You may eat at this seasonal restaurant in downtown Evanston and immediately forget everything about the room. It’s minimal and communal and, apart from the noise, pretty unremarkable. But you won’t soon forget Brian Huston’s food—as satisfying as any around Chicago right now.
Options might include neat but unfussy American dishes (striped bass with drunken beans and pickled red cabbage) and vegetable standouts (cauliflower studded with pistachios, currants, and za’atar and accompanied by a muhammara dip). But the unpredictable menu, driven by whatever’s freshest that day, is created on the fly—so don’t be surprised if you find the beet salad you liked with grapefruit wedges and pistachio dukka atop avocado purée last time is served with kale pesto and aïoli next time. And don’t hesitate to go with the flow: Boltwood’s not just changing things for kicks.
Order this: Evanston sazerac ($10), crispy potatoes ($7), sweetbreads ($18), chocolate cake with Chantilly cream ($10)