I often get asked which restaurants and foods in the Chicagoland Vampires novels are legit, and which are fictional. (Fictional = Not based on a real life establishment.)
Here’s the running list:
SOME GIRLS BITE
- Molly’s Diner – Fictional
- Giordano’s – Real
- SuperDawg – Real
- Hackney’s – Real
- Red (Navarre House Bar) – Fictional
- Temple Bar (Cadogan House Bar) – Fictional
FRIDAY NIGHT BITES
- Dairy Blitz – Fictional, but based on those small town “Dairy [Insert Noun]” restaurants found all over the country. Dairy Sweet in Lincoln, Nebraska is a favorite.
TWICE BITTEN
- Little Red (NAC Pack) – Fictional
- Saul’s – Fictional
- Joe’s Chicken and Biscuits – Fictional
HARD BITTEN
- Mallocakes – Sadly, fictional. Essentially a chocolate Twinkie.
- Italian Beef Sandwiches – Very Real. Al’s Italian Beef is a popular favorite.
- Goodwins – Fictional
- Bensons (Grey House Bar) – Fictional
- Street Fest – Fictional, but loosely based on Taste of Chicago
- Town – Fictional
DRINK DEEP
- Thai Mansion – Fictional, but the story involving fiery Thai food is very real.
BITING COLD
- Original Rainbow Cone – Real
- Maxwell Street Polishes – Real
- Garrett’s Popcorn – Real
HOUSE RULES
- Dirigible Donuts – Fictional, unfortunately. I wish it was real.
- Chris’s Broiler – Fictional. I got the name idea from St. Clair Broiler in St. Paul, Minnesota, which I passed on the way to a booksigning.
BITING BAD
- Tuscan Terrace – Fictional, but reminiscent of Italian Village
– Chicago photograph by Chloe Neill.