Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this summer.
Torchio Pasta Bar
Open since May 2019, this Italian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Torchio Pasta Bar saw a substantial 109.1% increase, maintaining an excellent five-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Italian category: Ava's Italian Ice has seen a 12.3% increase in reviews.
Located at 738 N. Wells St. in River North, Torchio Pasta Bar offers spaghetti and clam soup, rigatoni with plum tomato sauce and cacio e pepe on the menu.
Epic Burger
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Near North's Epic Burger, the popular burger spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Burgers" on Yelp saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, Epic Burger bagged a 5.6% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 4.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Chicago's burger scene: Bellwether Meeting House & Eatery has seen a 3.4% increase in reviews.
Open at 407 N. Clark St. since September 2012, Epic Burger offers beef burgers, turkey burger and chicken sandwiches.
XOchimilco Mexican Restaurant
Ravenswood's XOchimilco Mexican Restaurant is also making waves. Open since October 2018 at 2030-32 W. Montrose Ave., the Mexican spot has seen a 16.1% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.1% for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis XOchimilco Mexican Restaurant's review count increased by more than 170%.
XOchimilco Mexican Restaurant offers guacamole, taquitos and veggie quesadillas on the menu. Over the past month, it's maintained an outstanding five-star rating among Yelpers.
JoJo’s Milk Bar
The Near North's JoJo’s Milk Bar is the city's buzziest dessert spot by the numbers.
The diner and bar, which offers desserts and more and opened at 23 W. Hubbard St. on February 2019, increased its new review count by 18.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6% for the Yelp category "Desserts."
JoJo’s Milk Bar offers hot chocolate, cookies and coffee on the menu.
Jeong
Noble Square's Jeong is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 2.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, this Korean and New American spot increased its new reviews by 21.3% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 140% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 1460 W. Chicago Ave. since March 2019, the business offers silken tofu, salmon tartare and chocolate cake on the menu.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
