In a city where the world's cultures meet, so do its cuisines. Here's a weekend's worth of top-notch Chicago dining -- from one end of the globe to the other.

Meat

In the City of Big Shoulders, steakhouses are an art form. The latest masterpiece is the ultra-modern Keefer's, where French-trained chef John Hogan is a hero in the kitchen. The energy in the tall, curvy dining room is contagious, what with the boisterous crowds clamoring for Hogan's prime aged porterhouses, Nova Scotia lobsters and wonderful sides such as potato croquettes with cheese fondue. Typical entree: $25. (20 W. Kinzie St.; 1-312-467-9525)

Mexican

Topolobampo has been called the best Mexican restaurant in the United States -- in fact, chef Rick Bayless is so obsessed with Mexico that his cookbooks date back to the early 1800s.

An award-winning wine list and a colorful semiformal dining room stocked with stunning native art make the perfect stage for Bayless' creations. Expect dazzling entrees such as roasted Maine lobster in an epazote-flecked tomato-chipotle broth with corn masa dumplings and oyster mushrooms, but the menu, which changes monthly, is busier than a jumping bean. Typical entree: $25. (445 N. Clark St.; 1-312-661-1434)

Italian

With apologies to deep-dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches are the ultimate Chicago food invention. And Mr. Beef has always done it best. These messy beasts -- a mass of spiced beef shaved as thin as paper, hot peppers, doughy gonnella roll -- are so irresistible, everyone from construction workers to suits just park it at picnic tables under Godfather posters, roll up their sleeves and go to town. Typical sandwich: $5. (666 N. Orleans St.; 1-312-337-8500).

Barbecue

Those in the know say the best smell in the whole city is at 1804 W. Division St., where the aroma of Smoke Daddy Rhythm & Bar-B-Cue seems to take over the block. The gritty linoleum-and-chrome lounge features no-cover live blues and jazz nightly and touts lean and spicy spare ribs slow-roasted in a 1,900-pound basement oven affectionately named "Little Red Smoke House." Owner Max Brumbach, the Daddy himself, devotes his life to the science of slow-cooked barbecue, and anyone passing by on Division is defenseless. Typical entree: $9. (1804 W. Division St.; 1-773-772-6656)

Korean

Korean food gets the hip treatment in an unassuming storefront at Jin Ju, which has been gaining momentum since a quiet opening at the end of 2001. Playful waiters and a straightforward, budget-friendly menu do their best to demystify the exotic cuisine. And Chicagoans have embraced the exhilarating flavors of dolsot bibim bap, a sizzling beef-rice-vegetable concoction served in a stone pot with sesame oil. One potent sojutini, made with sweet-potato liquor, is enough for this writer. Typical entree: $12. (5203 N. Clark St.; 1-773-334-6377)

Cub grub

The lovably incoherent voice of the Chicago Cubs baseball team until his 1998 death, Harry Caray was the North Side's gravelly summer soundtrack for 16 years. His party-hearty legacy lives on at Harry Caray's, a spirited Italian-American spot in the city's last remaining 19th-century Dutch Renaissance building. Televisions are tuned to the game, the wall is covered with photos of ballplayers, and plates are piled high with fried calamari, bone-in chicken Vesuvio and peppercorn-crusted strip steaks. Typical entree: $20. (33 W. Kinzie St.; 1-773-465-9269)

Pan-Asian

In Spring's first year of operation, it has been the consummate critic's darling. Raves in Esquire and Chicago magazine gave way to a recent James Beard nomination for best new restaurant. Deservedly so. Chef Shawn McClain has a way with seafood, and he's got the Zen thing going, doing balanced, intricate Pan-Asian dishes such as a New Zealand snapper over preserved lemon couscous with orange-soy reduction. And this in a renovated Russian bathhouse. Typical entree: $22. (2039 W. North Av.; 1-773-395-7100)

American

In a boisterous city, a place like North Pond is invaluable. Nestled along a serene pond in the heart of Lincoln Park -- and boasting a gorgeous view of the city -- it's a perfect spot for a mellow summer evening or Sunday brunch. The upscale all-American menu lives up to its setting: juicy Amish chicken with morel and fava bean ragout, boutique California wines, pecan pie, chocolate brownie cake. Typical entree: $26. (2610 N. Cannon Dr.; 1-773-477-5845)

Chicago

"Eat and get out," reads a sign outside Ed Debevic's. And the diner's sassy waitresses -- who just might hurl your straw at you with your milkshake -- aren't afraid to say it to your face. Residing in River North, where theme restaurants compete with more elegant dining options, Ed's is in its own world. When the bouffant-'n-pompadour waitstaff isn't spitting out one-liners or sliding your kid a meatloaf and the "world's smallest hot fudge sundae" in this cartoonish space, they're hopping on the lunch counter and wiggling to "YMCA." Typical entree: $6. (640 N. Wells St.; 1-312-664-1707)

-- Jeff Ruby is deputy dining editor at Chicago Magazine.