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Lower prices, more casual atmosphere.

Probably closer to Alinea than Le Bernardin, but again, not really comparable to either. The restaurant was not full, but I don't think they're taking reservations for the full dining room yet (I think they've only opened a little more than half of the 20 or so tables). I'm not sure whether it will be insanely difficult to get in or not. My sense is that it won't be that hard to get in until you start seeing more MSM coverage of the restaurant. Once the Chicago Magazines Phil Vettels of the world start coming out with their reviews, this could become a very difficult reservation (not Schwa difficult, but probably about the same as Alinea).

In a word: wow We had a simply stellar meal at L2O last night. Stellar in every way possible. Food, service, presentation, everything. We did the 12 course tasting menu. I'm glad we got to try so many dishes, but honestly when (not if) I go back I'm going to do 4 courses. As great as everything was, I actually found myself getting seafood fatigue towards the end of the savory portion of the menu. I don't know if it was the portion sizes or getting confronted with staggering greatness on almost every course or what, I just couldn't take any more. Anyway, we had a number of the same dishes that appear on the tasting menu that yellow truffle has posted above. Pork belly was included on our tasting menu instead of being an add-on. The codfish was sent out by the kitchen and did not appear on our tasting menu. The other dishes we had that were the same were: Hokkaido scallop (which was actually proceeded by another scallop dish...both were fantastic) Morels - I don't like mushrooms and I loved this dish Halibut - Our halibut came with a side of emulsified potatoes that were probably the best mashed potatoes I've ever had (I'm talking Robuchon mashed potato good) Bass - Good, but very rich Pork belly - Honestly, I wasn't as over the moon about this dish as I thought I would be. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was our second to last savory course and I was getting full. I still managed to eat the whole thing though. Shabu shabu - The placement of this dish in the tasting menu is nothing short of brilliant. Last night this was the last savory course (following the pork belly and coming right before the carrot/orange pre-dessert). It's brilliant for three reasons. First, the reappearance of raw fish brings the savory portion of the meal full circle, which is really neat on an emotional level. Second, the fact that you do lightly cook the fish provides a nice bridge out of the more substantial courses that you're served immediately prior. Third, the flavors of the last couple of savory courses are so strong and distinct that the delicateness of the shabu shabu provides you with an opportunity to "come down" if that makes any sense. As to the dishes that were different, I don't have our menu in front of me but there are three dishes in particular that I found particularly striking: Tuna and foie gras - See what happens when a chef gets to work with all clubs in the bag? This was a perfectly formed, solid cylinder of absolutely beautiful finely chopped tuna served alongside a torchon of foie gras. When combined, the slight saltiness and the fattiness of the foie gras played perfectly off of the richness and sweetness of the tuna. Stunning Kinmedai - Big eye snapper served raw that had been lightly cold-smoked in house. Not only did this taste great (you're not going to get better raw fish in Chicago than what you get at L2O, it's not even close), but this was one of the more visually striking dishes we had. The meat of the raw fish was faintly purple. Small edible purple flowers were scattered over the top of the fish. This is probably one of the few times I wish I had a camera with me because it really was a beautiful plate. Sea urchin, sea urchin - Uni served in an uni/lobster sauce and/or emulsion (sorry for the crummy description, the person who presented this dish didn't seem to know a whole lot about it). Just insane. The wife had never had uni before. After her first bite she looked up at me and said, "this tastes like the ocean." It did, and it was wonderful. Service was just about perfect. I would have liked some additional explanation of some of the dishes, but that's just me being geaky. The sommelier Chantelle could not have been more engaging and picked a perfect bottle of Chablis that took us through our entire meal (it was a school night, so we took it easy). At the end of our meal one of the partners in the restaurant gave us a full tour of the space. The tatami rooms are really cool. One is set up to only seat two people. My guess is that this will become a highly sought after spot for marriage proposals. The kitchen also has all sorts of cool gadgets. So, the inevitable question is where does L2O fit in the pantheon of Chicago fine dining establishments? I think it's hard to say. In the top 5? Absolutely. In the top 3? Probably. I liked L2O way more than Tru and Charlie Trotters. Probably not as much as Alinea and I haven't been to Avenues under Duffy yet. One of the things that makes L2O so impressive is that for the food to be at the level it's at, the ingredients have to be perfect. Not just very good or excellent, perfect. With a lot of these dishes, there's nowhere for an inferior piece of fish to hide. In that regard L2O is dealing with a very high degree of difficulty that has to be recognized when evaluating the restaurant. One final thought - I went into this dinner prepared to compare L2O to Le Bernardin in NYC. Now having eaten at both, the comparison can be made only to the extent that they are both 4-star restaurants that specialize in seafood. That is where the comparison stops. L2O is far more modern and takes the asthetic portion of the dining experience far more seriously than Le Bernardin. It's actually pretty difficult to compare L2O to any restaurant I'm familiar with (maybe Alinea, maybe Per Se, but there are problems with each comparison). The bottom line though is that this is a spectacular restaurant and we are extremely fortunate to be able to add L2O to the already outstanding roster of restaurants in this city.

It was a gas leak.

I think I agree with FG here. I think the quality of sushi comes 99% down to: Quality of the product being dealt with in the first place (some salmon, tuna, whatever is clearly better than others) The handling of the ingredients once they're actually in the restaurant. Chicago is a pretty mediocre town for sushi. Even the best places here can't come close to touching the best places in NYC. It has nothing to do with how long it takes the fish to get here (some places have supplies brought in everyday, some don't). It has almost everything to do with what kind of fish is coming in and how it is being handled.

I would think it's a totally appropriate comparison (I've been to Le Bernardin, I'm going to L2O next week). There aren't many 4-star level restaurants that deal almost exclusively in seafood, so it seems like a pretty natural comparison to me.

I was underwhelmed by the Nick San in San Jose. I found the branch in Cabo to be much better (although still not great on our last trip in December).

What restaurant are you talking about?

I'm in, +1

It's in Chicago.

Yeah, I've looked at the menu and it definitely sounds interesting. I'm just curious to hear whether or not it's actually good.

Have you been? I'm really curious about how this brunch is.

If you mean abou 2 minutes of extra walking, then yes, Bin 36 is "much further" than Catch 35. I think Bin 36 is a good choice for lunch if you're seeing a show at the Ford. I also like Trattoria No. 10 and Atwood Cafe. None would require parking twice.

Ban ended!

As long as it doesn't turn into a total zoo (which it probably will), I'm excited.

I went to Stephanie's place in Chicago (Scylla) once and it was fantastic. Many of the dishes combined meat and seafood in some pretty interesting ways (she did a monkfish and sweetbreads dish that was fantastic). She sold the restaurant (apparently) to go on the show).

That's a pretty standard disclaimer on just about every reality show where a panel of judges picks who gets eliminated (Top Chef, Project Runway, The Apprentice, America's Next Top Model, etc).

In all fairness to the show, Art Smith's restaurant (Table 52) is one of the hottest in Chicago right now. Also, Common Threads is a great cause. So, from a local standpoint at least, I liked seeing him on the show.

Maybe as the vegan stumbles.

More precisely, measuring from the center of the Loop, Lao Sze Chuan is about 2.5 miles south, Green Zebra is about 2.5 miles northwest, Everest is a few blocks south, North Pond is about 3 miles north, Cafe Spiaggia is about 1 mile north (and even closer to the hotels around Michigan Avenue), and Lula is about 4.5 miles northwest. All short cab rides, or you can take public transportation (click here for info). ← Can we also get that in kilometers for the sake of completeness?

Ugh...Chicago Diner...not a good idea. I'm certainly an omnivore, I liked Green Zebra...I hated Chicago Diner. I'll also second the recommendation of Lao Sze Chuan. I think they have something that could make everybody happy.

I think Dale used the pre-made roasted chicken last year. I believe it was for some sort of pasta filling.

The one time I went to Blackbird for lunch it was actually pretty dead. Obviously making a reservation couldn't hurt, but it may not be 100% necessary. I think you'll be fine there in shorts, especially at lunch.

I've been to Blackbird a couple of times in the last few months for dinner. It's outstanding.

I've been to Seasons once, but it was a few years ago. For the life of me I can't remember what I ate, but I do remember the food being really good. You're right about the service. When we ate there, one of the waiters spilled the cream served with coffee all over one of the guests at our table. The took his jacket and tie and had them dry cleaned while we ate dessert. The clothes were returned by the time we paid the check.