If you're like me, summer is the time to visit cities like Chicago. When I'm in a city with active downtown living I like to walk or take transit and get the real feel for the movement and energy of the place. These 8 Chicago restaurants are local favourites!

Chicago Raw

Our pad thai- Kelp noodles, almond butter, cilantro, tamari, lime, carrots, red pepper, green onions, dates, dulse, wakame, jalapeño, coconut vinegar, ginger, garlic, white pepper, hss, agave 💫 #regram from @nutsforveggies 💕

A post shared by Chicago Raw (@chicagorawfoods) on Jul 21, 2015 at 8:51am PDT

Native Foods Cafe

Mac and Cheese (New Recipe!) Move over highly processed, soy-based, fake cheese, there’s a new sauce in town!!!! By blending together carrot, potato, cashew and nutritional yeast, this golden, creamy sauce is more cheesy than ever before. • Fusilli, the new pasta of choice is a thicker noodle, which is twisted into corkscrew shape; this allows the noodle to hold on to more of NEW! wonderful sauce. • **This product is neither gluten free nor nut free. We are currently working on new items for our children's menu that are GF, NF and taste great!**#PlantInspired #SpringForward #boldflavors

A post shared by Native Foods Café (@nativefoodscafe) on May 1, 2017 at 11:14am PDT

Karyn's

It's #soulfoodtuesdays at Karyns but that doesn't mean you can stop in and get our delicious cooked vegan lasagna. Stop in for our soul food platter deals or to just indulge in one of our other delicious entrées. #plantbased #vegan #raw #makingvegansexy #rawvegan #veganfoodshare #vegucated #livingfoods #karynsraw #love #gratitude #veganfood #vegansofinstagram #chicago #chicagovegan #rawfoods #health #longevity

A post shared by Karyn Calabrese (@karyncalabrese) on Dec 29, 2015 at 1:08pm PST

Juice Rx

JuiceRx & Chill > Netflix & Chill 😏 #Meditation #ColdPressed #RiverNorth @Chill_Out_Chi

A post shared by JuiceRx (@juicerx) on Apr 12, 2017 at 5:15pm PDT

Brü Chicago

The Few. The Proud. The Brü Blend! Iced, but still packs as much punch as a marine! Grab yours today from our Wicker Park location now! #cleaneats #foodie #wickerpark #chicago #icedcoffee #localroaster #productivity #empowered #grande #tall #dark #handsome #ontrend #handmade #coffeeaddict #coffee #summertimechi #timetowakeup #fairtrade #picoftheday #coffeegram #instacool #instalike #runCHI #techhub #businessplan #LLC #coworking #digitalmarketing #visualcontent

A post shared by Brü Chicago (@bruchicago) on Jul 14, 2016 at 3:32am PDT

Bad Day Donut

A post shared by Bad Day Donuts (@baddaydonut) on Apr 30, 2017 at 5:44am PDT

Sacred Serve

we will have these cuties for sale tomorrow @plantchicago farmers market 11am-3pm 🌬🍦 along with a bunch of other lovely local vendors, we'd love to see you there! Perfect weather to get cozy with a @whinerbeer and stick around for a tour! #saturdayfeels 📷: @foxtrotchicago 💓

A post shared by Sacred Serve (@sacredserve) on Mar 3, 2017 at 3:31pm PST

Nana Creme

A post shared by Nana Creme (@nanaicecreme) on Apr 8, 2015 at 6:22pm PDT