Chicago Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[Mr. Delicious]

I will be in Chicago next week with a fellow chef buddy and was wondering if there is anything fun or new going on. Hoping to hit schwa, hot dougs, violet hour, not sure what else we are doing, maybe richard cheese at the house of blues for some rediculous piano jazz. Any suggestions appreciated!

[KD1191]

I will be in Chicago next week with a fellow chef buddy and was wondering if there is anything fun or new going on.  Hoping to hit schwa, hot dougs, violet hour, not sure what else we are doing, maybe richard cheese at the house of blues for some rediculous piano jazz. Any suggestions appreciated!

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I like the relatively new Tasting Table - Chicago newsletter for the latest about Chicago.

If you're looking for restaurant recommendations, I've found that a lot of chefs really enjoy Chicago's wealth of Korean BBQs and taquerias. For the former, I'd recommend San Soo Gab San (on Western, just north of Foster). There are a lot of good K-BBQ places in Chicago, but SSGS is set apart by the sheer volume (and overall deliciousness) of the banchan. They cover the entire table. You'll get a wealth of argument on the taqueria question, I imagine. Currently, my favorite is El Asadero (on Montrose, just West of Lincoln) for their carne asada and al pastor tacos.

Up thread there is a lot of good discussion of finer dining...I agree with most everything said about The Bristol (though it gets full-and loud-very quickly, and they don't take reservations). Any of Paul Kahan's places would be a great choice (The Publican, Blackbird, Avec).

Definitely go to the Violet Hour, definitely sit at the bar, and I would suggest avoiding Friday/Saturday. Hot Doug's lines have been insane on Friday/Saturday recently, too. There's a Twitter thread @WaitWatcher who has been monitoring waits at places around Chicago that don't take reservations, including Hot Doug's, The Bristol and Kuma's Corner.

[MikeHartnett]

Hoping to hit schwa,

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I hope that this just came off differently than it was intended. You do realize you can't just "hit" schwa, right?

There was just an article (was it in the NYT?) listing schwa as the 5th toughest reservation in the country.

[Alex]

I will be in Chicago next week with a fellow chef buddy and was wondering if there is anything fun or new going on.  Hoping to hit schwa, hot dougs, violet hour, not sure what else we are doing, maybe richard cheese at the house of blues for some rediculous piano jazz. Any suggestions appreciated!

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NY Times blog post about The Publican

[KD1191]

Two pieces of Chicago restaurant info:

Sadly, Aigre Doux closes today.

On a happier note, Schwa's voice mail wasn't full as of this posting and said they were taking reservations through the end of September.

[Nate_the_great]

Has anyone been to Cibo Matto at the Wit hotel yet? I hear it's supposed to be good but have yet to go

I'm going to Spiaggia this weekend so it'll be interesting to compare the different takes on Italian (if they do differ). I'm a little nervous about Spiaggia after hearing some less than enthusiastic reviews but hopefully we'll be doing the tasting which I've heard generally positive reviews of as well as the black truffle gnocchi.

At the same time I think experiences at even the top restaurants are more personal and hit or miss opinions that you would expect so who knows. I've seen amazing reviews of Tru and had a memorable but not awe-inspiring food experience. Some have complained of sporadic service issues there and my friend found it to be pretentious and uncomfortable (she didn't like how particular their table routines were, etc. but I barely noticed them except when I was supposed to), and I probably had some of the most polished and impeccable service on my visit. There was also a particular wine pairing that still stands out to me even today and the Sommelier was kind enough to tell me the cheapest places to find it in the area and wrote down all of the information.

I agree with others that the beef tartare with the gold leaf covered egg was amazing but I was not in love with the lobster tagliatelle I ordered. The prime beef ribeye was amazing however and maybe I would have a much higher opinion had that been my entree. It was an amazing dinner but I just don't think I had that euphoric moment where I felt like I'd never experienced a dish that good before which is something I normally expect from a restaurant of that caliber.

[KD1191]

Just returned from the first public lunch service at Rick Bayless' new quick-service concept Xoco. I arrived early (11:30) to a short line and a note that they would not be serving take-out today. Given the restaurant seats a maximum of 49, this is likely to cause some consternation over the next few weeks, or however long this restriction stays in effect. The line was nearly out the door when I left, and I've heard that people began to be turned away around 12:30.

My wait to order was short, perhaps 5 minutes, and offered some time to snap a few pics of Chef Bayless hanging out on the line, twittering away. Taking my beverage (agua de jamaica) and a small numbered plastic card (très Corner Bakery), I seated myself at a counter facing a wall and waited for my food. 15 minutes of people watching later, my cochinita pibil torta arrived. Topped with pickled onions and habanero salsa the braised suckling pig was falling apart as advertised. Luckily the freshly toasted, crispy bread was up to the task of absorbing all of the delicious juices. Black beans are mentioned on the menu, but I neither saw nor tasted them. My first thought upon seeing the torta was that it was small. At $12, I would have expected something larger, but this is an artisanal product, and personally it won't stop me from coming back. I'm a large guy, and the size of the sandwich wasn't big enough for me, so next time I'll know to order more food (like Rick's terrific guacamole)...simple as that.

The sandwich was quite good. This pig was actually better than the cochinita pibil entree that I'd had next door at Frontera Grill early this summer. It had a distinct, non-heat pepper flavor from the achiote/annatto. I'd been asked how spicy I liked my food when ordering, and asked them to make it hot. It had a kick, but some Frontera red pepper hot sauce (available on the counter) was needed to punch the sandwich up to the level I normally think of for cochinita pibil.

The aqua de jamaica was very interesting. I love hibiscus in almost any application, and this was no exception. The water was also flavored with lemongrass, and there was an almost szechuan peppercorn-like mouthfeel, something I couldn't quite place, perhaps ginger?

For a first lunch service, things went smoothly. I don't want to judge the place on only one visit, but if I had to, I'd put it squarely in the Hot Doug's camp: great food, on the pricy side, and worth a wait (though probably not as long of one as you'll have on the weekends). I'll certainly be back for breakfast (churros and hot chocolate) and to try the soups and stews he's making in the afternoons. Hopefully after the crowds have died down a tad, or once take-out becomes an option.

Edited September 8, 2009 by KD1191 (log)

[KD1191]

Follow up to my previous post on Xoco. Returned today for the special head cheese and lengua torta with goat cheese and pickled vegetables, also tried the Aztec chocolate (with chile and allspice) and the chocoflan desert. All were really excellent. The chocolate is a much better bang for the buck than the aquas. The torta was heavenly, with unctuous cheese, bold meats and the crunch of the pickled veggies and crusty bread. Service has noticeably been tightened up, and is running quite smoothly. The line is held at the register in order for space in the seating area to free up. Arriving at 11:45 to a line just out the door, I had ordered and had a table 20 minutes later, and my torta arrived less than 10 minutes after that. Still no take-out, but lunch took considerably less than an hour.