What we need right now is a good, comforting bowl of soup. Here are 33 of Chicago’s best across 13 styles.

I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time over the past four years tracking down Chicago’s most iconic dishes. From Italian beefs to pizza puffs, if you’re looking for the city’s most famous dishes, I probably know the place. As the weather has cooled, I’ve suddenly been inundated with recommendations for soup. It makes sense. With December here and the continued chaos of the pandemic not going away soon, the idea of grabbing a spoon and slurping your way through a steaming bowl of goodness sounds about right.

Originally, I wanted to create the definitive guide to soup in the city, but I quickly realized what a gargantuan task that would be. There is simply too much soup. Nearly every restaurant has a bowl somewhere on the menu, meaning I’d have to try multiple options every day for a year to be able to declare the best options with a straight face.

Instead, these are simply my favorite soups in Chicago. You’ll notice a strong preference toward restaurants specializing in dishes from Southeast Asia and Mexico because, well, that’s what I like. I crave brothy bowls abounding with tempting things, such as a squeeze of lime juice or a fierce shock of chiles. But I do recognize that there are great options from several cuisines.

One thing I stand firmly behind is that I genuinely believe soup tastes best straight from the kitchen, with steam rising off the top. Unfortunately, the pandemic has forced restaurants to close their dining rooms again, making this impossible. What to do? You could, of course, take the soup home, reheat it and consume it in the comfort of your own home. But what if you’ve traveled 45 minutes to a restaurant and need nourishment right now?

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Let me introduce the idea of car soup.

Because soup is notoriously difficult to consume in the car, preparation is key. I always traveled with a half sheet pan in the passenger seat, with a towel placed underneath to make it steady as an impromptu table. The back seat was stocked with various bowls and spoons, because who wants to eat out with plastic cutlery and a takeout container? After transferring the soup to the proper bowl, I could comfortably dig into soup on the spot. Sure, I looked borderline ridiculous eating soup alone in my car, but I’ve never let that stop me.

Hopefully, you can embrace the car soup movement, and start slurping. Below are a few of my picks — from spicy beef noodle and gamjatang to soothing borscht and matzo ball — for the best soup in Chicago, in alphabetical order.

Avgolemono

Thanks to Greek immigrants, you can find this soup made with rice, egg and lemon all over the city. Inferior versions taste stodgy and bland, but fortunately a few places still know how to do it right. Avli River North (702 N. Wells St.) serves a version with a bracing backbone of lemon. I’m also partial to the versions at Psistaria Greek Taverna (4711 W. Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood) and Greek Islands (200 S. Halsted St.).

Beef noodle soup

Though stuck with a matter-of-fact name on most Chinese menus, this soup is deeply complex thanks to a bevy of spices, including fragrant star anise. In each bowl you’ll find large, tender chunks of beef and a huge portion of wheat noodles, with the occasional vegetable thrown in for good measure. My current fave is the spicy version at the Yu-Ton Dumplings House (665 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont) inside the International Mall in suburban Westmont. Also worth seeking out is the bowl at Katy’s Dumplings (665 N. Cass Ave., Westmont), thanks to the taut, freshly made noodles.

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Birria

I delved into the phenomenon of quesabirria earlier this year, but it’s important to know that Chicago embraced birria decades ago. This dish from the Mexican state of Jalisco often features marinated goat or lamb served in large bowls with broth made during the cooking process. One of the oldest practitioners is Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlan (1322 W. 18th St.), which still dishes out heaping servings of tender goat lightly perfumed with spices and chiles. While Birrieria Zaragoza (4852 S. Pulaski Road) prefers to serve its goat on a plate, with just a little consomme poured on top, you can get the meat in a deep bowl of broth if you ask for the tazon de birria (which literally just means bowl of birria). Also worth trying is Birrieria Patinos Ocotlan (3813 W. 26th St.).

Borscht

Borscht made with beets is one of the most colorful and visually appealing soups you can find. Fortunately, Chicago has an incredible number of Eastern European restaurants serving it. One of the loveliest is found at Shokolad Pastry & Cafe (2524 W. Chicago Ave.). I especially love the feisty garlic sauce that you can drizzle on top, which adds a touch of funk to each sip. Another stellar version is available at Smak Tak (5961 N. Elston Ave.).

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Carne en su jugo

Honestly, I’m not sure why carne en su jugo isn’t the most popular soup in Chicago. This traditional dish from the Mexican state of Jalisco combines the forces of bacon and steak, with some creamy beans thrown in, to create a hulking dish that should easily eliminate any trace of hunger. Much like pozole, part of the fun is dressing the bowl up with extras like sliced radish, onion, cilantro and lime juice. My two favorite places are Taqueria Los Gallos #2 (4252 S. Archer Ave.) and Birrieria de la Torre (6724 S. Pulaski Road).

Gamjatang

While researching the new Koreatown in the northwest suburbs, I became infatuated with gamjatang, a spicy Korean soup made with gnarly pieces of pork neck, fat potatoes and enough chiles to stain the liquid dark red. Dark perilla seeds dot the top, adding a nuttiness to balance the spice. Though named for a different Korean dish, Hal Mae Bo Ssam (9412 Waukegan Road, Morton Grove), serves a particularly stunning version.

Gumbo

This Louisiana specialty is without question one of the great American dishes. Fortunately, you can find it at a decent number of places around town. That’s especially true on the South Side with Nita’s Gumbo (8100 S. Stony Island Ave.), where you can score gumbo chalk full of shrimp, crab meat, plump pieces of chicken and andouille sausage. But that’s just the start. Virtue (1462 E. 53rd St.) dishes up a version that features a roux so dark the liquid is almost the color of chocolate. On the North Side, check out the options at Big Jones (5347 N. Clark St.) and Luella’s Southern Kitchen (4609 N. Lincoln Ave.). Even downtown has a great bowl at Heaven on Seven (111 N. Wabash Ave. #7).

Matzo ball soup

I don’t usually get cravings for chicken noodle soup, especially the kind stocked with mushy noodles that have been languishing in the liquid for hours. But trade those limp noodles for a fat plump matzo ball, and I’m game. I also want the top of the bowl to glisten with small bubbles of fat, which is why I never have a problem with the option at Manny’s Deli (1141 S. Jefferson St.). If size matters, the mega matzo ball at Eleven City Diner (1112 S. Wabash Ave.) is the one to beat. And serious connoisseurs of the soup need to try the recently opened Jeff & Judes (1024 N. Western Ave.), where every sip tastes like the concentrated essence of a whole chicken.

Pho

Pho is a Vietnamese specialty that features rice noodles in a semi-clear broth usually made of beef (though chicken is becoming more popular) and a mix of spices. Chicago is blessed with a number of great pho spots, many of which are located around the Argyle Red Line station. But if you’re looking for the absolute best, I’m smitten with the bowl at Pho 5 Lua (6261 N. McCormick Blvd.), which is brimming with thinly sliced cuts of meat. I’m also a big fan of Pho Loan (1114 W. Argyle St.) and Phodega (1547 N. Ashland Ave.).

Pozole

Chicago has seen a steady increase in the number of pozolerias, or places dedicated to the filling pork and hominy stew from Mexico. Restaurants usually serve both red and green versions, with the occasional blanco (white) thrown in. Regardless of which color you choose, the bowl comes with a heap of sliced cabbage, diced onions, crunchy chicharron, fresh cilantro, sliced radishes and fragrant oregano, so that you can dress it up to your exact specifications. You can’t go wrong with the picture perfect options at 5 Rabanitos (1758 W. 18th St.) and Pozoleria Iguala (3835 W. Fullerton Ave.). But don’t forget about one of the oldest, Pozoleria San Juan (1523 N. Pulaski Road). Each sip is deeply porky, with a warming heat and loads of creamy kernels of hominy.

Ramen

I stand by my assertion made back in March that Menya Goku and Chicago Ramen serve the best ramen in the area. That’s even though they dish out very different styles. Chicago Ramen (578 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines) focuses much of its attention on an extra thick miso-based broth, which sounds especially great at this time of year. On the other hand, Menya Goku (2207 W. Montrose Ave.) serves a stunning bowl of shoyu, which is light, but still bewilderingly complex. Other great options include Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai (1129 N. Roselle Road, Hoffman Estates) and High Five Ramen (112 N. Green St.).

Tortilla soup

Though Xoco (449 N. Clark St.) is best known for its crusty tortas, don’t forget that it also serves some beautiful bowls of soup. I’m particularly taken with its rendition of tortilla soup. This chicken soup is stained red with tomatoes and red chiles before being topped with crunchy tortilla strips and just enough Jack cheese to keep things interesting.

Vegetable soup

My soup biases are clearest here. I like texture in my soup, meaning I find most blended soups beyond boring, which unfortunately includes many vegetable soups. But I’ve never felt that way about the offerings from Karl’s Craft Soup, a local producer who specializes in vegetarian and vegan soups. I’m especially impressed with the Moroccan chickpea and the corn, poblano and sweet potato soups, which are both shockingly complex. During the summer, Karl’s Craft Soup is available at a number of farmers markets, but you can also find them at some local grocery stores like The Dill Pickle Food Co-op (2746 N. Milwaukee Ave.), Sugar Beet Co-Op (812 Madison St., Oak Park) and Green Grocer (1402 W. Grand Ave.).