63 books like Chicago Cooks

By Carol Mighton Haddix (editor),

Here are 63 books that Chicago Cooks fans have personally recommended if you like Chicago Cooks. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites

Amelia Levin Author Of The Chicago Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Windy City

From my list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a longtime food writer, magazine editor, cookbook author, and certified chef (through Kendall College, also in Chicago of course!). I was born in Chicago, raised in the Northern suburbs, and came back right after graduating from the University of Michigan in the early 2000s. For two decades, I lived in various parts of the city and wrote about the food scene for local and national outlets. The first edition of The Chicago Chef’s Table came out in 2012. Even though I moved to the suburbs a few years ago with my growing family, we still get down to the city often to enjoy the hottest new spots. My love for Chicago will never subside!

Amelia's book list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore

Amelia Levin Why did Amelia love this book?

David is a fellow food writer and friend of mine and we’ve enjoyed many dinners and events out at local restaurants.

Many years ago he started an online forum for the food-obsessed in Chicago, and that was before “blogs” and Substacks and even social media. Monica is a longtime local food writer and NPR contributor. They both are true authorities on the dining scene here so their stories about the history and lore of various beloved Chicago/Midwestern dishes (beyond deep dish and Italian beef sandwiches) are really exciting to read. 

By Monica Eng, David Hammond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Made in Chicago as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A BookRiot Most Anticipated Travel Book of 2023

Italian beef and hot dogs get the headlines. Cutting-edge cuisine and big-name chefs get the Michelin stars. But Chicago food shows its true depth in classic dishes conceived in the kitchens of immigrant innovators, neighborhood entrepreneurs, and mom-and-pop visionaries.

Monica Eng and David Hammond draw on decades of exploring the city's food landscape to serve up thirty can't-miss eats found in all corners of Chicago. From Mild Sauce to the Jibarito and from Taffy Grapes to Steak and Lemonade, Eng and Hammond present stories of the people and places behind each dish…


Book cover of The Chicago Food Encyclopedia

Amelia Levin Author Of The Chicago Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Windy City

From my list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a longtime food writer, magazine editor, cookbook author, and certified chef (through Kendall College, also in Chicago of course!). I was born in Chicago, raised in the Northern suburbs, and came back right after graduating from the University of Michigan in the early 2000s. For two decades, I lived in various parts of the city and wrote about the food scene for local and national outlets. The first edition of The Chicago Chef’s Table came out in 2012. Even though I moved to the suburbs a few years ago with my growing family, we still get down to the city often to enjoy the hottest new spots. My love for Chicago will never subside!

Amelia's book list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore

Amelia Levin Why did Amelia love this book?

Carol Haddix served as the former editor of the Chicago Tribune’s food section and is a personal friend and colleague of mine; we are both part of Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago, an international society for women in food service with chapters around the world. This literal tome is a homage to all things Chicago and food. It’s a bookshelf must-have if you live in the area, have lived here or want to live here! 

By Carol Haddix (editor), Bruce Kraig (editor), Colleen Taylor Sen (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Chicago Food Encyclopedia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Chicago Food Encyclopedia is a far-ranging portrait of an American culinary paradise. Hundreds of entries deliver all of the visionary restauranteurs, Michelin superstars, beloved haunts, and food companies of today and yesterday. More than 100 sumptuous images include thirty full-color photographs that transport readers to dining rooms and food stands across the city. Throughout, a roster of writers, scholars, and industry experts pays tribute to an expansive--and still expanding--food history that not only helped build Chicago but fed a growing nation. Pizza. Alinea. Wrigley Spearmint. Soul food. Rick Bayless. Hot Dogs. Koreatown. Everest. All served up A-Z, and all…


Book cover of Pizza City, USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago Is America's Greatest Pizza Town

Amelia Levin Author Of The Chicago Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Windy City

From my list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a longtime food writer, magazine editor, cookbook author, and certified chef (through Kendall College, also in Chicago of course!). I was born in Chicago, raised in the Northern suburbs, and came back right after graduating from the University of Michigan in the early 2000s. For two decades, I lived in various parts of the city and wrote about the food scene for local and national outlets. The first edition of The Chicago Chef’s Table came out in 2012. Even though I moved to the suburbs a few years ago with my growing family, we still get down to the city often to enjoy the hottest new spots. My love for Chicago will never subside!

Amelia's book list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore

Amelia Levin Why did Amelia love this book?

Steve’s headshot is still hanging in both off-the-beaten path and famous restaurants in Chicago having been known as the “Hungry Hound” when he was the premier food reporter for ABC/Channel 7.

He’s now with Channel 5, and he continues to report on lesser-known restaurants and chefs in the city. In fact, he’s made people famous just by his endorsements! That’s why I love his focus on tavern-style pizza. That’s much less talked about than deep dish so there’s lots to learn by this book! 

By Steve Dolinsky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pizza City, USA as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are few things that Chicagoans feel more passionately about than pizza. It is the most identifiable food of the city, and neighbors can argue endlessly about who makes the best pie, whether thin crust or deep dish takes the cake, and which essential ingredients are the most important to make up the ideal pizza. With such a broad range of Chicagoland pizzerias, how could anyone ever decide the best of the best, once and for all? Enter Steve Dolinsky, Chicago's very own eminent food journalist and impartial pizza judge extraordinaire. Dolinsky has embarked on a self-described "Pizza Quest," methodically…


Book cover of Girl in the Kitchen: How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats and Drinks

Amelia Levin Author Of The Chicago Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Windy City

From my list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a longtime food writer, magazine editor, cookbook author, and certified chef (through Kendall College, also in Chicago of course!). I was born in Chicago, raised in the Northern suburbs, and came back right after graduating from the University of Michigan in the early 2000s. For two decades, I lived in various parts of the city and wrote about the food scene for local and national outlets. The first edition of The Chicago Chef’s Table came out in 2012. Even though I moved to the suburbs a few years ago with my growing family, we still get down to the city often to enjoy the hottest new spots. My love for Chicago will never subside!

Amelia's book list on the magic of Chicago cuisine and food lore

Amelia Levin Why did Amelia love this book?

This is just an awesome cookbook that I recommend regardless of its Chicago roots.

Stephanie Izard was the winner of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 4, is a two-time James Beard Best Chef: Midwest winner and longtime restaurateur in Chicago with Boka Restaurant Group, which owns a ton of popular restaurants around town.

I really like her sweet and sour eggplant and pork ragu recipes. All the recipes are great and easy to make, though. 

By Stephanie Izard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Girl in the Kitchen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stephanie Izard knows how to inspire, captivate, and cook up a storm. Fan favorite and the first and only woman to win on TV s Top Chef, she s also the chef and owner of the acclaimed Girl & the Goat restaurant in Chicago. The Girl in the Kitchen collects more than 100 of Izard s best recipes, from innovative appetizers like Asian-Spiced English Peas to luscious desserts like Quince and Fig Cobbler with Vanilla Mascarpone. Beautifully photographed and bursting with flavor, personality, and insights into the top chef s process including where she finds her cooking muses, how she…


Book cover of Finding Langston

Ellen Mulholland Author Of This Girl Climbs Trees

From my list on middle grade dealing with death, dying, and grief.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with life and death. As a child, my own life was fairly mundane and even joyful. However, I went through loss like most. We lost two dogs when I was maybe seven or nine. Then my beagle Suzy, who we had the longest, was struck by a car on a rainy day. A few years later, my grandfather passed from cancer. Watching my mother grieve stuck with me. It shaped me—how I cared about life, how I longed to understand it. Once I decided to write stories for children, I knew it could be a safe place to explore my hidden feelings.

Ellen's book list on middle grade dealing with death, dying, and grief

Ellen Mulholland Why did Ellen love this book?

This is a warm hug book. The kind that sneaks up on you when you’re reading words. Langston is a lovable main character. His story is rich with family, tradition, loss, and poetry. He is eleven when his mother dies, and his dad decides they must leave Alabama. So many changes for this boy as he is bullied and deals with segregation in 1940s Chicago. But he discovers the library that welcomes all. Such a sweet story and perfect for younger middle grade readers.

By Lesa Cline-Ransome,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Finding Langston as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

When eleven-year-old Langston's father moves them from their home in Alabama to Chicago's Bronzeville district, it feels like he's giving up everything he loves.

It's 1946. Langston's mother has just died, and now they're leaving the rest of his family and friends. He misses everything--Grandma's Sunday suppers, the red dirt roads, and the magnolia trees his mother loved.

In the city, they live in a small apartment surrounded by noise and chaos. It doesn't feel like a new start, or a better life. At…


Book cover of If You Want to Write

Cathy Pickens Author Of Create! Developing Your Creative Process

From my list on to feed your creativity.

Why am I passionate about this?

Creativity is a practical, problem-solving, risk-taking endeavor, something we all do, whether we claim it or not. After working for many years with groups of graduate business students, artists, writers, business professionals, women in recovery, men in prison, with those just discovering their creative ability—and with myself and my own creative journey, I realize the question isn’t “Am I creative?” The question is “Am I using it?” or “Am I continuing to grow?” Nothing is more exciting than watching others as they realize just how creative they are.

Cathy's book list on to feed your creativity

Cathy Pickens Why did Cathy love this book?

Many of us are a bit afraid of stepping out and trying something new. That applies especially with creative work. “I’m just not that good,” we tell ourselves—or voices from our past tell us. Brenda Ueland was a long-time Chicago creative writing instructor, and her little book is strong encouragement (and a bit of a kick in the pants) about risk-taking and learning about our super-powers in the process.

By Brenda Ueland,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked If You Want to Write as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Originally published in 1938, this classic by Brenda Ueland is considered by many to be one of the best books ever written on how to be a writer. Part a lesson on writing and part a philosophy on life, Ueland believed that anyone could be a writer and everyone had something important to say. Heavily influenced by the ideas of William Blake, Ueland outlines 12 points to keep in mind while writing and encourages writers to find their true, authentic selves and write from there. Born in Minneapolis in 1891 to a progressive household, Ueland’s father was a lawyer and…


Book cover of Last One at the Party

Caraline Brown Author Of The Candlelit Menagerie

From my list on set in a post apocalyptic future.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love writing historical fiction. I enjoy the research and creating long-lost worlds filled with little-known historical accuracies that intrigue my readers. It is no surprise then that I enjoy reading about the future - the other side of the coin. I always find it interesting to see how writers create a post-apocalyptic society. What was the catastrophic event? (TCE) What caused it and how do the different characters react to adversity when their old world is taken away from them? Inevitably they have to survive in the new system but will they have learned their lesson or will they return to their old ways?  

Caraline's book list on set in a post apocalyptic future

Caraline Brown Why did Caraline love this book?

TCE here is a virus that leaves just one woman alive. I found this quite irritating at first because the law of averages would say there HAD to be at least a handful of other survivors. The story features a woman who would take to her bed for the day if she broke a fingernail. I enjoyed seeing a female character in this role although she has a tendency to be a bit wet. She spends the first few weeks post-TCE breaking into nightclubs, drug dens, and museums and getting smashed. Set in London, it’s a great travelogue for this brilliant city.  I started to warm towards her when she finally pulls herself together and we watch as she learns the skills needed to survive. 

By Bethany Clift,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last One at the Party as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

HER NEW LIFE BEGAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD

It's December 2023 and the world as we know it has ended.

The human race has been wiped out by a virus called 6DM ('Six Days Maximum' - the longest you've got before your body destroys itself).

But somehow, in London, one woman is still alive. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants, hiding how she feels and desperately trying to fit in. A woman who is entirely unprepared to face a future on her own.

Now, with only an abandoned golden retriever for company,…


Book cover of Indemnity Only

Kim Fleet Author Of Paternoster

From my list on feisty female crime fighters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by crime since I was young, at first reading historical true crime and then reading widely in the crime fiction genre. What intrigues me about crime is the sense of the world being broken, and although the perpetrator might be caught and punished, their actions forever change the world. I was a member of a crime book group that focused on crime novels, and I’ve reviewed a number of true crime books. I’ve also attended and spoken at the Bristol Crime Fest–an annual festival of crime writing. I regularly give talks on crime writing and how, as a crime writer, I go about picking the perfect poison. 

Kim's book list on feisty female crime fighters

Kim Fleet Why did Kim love this book?

I love the character of VI Warshawski: tough, brave, capable, and utterly loyal to her friends. VI (as she is known) is the archetypal ‘tart noir’–a female investigator in the mold of the hardboiled noir detectives but with empathy, vulnerability, and great style. VI can pack a punch, handle a gun, and is tenacious to the point of stubbornness, often at great personal risk, yet we also see her moments of self-doubt, her humanity, and her compassion towards others.

I couldn’t put this book down.

By Sara Paretsky,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Indemnity Only as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meeting an anonymous client on a sizzling summer night is asking for trouble. Especially when the client lies and tells V.I. Warshawski he's the prominent banker John Thayer, looking for his son's missing girlfriend. But V.I. soon discovers the real John Thayer's son - and he's dead.

As V.I. begins to question her mysterious client's motives, she sinks deeper into Chicago's darker side: a world of gangsters, insurance fraud and contract killings. And while she must concentrate on saving the life of someone she has never met, it becomes clear that she is in danger of losing her own.


Book cover of Like A Complete Unknown

Rita Dragonette Author Of The Fourteenth of September

From my list on the Vietnam War era by women writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by the role of women in war: men may be on the front lines, but women deal with its impact and often struggle to have equal standing. I was inspired by stories told by my mother who was a nurse in World War II and participated in surgery under gunfire and helped liberate a POW camp in Germany. Yet, no one wanted to hear from her because she was “just a nurse.” Fast forward to Vietnam where women were still being marginalized. I wrote The Fourteenth of September to even the playing field by telling a story that was largely based upon my own experience in college during l969-1970.

Rita's book list on the Vietnam War era by women writers

Rita Dragonette Why did Rita love this book?

The book that proves your mother was right about what would happen “if:”

A story of a teenage runaway in l970 who gets herself into “trouble,” that offers a visceral kaleidoscope of the adventures of the era—the good and the bad—and makes you feel like you personally went through it all. It echoes through today with its theme of choice that is taken away from young men fleeing the draft, and from young women without governance over their own bodies.

By Anara Guard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Like A Complete Unknown as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Honorable Mention -- Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year 2022 for indie fiction.
 

A luminous novel about freedom, persistence, and the power of compassion.
 
In 1970, a girl's life is not her own. Katya Warshawsky runs away from home rather than settle for the narrow life her parents demand of her. She revels in Chicago's counterculture, plunging into anti-war protests, communal living, and new liberties. But even in this free-wheeling world, she confronts bewildering obstacles. Still, she won't relinquish her dream of becoming an artist or her belief in a better world, and turns to Robert Lewis, hoping the…


Book cover of Devil by the Tail

G.P. Gottlieb Author Of Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery

From my list on fabulous historical mysteries set in American cities.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read at least 100 books each year, mostly novels, and before I became a published author in 2019, used to send a list of my favorite 30 to hundreds of friends, friends of friends, and family. I began hosting New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, in 2018, and have interviewed over 180 authors so far. It was tough to choose just 5 top books, but in looking over all those interviews, I remembered how much I loved reading these books, all set in the United States long before the 21st century.

G.P.'s book list on fabulous historical mysteries set in American cities

G.P. Gottlieb Why did G.P. love this book?

A smart, quick-witted civil war widow is forced to make her way in 1867 Chicago, but nobody listens to an unmarried young woman unless she has a tough, gun-toting ex-rebel soldier as a partner.

They have a case to solve, and she uses a professional name, Mrs. Paschal, so nobody connects her with the former in-laws who are trying to stop her from receiving her dead husband’s estate. Loved reading about 19th Century pre-fire Chicago, teeming with corrupt politicians, gambling parlors, and bawdy houses of ill-repute.

Also, someone is trying to murder Quinn Sinclair, aka Mrs. Paschal. Can’t wait to read more from Jeanne Matthews.

By Jeanne Matthews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Devil by the Tail as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What's a 20-something Union war widow to do in 1867? Start up her own detective agency with a former Reb POW, of course!

Quinn Sinclair, who uses the name Mrs. Paschal professionally, and her wryly observant partner Garnick get two cases on the same day - one to help a man prove he didn't kill his wife, another to help a lawyer find reasonable doubt that his client killed her ex-lover's new bride. As the detectives dig deeper, they unearth facts that tie the cases together in disturbing ways.

This tantalizing tale of 19th Century Chicago comes complete with corrupt…


Book cover of Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites
Book cover of The Chicago Food Encyclopedia
Book cover of Pizza City, USA: 101 Reasons Why Chicago Is America's Greatest Pizza Town

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