Hi {{first_name}},

Well, Chicago sports wasn't the only excitement this weekend.

Sure, the Cubs and the White Sox both clinched playoff spots a few minutes apart. That's only the fourth time in history both teams have made it in the same year. And the Bears got the Monday Night Football spotlight tonight against the Eagles.

But it was also our anniversary. My wife and I spent the weekend in Chicago, and Saturday night we had dinner at Tre Dita, the Tuscan restaurant inside the St. Regis.

It was amazing. I’ll go back.

But by the time we were back in Lake County, I'd started doing what I always do. Comparing. Not the city against the suburbs. That's not a fair fight in either direction. I was asking a simpler question: if we'd stayed home, where would we have gone?

I had an answer. A few of them, actually.

So this week, something different. Here are the Lake County restaurants I actually go to. They aren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They're just great restaurants.

In no particular order and with no favoritism to towns or style of food (other than that they need some vegetarian options).

Ristorante Bottaio, Libertyville

The two-story stucco building at the north end of downtown on Milwaukee Avenue. It's been there since 1997, which in restaurant years is basically forever. The food is from the Abruzzo region of Italy, and there's a wood-burning oven. "Bottaio" means barrel maker. Now you know.

Francesca's Intimo, Lake Forest

Right next to the Deer Path Inn on Illinois Road. The menu is Rome, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. The walls are lined with black-and-white photos of rural Italy. It's the kind of place where the room is loud because everyone's having a good time.

Miramar Bistro, Highwood

A French bistro with a Cuban streak, on Waukegan Avenue since 2005. You can get steak frites and bouillabaisse at one table and a Cuban sandwich at the next. There are mosaic floors and antique mirrors, and when the weather cooperates the French doors open onto the sidewalk.

Milwalky Taco, Libertyville

There's no shortage of Mexican food in Lake County, and a lot of it is good. Milwalky Taco is a step above that, and it's worth what you pay. Order the avocado tacos. I'll say it: they might be the best in the world. I haven't tried every taco in the world, but I've tried enough. Then get the tequila old fashioned. It pairs well with the tacos and chips, and if you have two, you'll be funnier to the people around you. (Or so I've been told.)

Hayashi, Gurnee

A small, family-owned Japanese spot in a Grand Avenue strip mall. You'd drive past it if nobody told you. Consider yourself told. The sushi is the reason to go, but the service and attention to detail are the reason you'll keep going back.

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When people tell me what they want in a new town, food almost never makes the list. Bedrooms, schools, commute. Fair enough. But a year after they move, it's what they talk about. The Italian place where the server knows their order. The taco spot they drag every out-of-town guest to. The little sushi place they'd never have found if a neighbor hadn't told them.

That's what makes a place feel like home. Not the house. The routine around it. Where you go when there's something to celebrate, and where you go when nobody wants to cook. You don't have to drive to the city for any of it. Lake County has it covered, whether it's white tablecloths or a taco and a margarita on a Tuesday.

And those places only stay open if we keep showing up. Every dinner out keeps a local owner in business, a local staff employed, and a downtown worth walking through. That's how a community stays strong.

I'm not sure if it's for you, but if you know someone who's been thinking about a move, whether it's across town or to Lake County for the first time, I'd love an introduction. Most people assume the year is done by October. It isn't. There's still time to sell this year and be settled somewhere new before spring. Forward them this email, or reply with their name, and I'll take great care of them. Referrals from readers like you are the biggest compliment I get.

And if I missed one of your favorite restaurants, reply and tell me that too. I'm always looking for the next great spot.

Go eat somewhere good this week.

Until next week…