The Bristol

Waits on weekends might be a thing of the past at this Bucktown spot, which has begun accepting reservations after three years. The restaurant has matured in other ways, too, from its still-strong cocktail program, now directed by Debbi Peek, to its desserts, which pastry chef Amanda Rockman is hitting out of the park. (Just try her Basque cake, and you’ll become a believer.) We have a hard time moving away from Chris Pandel’s signatures, like the salad of heirloom apples and the devastatingly delicious egg-and-ricotta–filled raviolo, but it’s worth it to try the unusual, always-changing daily specials (marinated beef tendon salad and a cold-smoked fillet of salmon with bacon-dill dumplings recently blew us away).