Francesca’s on Chestnut

It’s fitting that the 20th location of Francesca’s—and the last Chicago outpost before the chain goes national—opened in the Seneca Hotel. Because while the reliable food here does not scream authentic Italia, it feels emblematic of old-world Chicago. Here, families dine on always-satisfying olive oil–brushed pizzas and big (but not absurdly big) bowls of seafood-strewn linguine. Sets of fashionable Gold Coast ladies, laden with shopping bags and sipping on Cosmos, glance longingly at the pitch-perfect trios of profiteroles veering past them, knowing exactly what they’re missing.