Filet de boeuf with truffle Photos: Jeff Marini At a time when restaurants were trending downscale, chef Michael Lachowicz, whose Restaurant Michael had become a North Shore fixture, went in the opposite direction. In 2015 he opened George Trois, a quiet, jackets-required side room with a staid fireplace and regal chandelier where he astounded diners … Read more
A dessert featuring vanilla, matcha, truffle, cherries, and pink peppercorns Photo: Jeff Marini Chris and Nina Nugent’s unlikely jewelbox of a restaurant, which shares an unprepossessing block with the neighborhood grocery store, has streamlined its operation since first opening in 2011. Gone are the occasionally chilly servers, the menus printed on plantable seed paper, and … Read more
Duck breast Photo: Martha Williams Boka Restaurant Group’s flagship has always been the most significant, capital-R restaurant in the company’s impressive portfolio (which includes heavy hitters like Bellemore and Swift & Sons), but that doesn’t mean it’s deadly serious. The dining room features a framed portrait of Bill Murray in full sea-captain regalia, a dizzying … Read more
Lobster au pain Photos: Jeff Marini Drive to the West Loop on any given night and peer into the white minimalist box at 619 West Randolph. No matter the time of year, you will find the little room full of laid-back, well-dressed urbanites who seem to be having an absolutely splendid evening. No restaurant in … Read more
Beef tongue pastrami Photos: Jeff Marini Smyth 177 North Ada Street West Loop Contemporary $$$$$ Few chefs think harder about what they cook than John Shields, who helms the kitchen of this sophisticated, tasting-menu-only spot. Shields is a kitchen wonk, prone to intellectualizing his cooking in a way that takes after his former boss, … Read more
Wood oven fideo paella Photo: Jeff Marini However you feel about small-plates dining, you can credit Avec with its proliferation. Fifteen years ago, the West Loop pioneer started a trend that launched a thousand servers asking, “Have you dined with us before? Let me explain how our menu works.” And yet, even in its teenage … Read more
Classic ribeye with truffle mac and cheese Photo: Nick Murway Bavette’s 218 West Kinzie Street River North Steakhouse $$$$$ Bavette’s is everything a steakhouse should be right now. Its alluringly moody interior allows for the transference of whatever vibe you’re demanding from the place—exquisitely fancy, stylishly downtown, date-night romantic. Its steaks range from the … Read more
Sashimi platter Photos: Jeff Marini This self-described “multidimensional Japanese restaurant” from the Boka Restaurant Group comprises three levels and 10,000 square feet and cost $3.4 million to build. Its expansive menus cover many genres—robata, hibachi, sushi—each with its own rules. In lesser hands, all this might lead to some kind of culturally dodgy theme park. … Read more
Carne asada (top) and al pastor tacos Photo: Jeff Marini There is so much to love about La Chaparrita that it’s hard to know where to start. The Mexico City–style taquería attached to a Little Village corner grocery may look like nothing special—a Santa Muerte altar here, colorful papel picado decorations there—but look closer. The … Read more
Roasted Maine lobster Photo: Jeff Marini Everest 440 South La Salle Street, 40th floor Loop French $$$$$ Whether you consider it a relic, a civic treasure, or a mixture of both, there’s no denying that Everest is the last of its breed. Despite small efforts to lighten it up over its 32 years—goodbye, animal-print … Read more
