North Pond

Okay, so technically you’re not eating outside, but when you’re only a few feet from a pond in the middle of Lincoln Park, you’re as close to nature as it gets in the city. Even more so when you sample chef Bruce Sherman’s latest creations, concocted with as much locally grown organic food as he can get his hands on. Sherman’s ever-changing offerings have included English peas with minted goat cheese gnocchi and pickled watermelon radish with crab floating in a ramp soup—perfectly lovely reminders of the time of year in case you can’t get a window table.