Squab breast Photos: Jeff Marini From the get-go, everything about the experience at Oriole feels unique and special. Diners enter through an inconspicuous door on a narrow West Loop side street, where they’re greeted by Cara Sandoval, the GM, who takes them through a freight elevator into a comfortable 28-seat space with crisp linens and … Read more
Morel, blueberry, and onion Photos: Jeff Marini Before Alinea opened in 2005 and started blowing minds with its groundbreaking molecular cooking, partners Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas sat down to sketch out the ambitious Lincoln Park restaurant’s goals. Some concerned revenue targets; others involved ethical food sourcing. Some of these plans were vague—keep innovating, respect … Read more
A dish called Flavors of Forest There has never been another restaurant like Schwa. And once chef/owner Michael Carlson decides he is finished, which he’ll most likely do on a random Tuesday in the indiscernible future in some fabulously unpredictable way, there never will be again. Schwa 1466 North Ashland Avenue Bucktown Contemporary $$$$$ … Read more
Filet de boeuf with truffle Photos: Jeff Marini At a time when restaurants were trending downscale, chef Michael Lachowicz, whose Restaurant Michael had become a North Shore fixture, went in the opposite direction. In 2015 he opened George Trois, a quiet, jackets-required side room with a staid fireplace and regal chandelier where he astounded diners … Read more
A dessert featuring vanilla, matcha, truffle, cherries, and pink peppercorns Photo: Jeff Marini Chris and Nina Nugent’s unlikely jewelbox of a restaurant, which shares an unprepossessing block with the neighborhood grocery store, has streamlined its operation since first opening in 2011. Gone are the occasionally chilly servers, the menus printed on plantable seed paper, and … Read more
Duck breast Photo: Martha Williams Boka Restaurant Group’s flagship has always been the most significant, capital-R restaurant in the company’s impressive portfolio (which includes heavy hitters like Bellemore and Swift & Sons), but that doesn’t mean it’s deadly serious. The dining room features a framed portrait of Bill Murray in full sea-captain regalia, a dizzying … Read more
Lobster au pain Photos: Jeff Marini Drive to the West Loop on any given night and peer into the white minimalist box at 619 West Randolph. No matter the time of year, you will find the little room full of laid-back, well-dressed urbanites who seem to be having an absolutely splendid evening. No restaurant in … Read more
Beef tongue pastrami Photos: Jeff Marini Smyth 177 North Ada Street West Loop Contemporary $$$$$ Few chefs think harder about what they cook than John Shields, who helms the kitchen of this sophisticated, tasting-menu-only spot. Shields is a kitchen wonk, prone to intellectualizing his cooking in a way that takes after his former boss, … Read more
Wood oven fideo paella Photo: Jeff Marini However you feel about small-plates dining, you can credit Avec with its proliferation. Fifteen years ago, the West Loop pioneer started a trend that launched a thousand servers asking, “Have you dined with us before? Let me explain how our menu works.” And yet, even in its teenage … Read more
Classic ribeye with truffle mac and cheese Photo: Nick Murway Bavette’s 218 West Kinzie Street River North Steakhouse $$$$$ 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
