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We ate at Okada last week and it was great. The sashimi (otoro, kampachi, madai, and aji) was all wonderful. Just extremely high quality fish. We also went with a few robotayaki items: scallops, duck breast, pork short ribs, rice ball. The pork short ribs were the best of the bunch (I had to have an extra order for dessert). We also jumped around the menu a bit with some additional hot and cold small plates. All were very good. I would definitely return.

We at at L'Atelier last week and had a great meal. We had basically the same menu that Chef Metcalf posted pictures of earlier in the thread. One course that we had that isn't pictured was raw scallops marinated in some lemon juice. Really nice and fresh tasting. I wanted to like the oysters more, I think they actually could have used more butter sauce. The foie stuffed quail was one of the best things I've eaten this year. Service (with the exception of one minor slip that was quickly and appropriately corrected) was wonderful. At $129 for the tasting menu, this is certainly an expensive meal, but (IMO) well worth it.

We had dinner last week at L'Atelier. I don't care who was or who wasn't in the kitchen. It was a great meal. Was it expensive? Sure it was, but I just come to expect that at the restaurants in the Strip hotels (whether or not there is a "celebrity chef" involved).

Don't worry Ron. They'll be weakling, scrawny PETA people. We can just push right through them

I read a quote somewhere from the City's Public Health Commissioner (or at least someone who works in the department) saying that they don't have the resources to actually enforce the ban. Why do I have a feeling this ban will ultimately end up being meaningless? There are definitely restaurants still serving the stuff. I got an email from one place today advertising duck "pate".

Foie gras pizza anyone? Fight the power!

I would think it would be fine for a business dinner. The room is fairly small, but not really that loud. Also, based on my recollection, the menu has enough options where an unadventurous diner could find something to eat.

I'll go ahead and answer my own question... The girlfriend and I were looking for a nice dinner on short notice for Saturday night. A few places we've been wanting to try being booked, we were able to get an 8pm reservation at Kevin. The restaurant was about 75% full when we arrived for our reservation. My goal for the night was to figure out why it wasn't full and why no one talks about this place anymore. For appetizers I started with the seared foie gras and beef wrapped in moo shu pancakes served with foie gras chawan mushi. The pancakes were good, but a bit awkward to eat (I assumed I was meant to pick them up and eat them, rather than use a knife and fork, but maybe I was wrong). The chawan mushi was outstanding. A bit more on the cakey side rather than custardey, the flavor was fantastic. The girlfriend had a cold soup of nectarine and green tea with scallops. Maybe it was to sweet or maybe the soup should have been hot, but I just didn't like it. The girlfriend pronounced it "fine" (which translates to about a C). For my main course I was once again unable to resist an entree involving pork belly, so I went with the Chinese mustard glazed pork loin which was served with roasted pork belly and moo shu pancakes filled with braised pork shoulder. Major props to our server who suggested the pork medium rare (even though it came out medium...but nice effort anyway). The belly was wonderful, presented on the fattier side of the meaty-to-fatty pork belly continuum and served on top of rapini. Again, the moo shu pancakes were just darn hard to eat. I finally gave up and used my knife and fork. The girlfriend had the seared tuna, which was cooked perfectly. A nice sear on the outside and perfectly raw inside. The tuna was served with a couple of slices of different maki (one a veggie, one a tuna I think...they were both gone before I got my bite). The portion was a bit small, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Desserts were just ok. A rum cake for the girlfriend and a chocolate carmel peanut butter tart for me. Both good. Neither anything special. So why aren't people talking about this restaurant anymore? Why could I get an 8pm reservation on a Saturday night on about 5 hours notice? I'm not completely sure. One interesting point that my girlfriend made is that at this tier of dining (solid 2.5 to 3 stars) people expect more than Kevin's interpretation of Asian influence (maki, moo shu pancakes, hoisen sauce, etc). That might be right. While the food was quite good, I'm not sure I would describe it as refined. It's certainly not outrageously expensive. Excluding wine, tax and tip our food was about $100, perfectly reasonable for 3 courses for two people given the quality of cooking and the ingredients used. Anyway, I'd still like to hear other's opinions of Kevin. I would certainly go back and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a high end (but not Alinea/Avenues/TRU/Trotters) type of meal.

Has anyone been here recently? I think it's supposed to be good, it's just one of those places you never hear anything about anymore. I'd love to get other's thoughts. Thanks.

OK, maybe I'm slow, but what exactly is Gras' role at TRU? Is he actually in the kitchen or did he just design the new Salon menu? Will he be making any changes to the other menus? So confused.

Went for burgers last night. Substituted seared foie for the foie pate. Obscene amounts of black truffles shaved over the whole deal. Finished off with black truffle ice cream and black truffle/white truffle truffles. Perfection.

Definitely a Jersey thing. When I've mention them to people in both St. Louis and Chicago they look at me with the same blank stare as when I ask them if they have any Taylor Ham.

Well, hopefully this place stays good. I thought the one in Chicago got off to a great start, but then it became a lot more about the scene then the food. I recently went back and it was just ok. The squid in uni sauce at the Chicago branch tasted like licking the deck of a boat, and not in a good way.

I know that this has been discussed before (and it's probably a bit off topic here), but I firmly believe that you can appreciate great restaurants (and sniff out the bad ones) without having the ability to cook. I can't cook anything beyond scrambled eggs or hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, but I'm pretty sure that my tastebuds work just fine.

I had another fantastic dinner at Custom House this past weekend. Started with the quail, which has become one of my favorite appetizers in the city. I also sampled the foie brulee for the first time. I think that I've heard some mixed opinions on this dish, but I found it to be the perfect balance of richness from the foie, sweetness, and saltiness. Great texture too. For my main I had the always outstanding veal cheeks. This brings me to my main point. Shawn McClain, in my view, has achieved Chicago ultimate bad-ass status (up there with Achatz, Kahan, Bowles, and the Schwa crew). I'm sure he's been one for a while, I just haven't had that much experience with his food until recently. But here's why. The cheeks are served in a nice little pot on a plate. Accompanying the pot is a good size piece of nice crust bread that has been nicely toasted. The bread had something on top that I couldn't immediately identify, but had a feeling what it was. I managed to discreetly ask our waiter what it was (since I didn't want to submit the large party I was with to my food-nerdiness), and he confirmed my suspicion. It was marrow from the veal. How cool is that? Not listed on the menu, not described when the plate is served. Just enjoy your marrow. I wonder how many people who would characterize themselves as unadventurous eaters wind up eating it and loving it, not having any idea of what they just consumed. I just thought that this was really cool.

I would agree with Ron here. It's really not accurate to describe Custom House as a steakhouse and to try to compare it to Primehouse, Gibson's, S&W, etc.. I always tell people that the menu is steakhouse-like (a la carte items with an emphasis on sides, a good selection of raw/marinated seafood appetizers), but the style of food food certainly isn't. BTW, I had another great dinner a Custom House this past weekend. But that's for another thread.

For high end mexican, I actually prefer Salpicon to either of Bayless' places. Salpicon 1252 N Wells St (312) 988-7811 For all things Mexican, particulary taquerias and the like, check out LTH Forum. They've got pretty much anything you've ever wanted to know about Mexican food options in Chicago.

Custom House isn't super-formal. I like to wear a jacket when I go, but the last time I was there I was in the minority. There were a few people there in jeans. For nice, but not formal, Spring, Naha, and Blackbird are all good bets. Sweets and Savories has outstanding food and is very casual. For casual small-plates Italian, Quartino is excellent (but really, really loud). Schwa is also outstanding, but your chances of getting a reservation on such short notice are slim to none. All of these places should have their own threads.

Be warned...Irazu was on Check, Please last night. I'm not sure how old the episode was, but places do tend to get significantly busier after being featured. If I just saw an old episode, feel free to ignore.

Not true. Trotter was probably the one that got the ball rolling on things in Chicago, but he is against the ban. Tramanto is definitely against the ban, as he is the one who called Trotter a hypocrite in the first place for serving any kind of meat in his restaurant. The most prominent person to speak out in favor of the ban was someone who was in the cast of MASH.

Absolutely an outstanding dinner. I started with seared scallops, served along side some house cured bacon, English peas, and a poached quail egg. The scallops were beautifully seared and all of the ingredients on the plate complimented each other nicely. For my main, I also had the pork belly that Ron mentioned. Two things here. First, the fat to meat ratio on the belly was spot on. Just enough fat to give it that perfect texture and rich taste, but not so much that you felt like you were just eating a big old hunk of pork fat. Second, there was a lovely green salad served along side the belly. The salad had a pretty acidic dressing which acted as a perfect foil to the richness of the belly. Dessert was also outstanding. I was torn between a few items, but our server pointed me towards the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Two good sized pieces of fried dough filled with jelly and served on top of a peanut butter mouse. These were served along side a scoop of ice milk. So, you've essentially got a re-imagining of the classic PB&J and a glass of milk. Just delicious. Finally, in the most random moment I've had in quite some time, Alex and I discovered that we had both attended the same summer camp in NE Pennsylvania, albeit about 30 years apart (not to make anyone feel old here ). Small, small world.

The only reason I say this is because the first time I went to Trotter's, it was the night after the first time I had been to Trio with Achatz as the Chef. The food at Trotter's, while quite good, just seemed so pedestrian after having my mind completely blown the night before. ETA: Tsuki is a great call, especially if this pack of women is still in town on a Monday night. All food is 50% off for tables of all women (same deal goes for men on Wednesdays).

You probably don't want to do another high-end place (Tru or Trotters) since you're already doing Alinea. If nothing else, the other options will seem boring in comparison. Coco Pazzo is an ok choice, but it can be loud and crowded. You can't go wrong at any of McClain's restaurants: Spring, Green Zebra, or Custom House. I was just at Custom House a couple of weeks ago for dinner and had a great meal (if you go, be sure to get the quail appetizer and the veal cheeks) Having just eaten at Blackbird last night, I can't recommend it highly enough (mmmm, grilled pork belly). To throw another place into the mix, Naha is always very good, while flying consistently below the radar. If you're looking for Sunday brunch, the Ritz Carlton is probably the best in town. Again, I was just there a couple of weeks ago and it was spectacular.

I was just down there in April and had some wonderful sushi at Wasabi in Clayton. Granted I went in with pretty low expectations, but I thought the quailty of the fish was quite good.

I was mainly referring to this...