Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the USA after New York City and Los Angeles. Its metropolitan area sometimes called “Chicago land” is the 27th most populous urban agglomeration in the world, the largest in the Great Lakes Megalopolis and the third largest in the United States, home to an estimated 9.8 million people spread across the US states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

 

Chicago is the county seat of Cook County the second most populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California.

 

The city is a centre for services, business and finance and is listed as one of the world’s top ten Global Financial Centers. The city’s waterfront allure and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over one-third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighbourhoods (from Rogers Park in the north to South Shore in the south).

 

The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These districts include the Mexican villages, such as Pilsen along 18th street, and La Villita along 26th Street, the Puerto Rican enclave Paseo Boricua in the Humboldt Park neighbourhood, “Greektown” along South Halsted St, “Little Italy” along Taylor St, “Chinatown, Chicago” on the South Side, “Polish Patches” in Avondale and Belmont-Central, “Little Seoul” around Lawrence Avenue, a cluster of Vietnamese restaurants on Argyle Street, and South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) along Devon Avenue.