If you’re in the mood for a highly-recommended delicious bite in Illinois, you’re in luck, because two restaurants in Illinois made Yelp’s annual list of the “Top 100 Places to Eat” in the country.
The rankings — determined by Yelp with input from its community of online reviewers — highlight a diverse selection of U.S. restaurants, including well-reviewed burger joints, highly-rated ramen shops, top-tier taquerías and even a couple of hole-in-the-wall Hawaiian spots. This year, eateries across dozens of states and Washington, D.C. made the list, though some places have far more restaurant representation than others.
California, for instance, boasts a whopping 28 restaurants on Yelp’s 2023 list, including five restaurants in the top 10 alone. Florida, the runner-up, is home to 14 of this year’s honorees, while Texas takes third place with eight. Nevada and Arizona rounded out the top five, with five and four, respectively.
Among the many flavors that made the list was Chicago’s XOchimilco Mexican Restaurant, a cozy and authentic restaurant for anyone looking to dine on Mexican cuisine. The restaurant also offers vegetarian options as well as takeout and delivery.
With a five-star rating and more than 270 reviews on Yelp, XOchimilco secured the 27th spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Restaurants of 2023. Some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes include enchiladas, carne asada, taquitos, and more.
Customer reviews praise the restaurant’s service and tasty meals, among other things. One reviewer described the restaurant’s chicken enchiladas in mole as “top-notch” and the ancho chile sauce as, “seasoned perfectly.” Another reviewer described the restaurant as a “neighborhood gem.”
Additionally, another Illinois restaurant that made the list was St. Charles’ Balmoral Restaurant, which offers Scottish cuisine. This restaurant offers diners a refined yet relaxed experience. It also offers vegetarian options and takeout.
With a rating of 4.5 stars and more than 200 reviews on Yelp, Balmoral Restaurant ranked 63rd on the Top 100 Restaurants of 2023. Popular dishes from the restaurant include the True Scotch egg, the Young Bonnie Prince Charlie’s beef wellington, Musselburgh’s fish and chips, and more.
Customer reviews praise the restaurant’s service and food, among other things. One reviewer described the restaurant’s beef wellington as “flavorful and tender.” Another reviewer described the restaurant as a “culinary experience.”
As noted above, however, Yelp’s 2023 rankings aren’t necessarily a reflection of the best-reviewed restaurants on its entire platform. In compiling this year’s list, Yelp solicited submissions and suggestions from users, and then compared those suggestions against each business’s Yelp ratings and volume of reviews. Yelp’s analysts also tallied the number of submissions for each restaurant and attempted to account for “geographic representation” based on the overall share of suggestions and highly rated restaurants for a given area.
Additionally, Yelp allowed its internal community managers to further curate the rankings based on their “expertise” in each region.
“The resulting list is collaborative and passion driven — an accurate reflection of the Yelp Community itself,” Yelp claims.
Source : WGN
