The Chicago-Based Italian Restaurant That's Been In The Family Since 1930

America's story is the story of immigrants, and Chicago is one city whose food scene has been vastly improved by their arrival. Thanks to Italians, the Windy City boasts Italian beef sandwiches, as well as their lesser-publicized cousin, the gravy bread. Chi-town also features a proliferation of Italian restaurants, including Tufano's Vernon Park Tap, which has been operating for nearly 100 years.

Tufano's first opened its doors back in 1930, consisting of a barroom in the Little Italy neighborhood. It was a labor of love for Joseph DiBuono and his wife, Teresa Tufano, who both immigrated from Italy and lived next door to the restaurant. Word soon spread about the quality of the home-cooked food, and it reached the ears of even the city's most notorious gangster, Al Capone. Making him an offer he apparently couldn't refuse, Capone convinced Joseph to cook for him privately, making Teresa the "head chef," so to speak, at Tufano's.

As the years went on, the restaurant stayed firmly in the DiBuono family, with a whole cadre of aunts and grandmothers helping out in the kitchen. The current owner is Joey DiBuono, grandson of Joseph and Teresa, and while he has expanded the restaurant space, Tufano's is something of a time capsule; there are no individual menus, only chalkboards proclaiming what you can order, and it remains a cash-only joint (though it has moved with the times and accepts Venmo now).

Tufano's has stood the test of time thanks to its delicious Italian eats, and amidst the sizable menu, there are some standout dishes. Perhaps its most well-known meal is the lemon chicken, which is made using a whole bird, some pantry staples like garlic, olive oil, and dried oregano, and not much else. It's all in the careful preparation and high-quality ingredients, but it shows that sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. One reviewer on Google described it as "out of this world."

Tufano's Eggplant Parmesan is also a big winner, as it's made with very thin slices of the purple vegetable and not too much breading. A glowing Google review mentions that this item in particular "totally redefine[s] the way the dish can be made." For seafood lovers, the calamari cannot be missed. Many reviewers proclaim the appetizer — available either grilled or fried — to be the city's best, with one Yelp user describing it as "exceptional."