Pasta sauce from The Italian Village
Today, consumers are increasingly interested in the origins of their food, down to the very patch of grass that grew the herbs that garnished their plates. In turn, restaurants have begun growing and producing their own ingredients, replacing even the most ubiquitous of the bunch. Heinz has taken a backseat to housemade ketchup, and gone are the days of single-serving jelly packets to enhance your store-bought toast.
Now, restaurants are not only making their own preserves, but as well the bread it’s served on, and sometimes even the flour used to bake it. Vegetables are grown and pickled in-house, sauces are smashed, stewed, and simmered to order, and meats are butchered and cured, sometimes right in the diners’ line of sight. And, at little to no extra cost, restaurants can bottle, jar, or otherwise package select housemade products for consumers to take home and enjoy. It’s like the modern-day equivalent of presenting a peppermint with the check and saying, “Thank you, come again.” Below, are eleven Chicago-area restaurants that are upping your pantry’s ante, with items available to purchase onsite so you can bring a piece of the restaurant home with you.
Photo via Boeufhaus
Boeufhaus {1012 North Western Avenue, 773.661.2116}
Boeufhaus is a cohesive, French and German-inspired, three-tiered culinary concept—a butcher shop, a dine-in restaurant, and a sandwich shop—all under one roof. The driving forces behind the concept are on a mission to provide sustainable animal butchery and charcuterie, as well as high-end sandwiches, and even upscale dining and drink, sure to please any and all Chicago meat lovers.
Standout Take Home Offerings: On-site butchered meats
The Italian Village {71 West Monroe Street, 312.332.7005}
One of Chicago’s longest-standing Italian restaurants, The Italian Village has been feeding the city since 1927. It has grown from just one restaurant to three concepts in one: the original Village, La Cantina, and Vivere (formerly The Florentine Room). It’s known for its authentic menu offerings, its expansive, 35,000 bottle wine cellar, and its standout pasta sauces that are available for purchase. The all natural-ingredient sauces are jarred and boxed in a replica of Old Italy, each box boasting a recipe for that specific sauce, so you can recreate your experience from the comfort of your own kitchen.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Marinara Sauce, Pesto Cream Sauce, Sundried Tomato Sauce
Photo via Sofitel Chicago
Chestnut Provisions {20 East Chestnut Street, 312.324.4063}
Located in the Sofitel on the Magnificent Mile, Chestnut Provisions is a seasonal and local ingredient-driven concept. All offerings are hand-crafted and vary by season. Typically available for purchase to-go is an assortment of cave-aged cheeses, charcuterie, jams, preserves, pickled vegetables, and flavored vinegars, many of which can be found in dishes on the dinner menu at both hotel dining establishments—Café des Architectes and Le Bar.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Cave-aged cheeses, charcuterie, and preserves
Club Lucky {1824 West Wabansia Avenue, 773.227.2300}
For nearly three decades, Club Lucky has been dishing out authentic, grandma-style Italian dishes from its menu of hearty pastas, fresh seafood, grilled steaks, and classic Sicilian dishes like Chicken Vesuvio. All pastas and sauces are made in-house with “a little bit of love,” as described by Club Lucky’s owner. While the antipasti, lasagna, and profiteroles are some of the restaurant’s top sellers, the Club Lucky Ala Bava Tomato Sauce and Italian Vinaigrette Dressing are arguably the most famous, as they’re even sold at local grocery stores throughout Chicagoland. Look out for their very own Club Lucky martini onions, to hit the shelves soon, giving your own at-home Gibsons a little touch of Sicily.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Club Lucky Ala Bava Tomato Sauce, Club Lucky Italian Vinaigrette Dressing
Photo via West Loop Salumi
West Loop Salumi {1111 West Randolph Street, 312.255.7004}
The first USDA salumeria in the state, West Loop Salumi is more than just that. Along with the many housemade salumi and charcuterie options on offer, guests are encouraged to dine in and enjoy a selection of sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie boards, house pickles, or even just a quick cold brew on the way to the office. The BYOB shop on Randolph is a one-stop shop for lunch, an afternoon or evening on the patio with friends, or for picking up a platter or packaged goods to take on the road.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Charcuterie
Smoke Daddy {1804 West Division Street, 773.772.6656}
Since 1994, Smoke Daddy has been one of Chicago’s most prominent sources of Kansas City-style barbecue. True to its name, Smoke Daddy specializes in smoke: all meats are smoked in-house over hard fruit woods, barbecue sauces range from spicy to smoky, to sweet and tangy, the beans are pit-smoked, and even the Bloody Mary mix is “Smokin’.” Stop by Smoke Daddy and pick up a couple bottles of barbecue sauce (and Bloody Mary mix, obviously), and the next time you’re craving some serious smoke, you won’t even have to leave your house.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Barbecue sauce, Bloody Mary mix
Bin 36
BIN 36 {161 North Jefferson Street, 312.995.6560}
BIN 36 is a multi-faceted concept fueled by wine. The contemporary American restaurant is flanked by a tasting room, coffee shop, education center, and gift shop. After many years in River North, the concept found a new home in the West Loop and has continued to grow its community of Chicago’s loyal wine-lovers and diners.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Hand-selected wines and homemade sangría
Saigon Sisters {567 West Lake Street, 312.496.0090}
Saigon Sisters is a family-owned and operated Vietnamese restaurant known for classic dishes with a modern twist. While the Phô and the Bành Mí have accrued some pretty serious acclaim (as well as a specialty dessert called Che), it’s the hot sauce that’s making waves. The T-Racha is a Sriracha-style hot sauce with the addition of Thai chilis for added flavor and heat. The T-Racha sauce adds an authentic, unique touch and has set the bar high for hot sauces across the board. By popular demand, they now bottle and sell it at each of their locations.
Standout Take Home Offerings: T-Racha Hot Sauce
Photo via Maple & Ash
Maple & Ash {8 West Maple Street; 312.944.8888}
Located in one of Chicago’s most iconic neighborhoods, Maple & Ash is known for its modern take on the traditional steak house, as well as its extensive wine list. The team behind the wine program is launching its own wine club, Mavens & Aficionados, making a quarterly delivery of unique benefits and hard-to-find wines to each of its members.
Standout Take Home Offerings: A full retail line of sauces, dressing, savory sprinkles, and beef butter coming soon. And of course, hand-picked wines
Rotisserie ema {74 West Illinois Street, 312.527.5586}
The popular River North Mediterranean-influenced Restaurant ema has expanded its offerings from dine-in to take-out with Rotisserie ema, which shares its kitchen with its parent restaurant. It’s a quick casual, self-serve experience where guests can customize their meal by selecting menu favorites including rotisserie chicken, falafel, and hummus.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Hummus, rotisserie chicken, green falafel, chef-prepared salads, Greek frozen yogurt with olive oil and sea salt
Photo via Bodega Sur
Bodega Sur {3755 North Southport Avenue; 773.904.8656}
Just down the street from Chicago’s favorite Argentinian steakhouse, Tango Sur—and its adjacent butcher shop El Mercado—Bodega Sur is a new restaurant and market from the same family. The wine and tapas bar with a South American-style market attached, allows guests to stay or dine on-the-go. Dine in for desayuno or dinner, and pick up a bottle of wine and some of Tango Sur’s famous chimichurri on your way out.
Standout Take Home Offerings: Chimichurri
By Lisa Elbert
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