Author Archives: steve

Hannah’s Bretzel

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Prep area

Exterior

Club baguette with almonds

*** (3 stars)

This is a pleasant counter service restaurant that specializes in sandwiches made on pretzel bread, hence the name. The bread is fairly small and it’s not that cheap, so don’t expect a Subway experience.

The focus is on fairly healthy combinations such as a turkey club. The health aspects are somewhat offset by the hundreds of chocolate bars lining the queue–dieters beware!

Service is well organized and there is a pleasant outside dining area.

Hannah’s Bretzel
400 N La Salle St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 621-1111
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hannahs-bretzel-chicago-7

Heaven on Seven Wabash

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BBQ Shrimp po’boy

Gumbo and jalapeno corn muffin

Entry

Interior

Hot sauce wall (only half of it!)

Interior

One table’s hot sauce

***** (5 stars)

This is a very good Cajun restaurant. No, it’s not as good as many in New Orleans, but it’s good. And what makes it special is the vibe, with its thousands of different hot sauces lining the walls (no, there are no repeats) and its perpetual Christmas-garlanded ceilings.

I started with a cup of the gumbo, which was excellent, with its generous helping of tender, flavorful Andouille sausage.

A jalapeno corn muffin wasn’t all that impressive compared to others I’ve had.

My main was a Cajun barbecued shrimp po’boy. The shrimp was very hot, with a slight saffron flavor, and the bread was nicely grilled. The whole mess (and I use the term intentionally) was covered in a flavorful Cajun gravy with just the right amount of spice. At first, as I picked at it with my fork, I thought it was just okay, but once I’d eaten enough shrimp to be able to pick the whole thing up and get a bite of everything, I really liked it.

Service was friendly and efficient. A lot of regulars came in and sat at the small, U-shaped lunch counter while I was there. I could tell it’s a place many people have been coming to for decades, and I can see why.

Heaven on Seven Wabash
111 N Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 263-6443
https://www.yelp.com/biz/heaven-on-seven-wabash-chicago

The Franklin Room

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***** (5 stars)

Great vibe, with shelves full of whiskey all around, nice lighting, and a chill soundtrack.

The whiskey flights are interesting, and there is an extensive list of well-made cocktails. Wines by the glass are limited, but are stored at the right temperatures.

We grazed on small plates and liked everything we had.

The smoked fish board included three kinds of fish, but the standout was the trout pate, which can also be ordered separately.

Cauliflower “tots” were actually cauliflower florets tempura fried. They were nice and light. The accompanying blue cheese dip was very mild; horseradish would have worked even better.

The highlight of the meal was the mussels (which I forgot to photograph). They were served in a spicy miso broth that was great for dipping the accompanying toast. Best mussels I’ve had anywhere!

We split a Smokehouse burger, which was good, but the “bacon” was a delicious chunk of smoked pork belly that was far too thick to eat in the burger.

Service was friendly and knowledgable, with real enthusiasm for the  whiskey list.

The Franklin Room
675 North Franklin St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 445-4686
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-franklin-room-chicago

GT Fish & Oyster

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Chilequiles

Bagels and lox

Entrance

Bar

Interior

**** (4 stars)

Tried for brunch. The bright, glass walled dining room is a good venue for brunch.

Duck chilaquiles were a tasty twist on this Mexican standard. The tortilla strips were appropriately al dente rather than being soggy or too crisp. A perfectly cooked sunny side up egg added some creaminess.

Bagles and lox was very good. Nice, smoky lox, and a healthy layer of chived cream cheese. Pro tip: order a side of bacon and add it for a special treat.

There is a limited cocktail menu and some nice wines by the glass.

Service was friendly and efficient.

GT Fish & Oyster
531 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 929-3501
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gt-fish-and-oyster-chicago

Papacito’s Mexican Grille

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Fish taco

Combo 1: enchilada and relleno

Exterior

Interior

** (2 stars)

This is mostly a counter serve restaurant, but there are a few small tables jammed into the tiny space and they do offer full table service. The best that can be said is that it’s a good deal to get the combo meal which includes a can of soda for $9. There was nothing remarkable about the enchilada or relleno, though. I also tried a fish taco, since they bragged about having been named the best fish taco, and it was okay. The pico de gallo on the fish taco was the most flavorful item I had. Service was friendly.

Papacito’s Mexican Grille
2960 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 327-5240
https://www.yelp.com/biz/papacitos-mexican-grille-chicago

Maple & Ash

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**** (4 stars)

You enter the upstairs dining room of Maple & Ash quite dramatically, from an elevator at the rear of the building that opens out into a dramatic two-story space that is quite dazzling. Although it is a steakhouse in a city of steakhouses, the experience here is quite different. Servers are much more engaged with their guests, and there are many freebies and extras involved in each meal.

For example, before you’ve even started, there are chips and dip, watermelon radishes with salt, parmesan crisps, and even an “amuse booze” cocktail of vermouth and grapefruit. Crusty bread and butter come next. We were starting to worry we’d be full before the first course arrived.

An extensive wine list has a range of offerings at moderate prices but includes a page of under $50 bargains.

We opted for the “I don’t give a f*@k” tasting menu because it let us sample much of the menu. It’s a bargain at $145. These were the courses:

Seafood platter, not chilled, but rather roasted, featuring lobster, shrimp, scallops, and clams. The was served in a pool of butter which was later used for a tableside preparation of pasta.

Beet and watercress salad.

Rosemary fries with Hollandaise and aioli.

Meatballs with garlic cheese toast.

Bone in ribeye steak served with ricotta agnolotti, roasted squash, and mashed potatoes.

Ice cream sundae tower with three kinds of ice cream and 12 toppings to choose from.

We enjoyed the experience, and particularly our server. I can’t say there were really any home runs, and the steak was definitely not the highlight, as it wasn’t particularly tender. Overall it was a very rich menu, with little respite from heavily buttered dishes. The best items were the dip, the mashed potatoes, and the sundae.

Despite the large size of the room, noise levels were surprisingly pleasant (until a large drunk party was seated next to us) and the background music track is particularly chill.

If you are looking for a steakhouse-type experience that is a little out of the ordinary, it’s worth checking out.

Maple & Ash
8 W Maple
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 944-8888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/maple-and-ash-chicago

Luigi Stefani Pizzeria

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*** (3 stars)

This place has quite a collection of poor reviews, but it is possible to get a good meal here. In fact, it can be one of the more healthful options in the entire airport food court. The trick is to go around the corner, past the greasy pizza, to the deli salad area. There, for$10, you can get a green salad topped with your choice of three fresh made deli salads. I chose grilled vegetables, asparagus, and something called harvest grains. They were all delicious.

Luigi Stefani Pizzeria
5700 S Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 838-8824
http://www.yelp.com/biz/luigi-stefani-pizzeria-chicago

River Roast

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** (2 stars)

I was expecting River Roast to be like all the steakhouses in town, but it’s not. For one thing, they don’t have steak. It’s also much more casual.

The concept here is that almost everything is roasted. I guess that makes sense, given the name. On the day we visited there was one selection of fish, prime rib or chicken as the protein sources. We didn’t choose any of them, although perhaps we should have.

Instead, we tried almost everything else on the menu. Unfortunately, despite that diversity, we didn’t really find anything we’d want to eat again. Here’s what we had:

House pickles were good, actually the best thing we had, but beware the red peppers as they are insanely hot.

Chicken “gobbets” were bite size chunks of fried chicken in a crispy batter, served with honey. They were the other dish we liked.

Shaved salad had a broad mixture of fennel, radishes, mushrooms, arugula, carrots and other stuff, dress in a lemon vinaigrette. The ingredients didn’t really come together into a cohesive dish.

Smoked salmon was served in a sauce that didn’t do it any favors.

Roasted carrots and “dirt” were pretty plain tasting carrots with some crumbs on them. A bit of the honey from the chicken helped them.

Peas were served in a bowl, and couldn’t decide whether they wanted to be soup. The bits of ham added some flavor, and these were probably the best vegetable.

Roasted curry cauliflower had a nice char on top, but the only flavor was from the red sauce underneath which it is a stretch to call curry.

Overall, nothing would bring me back unless I had a craving for prime rib, which might be good.

The service staff was friendly and efficient.

The night we visited there was a live jazz trio playing in the dining room, even though it was early. They were talented and the music was at a reasonable level.

River Roast
315 N La Salle Dr
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 822-0100
http://www.yelp.com/biz/river-roast-chicago-3