Chicago restaurants are rife with food, drink and design ideas, as a group of more than 100 foodservice operators discovered during a whirlwind dine-around to kick off the 2017 NRA Show. The 20th annual Taste the Trends tour, hosted by FoodService Director’s parent company and Basic American Foods, began with breakfast at a bustling downtown food hall, then continued with stops at four trending restaurants. Here are some of the ideas that bubbled up as we sampled the fare at a modern steakhouse, a veggie-centric eatery, a Szechuan restaurant and an informal seafood spot.