The 12 best tater tots in Chicago

LEYE
LEYE

America consumes 70 million pounds of tater tots a year, and approximately 69.3 million of them are mostly crappy -- they're either too "crunchy", too "soggy", or too "not covered in pulled pork, cheese curds, grainy mustard, and a fried egg".

Ensuring you're only eating top-shelf tots going forward, here're Chi's 12 best ones.

Park Tavern

Animal Tots at Park Tavern (click here for address and info)
Near West Side
The tots are topped with pulled pork, cheese curds, grainy mustard, and a fried egg, then covered with Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout gravy. Like God intended them to be.

Suite 25

Incan Tater Tots at Suite 25 (click here for address and info)
Logan Square
It's almost unfair to even call these tots. The giant, hand-mashed tater... balls?... are stuffed with sirloin meat (yes, sirloin), hard-boiled egg, black olive, and onions, and are then pan-fried and served with a mayo pesto sauce.

Brownstone Tavern

Tater Tots at Brownstone Tavern & Grill (click here for address and info)
North Center
No bells, no whistles, no gravy; these are just perfect tots. The outside is incredibly crunchy, while inside the potatoes are silky smooth. And they're always served piping hot (don't say we didn't warn you, roofs-of-mouths).

Aberdeen Tap

Sweet Potato Tots at Aberdeen Tap (click here for address and info)
West Town
Much like DMK's sweet potato fries, Aberdeen takes the seldom fried potato to new, tater-y heights. While most tots thrive under ketchup, these sweet potato tots give you the excuse you really didn't need to go through an entire cup of ranch.

2 Sparrows

House-made Tater Tots at 2 Sparrows (click here for address and info)
Lincoln Park
Handmade, these oversized tubes of glory are finely shredded potatoes wrapped around themselves like the world's most delicious rubber band ball. Bonus: they serve 'em at brunch, too!

Titus Ruscitti

Tater Tots at Skylark (click here for address and info)
Pilsen
The secret behind Skylark's tot game? 1) they frequently change the oil, and 2) they keep them on the extra-crispy side.

Trencherman

Pickle Tots from Trencherman (click here for address and info)
Wicker Park
Most tots on this list have some sort of topping, but the beauty of Trencherman's pickle tots lies within. Before frying, crushed dill pickles are mixed in with the potato hash to create a part-tater tot, part-fried pickle hybrid that they then class up with red onion yogurt, some scallions, and a thin ribbon of chicken breast... because, why not?

LEYE

Buffalo Tots at Bub City (click here for address and info)
River North
Blue cheese. Buffalo sauce. Tots. It's really that easy. Nice glass of tot-complementing whiskey optional. Sorry, "optional".

Nick Biscardi

Tater Tot Pizza at Quenchers Saloon (click here for address and info)
Logan Square
This pizza has tater tots on it (obviously), but also bacon (thank God), green onions, cheddar cheese, and a hint of marinara. Next time NYC tries to say they have the best pizza, punch them in the face. And then give them a slice of this.

Black Rock

Mega Taters at Black Rock (click here for address and info)
North Center
Don't be fooled by the name. The tots themselves are actually standard size, but the 'mega' comes into play with the toppings: a heaping pile of bacon, nacho cheese (!), sour cream, and scallions.

Local Option

Master-Tater Tots at Local Option (click here for address and info)
Lincoln Park
The perfect complement to its collection of rare beer, these tots thrive on their simplicity: they're cooked to perfection with a crispy exterior and a hot/soft interior.

The Rocking Horse

White Truffle Tots at The Rocking Horse (click here for address and info)
Logan Square
The Rocking Horse is one of the few places in Chicago that realizes that adding white truffle aioli, parsley, and Pecorino Romano takes its otherwise-fairly standard tots and turns them into a must-eat side dish.

Colin Joliat is a freelance food and alcohol writer who taught Napoleon Dynamite everything he knows about tots. Follow him @FlintSkinny.