Category Archives: American (New)

Honey’s

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Exterior

Bar

Dining Room

Cauliflower

Caesar salad

Squid ink cavatelli

Satsuma mandarin

*** (3 stars)

While this meal had its ups and downs, let me start by saying that the service was superb. It seemed as if everyone in the restaurant, from the hostess to the bussing staff, the kitchen staff, my waiter Alexis and the manager all personally greeted me and wished me a good meal. And this was before it became evident that I’d been “outed” (the manager stopped by to compliment me on my photos, and I hadn’t yet posted and from Honey’s.)

And it was a good meal, just not a great one. The restaurant certainly is aspiring to greatness, and the classy dining room and chic bar are a good start. The food is just a bit uneven.

The meal begins with complimentary bread service, and the bread was hot, crusty and excellent.

I started with the spit roasted cauliflower, which was an interesting consistency because of the accompanying puree and bread crumbs.

The Caesar salad is a bizarre take on a classic. Grilled romaine is chopped, and tossed with a good Caesar dressing. I’ve enjoyed grilled romaine before, but this seemed more like it was wilted rather than charred. But it was the additional ingredients that went off the rails. Sliced cheese is a trend I can live with, but the pickled shallots and crackers took it too far afield to be called a Caesar. and three large dollops of egg yolk sabayon were about as appetizing as if someone had dumped a jar of mayonnaise on it. In short, don’t order this.

Things got back on track with the squid ink cavatelli. Although the pasta was a bit overcooked, the braised octopus, calamari and shrimp were tender and flavorful, and the mint pesto had a wonderful acidity that elevated the whole dish.

I finished with the satsuma mandarin, a nice light dessert with earl grey cake and mandarin orange sorbet. The double decaf espresso I had was noteworthy only in that it was the single most bitter espresso I’ve every been served!

Prices are okay, but be aware that portions are on the small side, so you will want several courses.

There is an extensive list of eclectic wines, including some thoughtful by-the-glass selections. The rosés go particularly well with most of this menu.

Honey’s
1111 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 877-5929
http://www.yelp.com/biz/honeys-chicago

Bottlefork

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Interior

Cast Iron Baked French Toast

Breakfast sope

*** (3 stars)

Bottlefork offers a mix of sweet and savory items for brunch.

The Iron Skillet Baked French Toast seems like a better idea than it turns out, with a very sweet heavy topping that obscures most vestiges of any underlying toast.

On the savory side, Breakfast Sope is a better choice. Although the menu doesn’t say, a sope is a shell of corn that’s fried until it’s just crisp on the outside. The Ranchera Sauce and Chorizo Black Beans have just the right kick, and the egg was nicely cooked. It’s a bit unclear what use to put the mound of Guacamole to, but it was tasty.

We finished with an Orange Dreamcicle “sundae”, which was served in a parfait glass. Layers of soft serve ice cream, orange syrup and crumbled shortbread cookie are served in a parfait glass and topped with whipped cream. It was good, but didn’t taste like a Dreamcicle, as the orange syrup is somehow the wrong flavor.

The place is long and dark, with a bar along one side. There’s a huge selection of interesting cocktails, so it might be worth a try for dinner. Service was pleasant enough.

Bottlefork
441 N Clark
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 955-1900
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bottlefork-chicago

True Food Kitchen

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Exterior

Interior

Kitchen

Charred Cauliflower

Avocado toast

Ancient grains bowl with steelhead

**** (4 stars)

Unlike many restaurants that focus on healthy eating, True Food is not strictly vegetarian, but rather emphasizes tasty combinations of all healthful foods.

We started with the charred cauliflower, which was good–particularly the really well-charred bits–but wasn’t really enhanced by the accompaniments, especially the somewhat soggy pistachios.

Since we were there for brunch we tried the smashed avocado toast. It was topped by two beautifully cooked sunny side up eggs, and incorporated a razor thin slice of gouda. It was very good, but a rather small serving, so you’re going to want a starter or a side.

The best thing we had was the ancient grains bowl topped with steelhead. (Steelhead is a type of trout, but is almost indistinguishable from salmon.) All of the ingredients in this bowl–quinoa, miso glazed sweet potato, snow peas, grilled portobello mushrooms and avocado– were delicious, and worked beautifully together.

This place is large and bustling, so make sure to make reservations and don’t plan on a quiet conversation.

True Food Kitchen
1 W Erie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 204-6981
http://www.yelp.com/biz/true-food-kitchen-chicago

EL Ideas

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Interior

Kitchen

Wagyu

Kampachi

Cuttlefish

Asparagus, cheese, mushroom

Kitchen

French fried frosty

Rabbit ragu

Quail

Lamb’s tongue

75 day strip loin

Foie gras and banana cotton candy

Earl grey ice cream

German chocolate cake deconstructed

Menu 5-5-2017

***** (5 stars)

Unlike other fine dining restaurants, the goal of EL Ideas is to create an environment resembling a dinner party with friends. But instead of crowding strangers together at a communal table, EL Ideas provides conventional seating and achieves its goal through a casual approach that encourages guests to wander into the kitchen. This works really well, allowing the extroverts to gather by the prep table and converse, while the introverts and lovers can have a private experience at their own seats.

The meal gets off to an eclectic start from the first course, which was wagyu beef served with a sauce but no utensils, and the instruction not to use your fingers. Once you’ve licked your meal off your plate it’s hard to be stuffy.

The environment is spacious and trendy, the music an eclectic mix that isn’t too loud, and the chefs and servers are all welcoming and conversational.

The only aspect of EL Ideas I can’t be wholly enthusiastic about is the food. We had twelve courses, and almost every single course contained at least one really wonderful ingredient. But almost every single course included many other ingredients that rarely seemed to combine to create a result greater than the individual parts. In this respect it reminded me of 42 Grams, where a tremendous amount of work had obviously gone into the dozens of exotic components and preparations, but didn’t quite justify the end result.

The exception was “French Fries and Ice Cream,” a truly stunning course that I would rank with some of the greatest molecular gastronomy ever produced at Moto. An old-fashioned malt shop glass was filled with a frozen concoction resembling a vanilla shake, with a liquid nitrogen frozen cap. When we plunged our spoons into the top, a geyser of vapor erupted, caused by the hot potato soup in the bottom. The combination of hot and cold, soft and crunchy, sweet and salty was absolutely sublime. And yes, it tasted like a vanilla shake with french fries in it. This one course was worth the price of admission.

EL Ideas is BYOB, with individual ice buckets at each table. I suggest bringing a Blanc de Noir Champagne, which will match nearly all the food. If you want a second bottle, a lighter red would work best, such as a Burgundy.

EL Ideas
2419 W 14th St
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 226-8144
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-ideas-chicago-2

Bad Hunter

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Exterior

Turmeric panna cotta

Carrot cake with sorghum ice cream

Grilled ramps

Sunchokes

Lemon and sweet potato tempura

Grilled sour dough

Interior

**** (4 stars)

The concept here, as the clever name suggests, is mostly vegetarian, but there are a surprising number of non-vegetarian items, too. The menu focuses on interesting preparations, so you won’t find the kind of items offered at most vegetarian restaurants–no piles of tofu or seitan disguised as meat, no raw vegetable platters. Instead, there are thoughtful preparations that just happen to be vegetarian.

By far the best item we tried was the grilled sourdough, which was perfectly charred and served with a wonderfully creamy sunflower puree.

Also excellent were the grilled ramps, a relatively simple preparation that allowed the garlic yet slightly sweet flavors of the ramps come through.

Lemon and sweet potato tempura was interesting. The tempura batter was light, and the uniqueness of whole lemon slices served tempura style was fun.

Fried sunchokes were less interesting. They just seemed heavy.

The least impressive dish was the fluke crudo. The fluke floated in a marinade that imparted little flavor, and accompanying onions didn’t really go with the dish.

We tried two desserts. Panna cotta served with black coconut ice cream was just okay. The ice cream didn’t really taste like coconut, and the black color, produced by activated charcoal, is a fad I’m ready to be over. (Note that activated charcoal is used when pumping someone’s stomach, and can seriously interfere with many medications.)

The better dessert was the carrot cake, which wasn’t too heavy and was served with a delicious sorghum ice cream.

Because of its interesting menu I’d definitely be inclined to go back to Bad Hunter, but it should be noted that it’s not a place for conversation. The hard surfaces and crowded space make for a very noisy environment. Service was efficient and informative.

Bad Hunter
802 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 265-1745
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bad-hunter-chicago

Cindy’s

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Interior

View

Tart

Falafel

**** (4 stars)

This is a pleasant, high-ceiling and airy space with a great view of Millennium Park, and a nice, if pricey, selection of small plates and entrees.

We didn’t have a lunch reservation and even though we arrived before noon the only seating was “high top” which turned out to be a bar. But it was pleasant enough.

We had three appetizers, each costing around $18 each. Falafel consisted of three oval pieces of falafel served with assorted veggies such as cauliflower, and some harissa. The goat cheese tart had a delightfully delicate crust and was served with a good sized green salad.

My favorite was the smoked fish plate. The very moist and tender fish had a great smoked flavor. It was accompanied by pickled onions, gherkins, creme fraiche, salmon roe, stone ground mustard and sesame crackers.

Service seemed a bit brusque, but it was efficient.

Cindy’s
12 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 792-3502
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cindys-chicago

Jellyfish

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Interior

Tuna tartare

Spicy crab mini tacos

Banging sweet Thai chili chicken

Spicy salmon, kiss of fire, black diamond

*** (3 stars)

Jellyfish is divided into two distinct spaces. The inside is a long bar with facing booths. The bar is backlit with a spectacular wall of sliced geodes, and the blue lightning is very cool. Then there’s a sort of outside space that is like a solarium, with a glass ceiling that lets in the sun. It’s like sidewalk dining, but indoors.

The highlights here are the small plates, both cold and hot.

Our favorite was the tuna tartare, which was served on very tasty guacamole, accompanied by wonton chips.

The mini crab tacos were also very good.

We also tried the “bangin'” chicken with a sweet Thai chili sauce, which was fine but not remarkable.

Much of the menu consists of sushi, of course. Prices seem very high, with each individual piece of fish costing about $5. There was nothing we observed about the quality of the fish that seemed to justify the premium.

We opted for three rolls: spicy tuna, kiss of fire, and black diamond. All were fine, but none were that magic combination of flavors that would qualify them as “signature” rolls, as listed.

Service was good, as it should have been, since we were alone during Sunday at lunch. I suppose this is due to the second floor location, which makes it a bit non-obvious to the casual traffic on the busy street below.

Jellyfish
1009 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 660-3111
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jellyfish-chicago-2

Elske

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Exterior

Kitchen

Interior

Tea of lightly smoked fruits and vegetables (part of the tasting menu)

Beef tartare (part of the tasting menu)

Duck liver tart with buckwheat and salted ramps (part of the tasting menu)

Leeks vinaigrette with toasted oats and blue mound cheddar (part of the tasting menu)

Orange and egg white foam (one of the non-alcoholic pairings)

Roasted skrei cod with sunchokes and black trumpet mushrooms (part of the tasting menu)

Grilled leg of lamb (part of the tasting menu)

Frozen fennel chew with mint  (part of the tasting menu)

Citrus sundae with toasted milk, barley malt caramel and satsuma (part of the tasting menu)

Fireplace on the patio

**** (4 stars)

This sleek yet laid-back new restaurant offers a creative eight-course tasting menu at a very reasonable price. We particularly liked the cod with trumpet mushrooms, and the citrus ice cream. Portion sizes are modest, so you won’t leave feeling stuffed. I suggest starting with an order of the delicious sourdough bread to supplement the tasting menu.

A wine pairing is reasonably priced, but only the Burgundy impressed. However the non-alcoholic pairing knocked it out of the park. Each offering was delicious and matched the food perfectly. Highlights were a modern take on an Orange Julius, and a chilled sparkling espresso. In fact, this is the best non-alcoholic pairing we’ve ever encountered, including the original at Charlie Trotter’s.

Sadly, the reason this is a four-star review is that the noise level is simply too loud for conversation. There’s no attempt at acoustic treatment whatsoever, and all the glass and wood guarantee maximum racket. Be sure to hang onto your mini-menu, as you won’t be able to hear the descriptions of the dishes as they are served.

Elske
1350 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-1314
https://www.yelp.com/biz/elske-chicago

Temporis

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Interior

Table greens

Amuse bouche

Hamachi

Sunflower

Mushroom soup

Mushroom soup

Rabbit rillette

Greens for rabbit three ways

rabbit three ways

Venison

Blood orange

Rooibos custard

7 year aged cheese smoked

Foie gras ice cream

Menu

***** (5 stars)

What a wonderful addition to Chicago’s fine dining offerings. This restaurant, created by two chefs who met at Les Nomades, is closer to being a mini Alinea, with its beautiful, welcoming modern decor and just as beautifully plated 11+ course tasting menu.

In fact the only thing missing from a mini-Alinea experience is the precision team of synchronized waiters. Here, the service is more personal and less affected. Our server, Jeremy, did a wonderful job of playing host and making sure our meal was delightful.

Highlights of our meal included the wild mushroom consume, rabbit three ways, venison two ways, and 7-year aged cheddar served in a smoke-filled dome. We’re not really dessert eaters, but the four dessert courses were among the best we’ve had.

At $110 for the complete meal the price is very reasonable. And a five flight wine pairing was also worth every cent at $95. In fact, this may be the best wine pairing I’ve ever had, with a generous pour of five really outstanding wines that perfectly matched the food. The Rene Geoffroy Champagne, Nuits St. Georges 1er cru, and 2010 Chave Hermitage were stellar.

This was a very impressive meal for a new restaurant. It will be exciting to see how this menu evolves with the seasons.

Temporis
933 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 697-4961
http://www.yelp.com/biz/temporis-chicago

SafeHouse Chicago

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Exterior

Bar

Spy cams

Interior

Interior

Interior

Interior

Spy burger

Ahi tuna salad

Men’s room

Men’s room

Men’s room

***** (5 stars)

This is a really fun venue, definitely the best over-the-top themed restaurant I’ve been to. There’s lots to explore, including how to get in and how to get out. To avoid spoliers I’ll just say that the entrance is indeed the door at 60 E Ontario, and let you discover the rest for yourselves.

The food here is surprisingly good. We started with some pretzels, which I probably wouldn’t order again, since they weren’t cooked enough for my taste, but we liked everything else.

The grilled cheese sandwich was nicely browned and very generously stuffed, the spy burger was good, the fries were thin and crispy, and the ahi tuna salad was a good lighter choice, particularly if you like pea pods, as it was full of them.

Service was friendly, and the servers do a good job of staying in character without being overly serious about it.

Highly recommended for families or a fun night out. It was pleasantly navigable on a rainy Sunday afternoon. That’s important, because you’re going to want to explore the whole place. On the other hand, there might be magic at the bar at night…

SafeHouse Chicago
60 E Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 313-1007
https://www.yelp.com/biz/safehouse-chicago-chicago