"Chef D’Andre Carter has made a big splash in Chicago with his rich, smokey barbecue and soul food like shrimp and grits, earning a sizable following that’s spawned virtual outposts and a food hall stall. Now ranked among the area’s top barbecue contenders, Soul & Smoke actually originated in Evanston and patrons can still snag pickup orders from the operation’s out-of-the-way home base. The brisket is world class and a full restaurant is in the works. An expansion is in the works." - Naomi Waxman, Samantha Nelson