Gene & Georgetti

Grilled Cheese with Tomato and Bacon

Potatoes

Creamed Spinach

Broiled Bone – In Rib Eye Steak

1/2 wedge salad

Exterior

Interior

*** (3 stars)

A lot of Chicago steakhouses aspire to be “old school,” but Gene & Georgetti really is, having been established in 1941, and little changed since. The traditional dining room, muted ambiance and white-jacketed waiters definitely take you back.

I loved the wedge salad, which we fortunately split, as it was huge. The creamed spinach was flavored with tarragon, and was perhaps the best I’ve had. My companion’s melted cheese, bacon and tomato sandwich was huge and absurdly inexpensive, and came with a plate of fried potatoes.

In fact, everything was great except the steak. There was nothing obviously wrong with my bone-in ribeye, it just wasn’t very interesting. It lacked the usual ribeye marbling, and hence any flavor. And it wasn’t particularly tender, either. It was, however, perfectly cooked.

Gene & Georgetti has some of the lowest prices of any steakhouse in Chicago, and lunch and brunch are even better deals. I will definitely return. I probably won’t have steak.

Gene & Georgetti
500 N Franklin St
Chicago, IL
60654
(312) 527-3718
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gene-and-georgetti-chicago-6

STK Chicago

Brussels Sprouts

Bone-In Filet

Grilled Octopus

Bread service

Interior

Interior

Exterior

*** (3 stars)

STK is the 26th steakhouse I’ve been to in Chicago (not all the same week, mind you!) and I’d rate it somewhere in the second half of that list.

The atmosphere is different from the others, in that it’s trying to be more of a trendy spot with a live DJ in a booth creating a sometimes too-loud soundtrack that seemed to be appreciated more in the open bar area than the dining area.

The wine list is more limited than some of the other steakhouses in town, and prices are the usual River North markup.

Bread was sort of like a pull apart Parker House roll. It was topped with blue cheese butter, so if you don’t like that say so up front.

I enjoyed the grilled octopus I started with, which combined a nicely grilled tentacle with some tender octopus ceviche.

The brussels sprouts where nicely roasted, but were swimming in a sweet balsamic. It was good, but far too much of a good thing.

My biggest bone to pick (ahem) was with my steak. It was a bone-in filet. As you would expect with a filet, it didn’t have a lot of flavor, but it should have had more flavor near the bone. And since it was a filet, it should have been more tender and gristle-free. It wasn’t. At over $70, I think my money is better spent on a place with prime meat.

Service was fine.

On to number 27.

STK Chicago
9 West Kinzie St
Chicago, IL
60654
(312) 340-5636
https://www.yelp.com/biz/stk-chicago-chicago-2

Funkenhausen

Exterior

Interior

Interior

Surfenturf

Skatewing schnitzel

Weisswurst

Black forest pots de creme

Underberg

***** (5 stars)

Funkenhausen offers a modern take on German food. They say it’s served with a Southern twist, but I didn’t really detect that aspect in what I had.

The menu is divided between smaller plates and larger ones, but all are sharable.

I started with the surfenturf, a delightfully creative and flavorful combination of seared scallops and braised short rib. This was my favorite dish.

The skate wing schnitzel was an interesting take, more like a breaded and fried fish filet.

The most German item I tried was the weisswurst, nicely seared sausages.

The black forest pots de creme is heavier than a normal pot de creme, essentially a fudge, topped with marinated cherries.

The wine list focuses on German and Austrian wines, and there is also a nice assortment of interesting German beers. The cocktail list is also creative. I really liked the German Visits Mexico, a blend of tequila and cucumber, rimmed with fennel salt.

The dining room probably gets noisy when busy, in the beer hall tradition, but I went early and enjoyed the funky soundtrack.

I’d rate the food a four, but the service was a solid five stars. My water glass never got more than an inch below the rim!

Funkenhausen
1709 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL
60622
(312) 929-4727
https://www.yelp.com/biz/funkenhausen-chicago

Mako

Exterior

Interior

Interior

Interior

Chef B.K. Park

Real wasabi

Fluke, pickle, king crab

Abalone in a smoke-filled bowl

Sashimi: Bree’s, kanpachi, salmon, otoro

Mushroom and crab custard

Scallop nigiri

Golden eye snapper

Fluke with truffle sea salt

Horse mackerel with ginger and chives

Sea bass

Ora-salmon

Otoro

Blue mackerel

Duck

Uni

Flaming red prawn from Argentina

A5 Wagyu

Soy marinated sea water eel

Soy marinated tuna roll

House made Kamago

Marinated Asian pear, kumquat, shiso

Japanese sweet potato with whisky miso cream and caramel

Sake and wine

***** (5 stars)

Even though the restaurant had only been open a few days, Mako provided an amazing food and beverage experience. Easing into it, Chef B.K. Park (Juno) and one other chef worked behind the counter to provide a 21-course omakase for nine lucky guests.

The meal focused on nigiri sushi, presented one piece at a time, but there was also sashimi, a hand roll, and several cooked dished.

Highlights included salmon, fluke, kanpachi, A5 wagyu, a delicious mushroom and crab custard, duck, and an amazing Asian pear and ice kumquat intermezzo.

While the omakase was not cheap, it was well worth the price, and the accompanying wine and sake pairing was masterfu–and an excellent deal.

An auspicious start indeed for this terrific dining experience.

Mako
731 W Lake St
Chicago, IL
60661
(312) 988-0687
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mako-chicago

Mastro’s Steakhouse

Exterior

Interior

Alaskan King Crab

Mastro’s House Salad

Bone – In Ribeye

***** (5 stars)

This is the 25th steakhouse I’ve been to in Chicago! Yes, there are a lot of steakhouses here, and I must confess that most of them were pretty good.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to try Mastro’s, as it is very close to home. But I’m rather glad I waited, as if I’d already been here, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed some of those others quite as much.

Indeed, Mastro’s is about as good as it gets. The atmosphere is exactly what a Chicago steakhouse should be: clubby, refined, not too loud (until it gets full) and with live entertainment in a sophisticated attached bar and lounge.

Service is also extremely polished, with a nice combination of hospitality and professionalism. I was in early on a Monday when it wasn’t busy, and was able to observe the various servers’ and bussers’ interactions with patrons throughout the room, and it was clear that every guest was having a good experience.

There are a few better wine lists in town, but the list here is very good, with an emphasis on California wines and good matches with steak. There is also a nice assortment of Bordeaux reds, but, oddly, no Burgundy at all.

Of course, Chicago is a cocktail town, and there are pages of them on offer.

I started with a couple of King Crab legs. They were served with a nice mustard sauce and a delightfully potent horseradish blend.

The Mastro’s salad is a nice combination of chopped lettuce, blue cheese, tomato, and shrimp. Very refreshing, and a great match with red wine.

I like steaks with the bone in because of the extra flavor, and Mastro’s offers at least three cuts this way. I chose the ribeye, and it didn’t disappoint. As always there was a lot of waste because of the heavy marbling, but that’s why you order a ribeye.

I like creamed spinach, but it so often goes awry, either a lump of soggy spinach, or a cream soup with a few green bits. The creamed spinach here was perfectly balanced; I can’t recall having better.

Mastro’s is expensive. Nearly every steak on the menu is about the same price (around $63 on my visit). Sides, salads, cocktails, and wine are also not cheap. But the things that make Mastro’s great are not inexpensive to achieve, so I would say it represents an excellent fine dining experience for the money. It would certainly be one of the first Chicago steakhouses I would recommend trying (not the 25th!)

Mastro’s Steakhouse
520 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL
60654
(312) 521-5100
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mastros-steakhouse-chicago

Radio Anago

Warm miso scallops

Uni flight – Hokaido and Santa Barbara

Fluke sashimi special

Salad Handroll

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I held off going to Radio Anago because early reviews said it was very loud, and I want to have a conversation over a meal. But the sound has been lowered to appropriate levels and, as my server put it, “We’re now the restaurant we intended to be.”

And it’s a good restaurant. If you want sushi, and don’t want to sit in a bright space or at a sushi bar, Radio Anago is what you’re looking for. Lighting is subdued, it’s a surprisingly intimate space, and just quite different from other sushi restaurants.

That said, you’re not going to have the best sushi of your life here. A few years ago, this might have been the best sushi in Chicago, but a lot has happened in the past year or two, with impressive omakase experiences opening seemingly every week. So there are lots of higher end sushi offerings, but if you’re looking for an intimate place to have good sushi, Radio Anago is probably the best choice.

Radio Anago
226 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL
60654
(312) 796-3316
https://www.yelp.com/biz/radio-anago-chicago

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken

Half chicken

Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

River North can definitely use a good fried chicken place, and Gus’s fits the bill.

The place is surprisingly large. I was pleasantly surprised that table service was available.

Basically, you’re going to have chicken. You can have a breast, a thigh, a leg, a wing or any combination thereof. I had a half chicken so I could try them all. My favorite was the wing, which had the perfect crust to meat ration.

As you can tell from the name, the crust is spicy–not so hot you can’t taste anything else, but definitely spicy. It’s also nice and crisp, and not greasy (except maybe for the thigh).

The accompanying Cole slaw was delicious, with just the right hint of sweetness.  The beans were pretty good too.

Prices are good.

There’s a limited selection of beer, and probably the only reasonably priced bottle of Dom Perignon in all of River North!

Being brand new there were minor service and equipment issues, but overall a very good experience.

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
401 N State St
Chicago, IL
60611
(312) 285-2882
https://www.yelp.com/biz/guss-world-famous-fried-chicken-chicago-2

Streeterville Pizzeria & Tap

12 inch pepperoni and green pepper

Half Caesar salad

Exterior

Bar

Upstairs

Interior

**** (4 stars)

Streeterville pizza is a small, airy pizzeria on two levels with a full bar. Their pizza is “tavern style” a Chicago specialty, with thin crust and cut into squares. The pizza was liberally sauced, which I like, and well-topped. The crust was nicely singed as I requested.

I also enjoyed the half Caesar salad I started with, which had a good dressing and some sun-dried tomato for color.

Service by Dylan was friendly and attentive.

Streeterville Pizzeria & Tap
355 E Ohio St
Chicago, IL
60611
(312) 631-3877
https://www.yelp.com/biz/streeterville-pizzeria-and-tap-chicago

TAO Chicago

Exterior

Interior

Interior

Interior

Satay of Chilean Sea Bass with miso

Eight 8 Greens Fried Rice

$99 omakase

Special dessert stout cake with chocolate soft serve

**** (4 stars)

Obviously, TAO is stunning. It’s probably the most impressive dining room I’ve been in, and that is steep competition. Of course, that makes one all the more suspicious that the food and service don’t need to live up to the decor. I’m pleased to say that was not the case, and I came away from TAO a fan.

I went at opening on a Sunday because I wanted a quieter environment and to avoid the club scene that develops next door later in the evening. And indeed, it was a reasonable noise level until near the end of my meal.

The compact wine list has some nice choices, including a stellar Gruner Veltliner that was wonderful with my first course, a miso crusted satay of Chilean Sea Bass (okay, Patagonian Toothfish if you want to be pedantic). It was probably my favorite item of the whole meal.

The other dish I really loved was the 8 greens fried rice, a succulent blend of veggies that I had to push away from myself to keep from finishing the whole bowl!

Tao is kind of expensive, so I ordered the largest omakase figuring it wouldn’t be all that big. I should have known I was in trouble when my waiter suggested I change tables so he’d have room to put it down! I ended up at the under-used sushi bar on a corner for four people. Holy cow that was a lot of fish for $99! Two people would have been pressed to finish it.

The various sashimi slices were good, but the highlight was the nigiri assortment, each topped with a different relish or pepper. I was less enthusiastic about the specialty rolls, which both had an almost pureed inside consistency. The “tacos” also seemed superfluous. But I would definitely get nigiri sushi here again.

Service was friendly and attentive.

I highly recommend TAO if you’re looking for wow factor, and the food is almost as good as the decor.

TAO Chicago
632 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL
60654
(224) 888-0388
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tao-chicago-chicago-2

Fig & Olive

Exterior

Bar

Interior

Assorted crostini

Olive oil tasting

Hamachi crudo

Roasted cauliflower

Lamb

Cafe Gourmand with pot de creme

**** (4 stars)

Pros and cons, but my experience was at least three and a half stars.

First, this is a gorgeous room. It’s much nicer than the website photos suggest. It has a great central bar and some cozy corners.

When I arrived there was a DJ playing loud rap. Uh oh, I thought, not my style. But then a foursome sat near me and asked them to turn it down. Bless them! The DJ must have been about to go off shift (it was before 5pm on a Saturday), so they just put on some chill music and left. What an improvement in the place’s ambiance!

The wine list has some very well thought out selections, by the bottle and the glass. They even have Dom Perignon by the glass at a reasonable price! I haven’t seen that before.

I started with three crostini, and all were excellent I also tried them on different “platforms” to compare, and those were good, too. My favorite was the salmon on traditional toast.

The complimentary olive oil tasting was also nice. I loved the blood orange olive oil and bought a bottle to go.

Hamachi crudo was disappointing. There was nothing wrong with the hamachi, but it had been so thoroughly buried in a variety of sauce that the fish was lost.

Roasted cauliflower was a delicate preparation that works best as a starter, because it would be too subtle as a side dish.

The highlight of my meal was the rack of lamb. It was perfectly cooked medium rare with a great char on the bones, and served with a wonderful rosemary and garlic oil.

I finished with the cafe gourmand, a nice idea that combines a cup of coffee with your choice of mini dessert (I chose the pot de creme) and a bit of praline.

Excellent professional service was provided by Danilo.

Fig & Olive –
104 East Oak St
Chicago, IL
60611
(312) 445-0060
https://www.yelp.com/biz/fig-and-olive-chicago-chicago-5