Category Archives: Cocktail Bars

Proxi

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Bar

Interior

Burrata

Elotes

Raw tuna

Cobia

Pork Jerky

Mexican Chocolate semifreddo

**** (4 stars)

I liked Proxi, Andrew Zimmerman’s new restaurant around the corner from his stalwart Sepia. In fact, I liked Proxi considerably more than Sepia. It’s lively without being deafening, and the small plate format provides the opportunity to taste many very different and varied dishes.

The menu is more or less in three columns, vegetarian, fish and meat.

From the vegetarian column of the menu, we loved the grilled sourdough that came with the burata, and the Asian take on corn elotes was also spot on.

From the fish column of the menu, raw tuna incorporated a lot of nice flavors, and was inventively served with a sorbet. The cobia in curry sauce was also very good.

The meat column was a bit less successful. The pork jerky was pretty good, but the short rib in curry didn’t have much flavor beyond everyday pot roast, save for the very spicy peppers on top.

For dessert, the Mexican chocolate semifreddo was very tasty; I’m a sucker for cinnamon with chocolate. However the meaning of semifreddo seems to have been lost somewhere along the line, as it was frozen rock solid.

Service was fine, although there were long pauses at various times, partly due to the disconnect between a server taking the order and others delivering it and clearing plates, and partly just due to a lot of business.

The only thing I really disliked was the wine list. Why someone would decide they need fifty wines from France’s Loire Valley and NO wines from anywhere else on the planet is beyond me. The wines from the Loire are fine, but they are limited in style. I could pick six to ten wines that would reflect the entire scope of the region. That leaves forty others that could better be replaced by other varietals and styles from around the world… just like a real wine list. In fact, although I liked the food, this bizarre wine list would be a serious stumbling block to me returning very often to an otherwise very good restaurant.

Proxi
565 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 466-1950
https://www.yelp.com/biz/proxi-chicago-3

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

Boeufhaus

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35 day dry aged rib eye

Fries, Cauliflower, asparagus

Short rib beignets

Exterior

Interior

Trout crudo

**** (4 stars)

I guess I was expecting a bit more from this place because of all the buzz, but it was good. With only 36 seats, and many of them at the bar, reservations are essential. We arrived on the early side of the evening, but it quickly filled up. Despite the small space and brick walls, sound levels were not too bad.

Our waiter was very good, and our bus boy was the best I’ve ever encountered, really on top of every little detail, offering to replenish my wife’s glass of ice, package up every little leftover, even sauces, keeping two types of water refilled, and very professionally clearing and resetting the table several times during our meal.

Much of the food is on the heavy side. We started with the lightest dish, trout crudo. There were many interesting flavors, from citrus to olive to herb. My wife didn’t care for it because she prefers a more acidic preparation for raw fish, and this one was covered in oil, but I liked it.

We then tried the short rib beignets, because of all the raves. Honestly, these are more like fritters, a heavy ball of deep fried dough, with short ribs in the center, served with a brown dipping sauce. I thought they were just okay, but my wife, who is not a big short rib fan, liked them. One each was plenty, though.

We shared a 35-day aged rib eye. Again, we disagreed somewhat. My wife prefers a leaner cut such as a New York strip, and this was admittedly a very fatty rib eye. I thought it was good, and the accompanying bearnaise was excellent, but I admit the steak was not a top ten, even in Chicago.

We tried three sides. Asparagus was a mix of green and white, simply served with melted butter. It was fine, but not memorable. My wife loved the beef fat fries. These were indeed very good, better than the usual duck fat fries, but so rich that just a few were plenty. The best side was the cauliflower gratin, a rich blend of leek, gruyère, and béchamel, baked in an iron dish.

Overall I thought Boeufhaus was a good restaurant, but not one I’d bother to travel to again, with so many other Chicago steakhouses nearer us in River North. That said, I am still searching for a truly great steak experience in this town famous for steakhouses.

Boeufhaus
1012 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 661-2116
https://www.yelp.com/biz/boeufhaus-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

il Porcellino

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**** (4 stars)

I was a big fan of Paris Club, which occupied this space, but I must admit that Il Porcellino is a much better restaurant–and business plan. It was packed the night I visited. But even though it was full, I liked the fact that I could still hear the background music (an odd blend of 20th century pop and cliche Italian restaurant music) and conversation was easy.

The space is unrecognizable and gorgeous. Hundreds of light bulbs hang over the dining room, creating a romantic aura, and the large bar out front and various room dividers are also cleverly lit to show off the bottles and other stuff on the shelves.

Service is extremely polished, with constant attention from the servers, and independent delivery of the food straight from the kitchen via runners.

I was unimpressed by the complementary risotto ball amuse bouche, but after that everything was excellent.

The garlic loaf is a great way to start. It’s a mini boule, crisped on the outside and sliced into six pie wedges. Grated parmesan is stuffed into the cracks and then, tableside, garlic butter is poured in. It was delicious, and even managed to maintain its crispness throughout dinner.

Fried Brussels sprouts were also good, not too oily and not too buried in cheese.

I’m not too big on pasta, so I opted for the brick chicken specialty. Good move. It was a giant slab of boneless breast meat with a unique, super-crispy crust. But the thing that made the dish was the mixture of cauliflower, garden vegetables and butter on which it sat.

If you’re into hot fudge sundaes you’ll like the semi-fredo, but I wished I’d selected a different dessert.

Drink-wise, I started with a negroni. There are three choices, and I liked the Fernet-based one I picked because it was particularly bitter. The house Chianti I segued into wasn’t particularly good. But I finished with a Nonino, my favorite Amaro.

If I have any complaint about Il Porcelino it’s simply that there are no healthful options on the menu. Everything is either friend, drenched in butter or swimming in carbs. Even the salads look pretty heavy. It’s all delicious, but I couldn’t eat there very often without some lighter choices.

il Porcellino
59 W Hubbard
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 595-0800
http://www.yelp.com/biz/il-porcellino-chicago

Tapa Toro

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***** (5 stars)

This may be Orlando’s best tapas restaurant. Its diverse menu offers all the standards, plus a lot of dishes with a unique twist, and unlike some tapas places there are a lot of lighter selections and many vegetarian offerings.

My favorite dish by far was the roasted cauliflower, which was perfectly seasoned and sauced, and topped with sultanas and capers. Yum! Grilled asparagus served with grated manchego was also very good.

More conventional were the salmon crudo and the grilled garlic shrimp plates. The assorted cold meat platter was also conventional except for the inclusion of a delicious house-made pate and house-made pickles.

There’s an extensive list of wines by the glass or bottle, plus a very intriguing cocktail list. I tried the Feliz Boca, an inspired mixture of rosemary, lavender, blood orange and bitters. Delicious, and an amazing match to the pate.

There’s a nice dessert menu, but note that there’s also a Ben and Jerry’s about ten feet away! Hmm. Decisions.

Service was very friendly and attentive, and the outdoor dining area is great–mostly shaded, with a view of the Orlando Eye, which is nearby.

Tapa Toro
8441 International Dr
Ste 260
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 226-2929
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tapa-toro-orlando

GreenRiver

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**** (4 stars)

Green River offers one of the better cocktail lists in Chicago, and the dining area is upscale, trendy and yet intimate. The approach, through long hospital-like corridors is a bit weird, but once there you can settle in and enjoy some interesting small plates and a lot of cocktails.

One word of caution is that wine offerings are pretty limited, so it’s definitely a cocktail place. I liked that there were a lot of choices that weren’t overly sweet.

Food was good, even if there were no real home runs. Service was very knowledgeable and helpful.

GreenRiver
259 E Erie St
18th Fl
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-0101
http://www.yelp.com/biz/greenriver-chicago

Celeste

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***** (5 stars)

Celeste offers a different concept on each floor. Online reservations get you a table in the cozy cocktail bar on the second floor.

A fifteen page cocktail list offers something for everyone. My server was really into it, and actually created a cocktail to my taste from some new liqueurs they’d just received. There is also a limited but well-thought-out wine list.

The menu is brief, but excellent, with a number of small plates and a few entrees.

The octopus is a specialty, and was tender and flavorful, set off by bits of citrus and served on a creamy puree, topped with cilantro. It was delicious.

But my favorite was the smoked trout salad. The sour citrus wedges combined with the smoky trout and light dressing on the greens to something that was much more than the sum of its parts.

Food service was lightning fast, and the four bartenders did a good job of keeping up with the bustle. The low ceiling keeps noise to a reasonable level.

Celeste is definitely one of the better cocktail and dining experiences on Hubbard.

Celeste
111 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 828-9000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/celeste-chicago

Trenchermen

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***** (5 stars)

Trenchermen provides a very interesting menu in a great environment that is a mix of retro and modern.

The very reasonably price four course menu offers a nice way to sample (rather large) tasting portions of two appetizers, and entree and a dessert. Having complete flexibility of wha tot choose from the menu is really a nice idea. Our eight choices were:

Shrimp was served on interesting toast, and with a lemon curd garnish, it was good, not superb.

Ham was thin sliced and served with a BBQ-like sauce, very good.

Carrots with exotic spices were accompanied by wonderful English pea falafel.

Pickle tots were more like potato puffs, with very little pickle flavor.

Cauliflower was a spectacular slice of a whole cauliflower, browned on both sides and served with tangy relish. This was stellar.

Double burger was perfectly cooked, served with spectacularly crisped steak fries and the most delicious “burger sauce” for dipping I’ve ever tasted. This was addictive.

Basque cake had a wonderful buttery crust and came with delicious poppy seed ice cream.

The cheese plate included three American artisanal cheeses, but the highly was the accompanying house-roasted nuts.

The focus here is on cocktails more that the rather eclectic selection of wines. Service was very friendly.

Trenchermen
2039 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 661-1540
http://www.yelp.com/biz/trenchermen-chicago

21c Museum Hotel

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***** (5 stars)

I love this unique boutique hotel, where every wall is filled with captivating modern art. There are extensive galleries off the lobby and downstairs, and many different media are represented. There is also an excellent restaurant, Proof on Main. Many of the city’s most interesting attractions are within two blocks. This is definitely the place to stay when passing through Louisville.

21c Museum Hotel
700 W Main St
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 217-6300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/21c-museum-hotel-louisville