offers a variety of ramen options, like the spicy ramen with a pork broth, chilies, garlic and other spices, and a veggie ramen with shiitake mushrooms, miso, soy milk, ground sesame seeds and more. (View the menu here.)
