Category Archives: Chicago

El Hefe

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**** (4 stars)

My second visit to El Hefe was much more successful than my first. I really liked the food, and the service was good.

I was a bit hesitant to try this place because of its reputation as a noisy dive bar and a jam packed disco. But that’s at night. At lunch time it’s just a Mexican restaurant. It was still noisy on my first visit, but the place was empty on a Friday at lunch during my second visit.

The nachos are a very generous pile of just about everything you’ve ever seen on nachos. The underlying chips are thin and crispy, and the only fault I found was the use of liquid cheese rather than melting real cheese under a broiler.

The guacamole and chips are also a very generous serving (and were free, because of a yelp check-in. Deal!)

I really liked the two tacos I had: pastor, and crispy fish. Both were on small single tortillas and piled high, so you have to eat at least half before you can pick them up.

My companion said the quesadilla was one of the best she’s had, and since she makes the best quesadilla I’ve ever had, that was high praise.

The margaritas are served in a 20-ounce glass, but they’re more than half ice cubes.

Service was friendly and efficient.

El Hefe
15 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 548-6841
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-hefe-chicago-3

Bohemian House {BoHo}

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**** (4 stars)

If you’re looking for something different, BoHo offers excellent Central European food in a funky yet stylish environment. We tried it for Sunday Brunch, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and attentive service.

We sampled the Hungarian Langos, a pice of fried potato bread with garlic butter, sour cream and shredded gouda. It was good, but one slice was plenty. The Pork Schnitzel Sandwich was more to out taste. Served open face, it was a stack of rye bread, sauerkraut, the schnitzel and Emmentaler cheese, topped with perfectly cooked sunny side up fried egg. Rich, but tasty. The beer flight provided an interesting accompaniment.

We finished with an order of doughnuts, which are really beignets, served with two dipping sauces.

While the menu is not extensive, there’s enough variety to bring me back to check out their other offerings of this interesting cuisine.

Bohemian House {BoHo}
11 W. Illinois
Chicago, IL 60654
(779) 333-0236
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bohemian-house-boho-chicago-3

Vermilion

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***** (5 stars)

Vermillion offers very interesting food in a trendy, upscale atmosphere with a nice soundtrack.

They bill their food as a fusion of Indian and Latin, but it seemed to lean much more to Indian, although none of the items were traditional Indian, each had a unique and interesting spin.

We tried an extensive assortment of tapas, appetizers, and one entree, and enjoyed all of them. There is also an interesting wine list with about half the selections available by the glass.

Service was friendly and attentive.

Vermilion
10 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 527-4060
http://www.yelp.com/biz/vermilion-chicago-2

Japonais by Morimoto

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**** (4 stars)

This is certainly one of the better sushi restaurants in Chicago, although it perhaps can’t live up to the prestigious name attached to it. The decor and vibe of the place is top notch, from the downstairs bar (the Blue Room) to the upstairs dining rooms.

The food features many of the items you’ll find at Morimoto in New York City and as far as I could recall they were nearly identical. Fish quality is, of course, excellent.

We had the multi course omakase, which is a bit different than other omakases in that you can pretty much pick your own items, so it’s just a way of bundling the items you’re interested in, at a reasonable price of $130 per person. Portion sizes were large, and we definitely left feeling well stuffed with sushi!

The best item we tried was the hamachi crudo, thin strips alternating with pimentos. The hamachi tacos were also quite good.

A few of the specialties didn’t live up to expectations, including the Caesar salad, which just was voted best salad in Chicago, but seemed rather pedestrian to me. Perhaps it’s just that I don’t like Caesars that are served deconstructed, leaving the prep work to me.

The vaunted Duck Duck Duck was also a bit lackluster, although there was nothing wrong with any of the (more than 3) duck preparations on the plate.

We also had octopus, both raw (supposedly live, but I think the octopus would disagree) and cooked, beets, a large platter of sashimi, and spicy crab legs.

The trio of sorbets was a nice light way to end the meal.

The wine list is extensive, and there is a nice selection of Champagnes, the perfect match for sashimi.

Service was friendly and attentive, although several times during the meal there was an attempt to deliver two dishes at once, a physical impossibility on such small tables and with such large dishes. This is apparently caused by them having three kitchen and no coordination between them, which seems very odd for a restaurant of this caliber.

Overall I enjoyed the meal, thought it was reasonably priced for what it was, and would go back. But I’m still looking for a truly great Chicago sushi restaurant.

Japonais by Morimoto
600 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 822-9600
http://www.yelp.com/biz/japonais-by-morimoto-chicago-2

State and Lake Chicago Tavern

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**** (4 stars)

At first glance this place appears to be a fairly ordinary tavern likely to have a sports bar menu, but the food and ambience are both better than that. The stylish surroundings and pleasant lighting create a relaxed dining environment, and the menu offers some interesting and healthful items.

Yes, they’re known for their hamburgers and pretzels, but I had something completely different. I started with the charred broccoli, a generous serving that’s lightly seasoned and nicely cooked, although I could have done with a bit more char.

As a main course I had the Cobb salad. I like it when a Cobb is served un-tossed, as was the case here, allowing me to pick and combine ingredients at will. The perfectly seasoned avocado, bacon, cubes of Parmesan cheese and house-made ranch dressing were standouts.

Service was friendly and attentive. Altogether the meal was a very pleasant surprise.

State and Lake Chicago Tavern
theWit Hotel
201 N State St
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 239-9400
http://www.yelp.com/biz/state-and-lake-chicago-tavern-chicago

Elephant & Castle

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elephantandcastle

*** (3 stars)

This Americanized English pub has a pleasant atmosphere and good service.

There  are about a dozen authentic English pub dishes, and a larger selection of American sports bar type items. I only tried the pub pretzels, which we extremely doughy and covered in oil. I can’t recommend them.

There is a decent selection of draft beers, and a somewhat limited bottle list.

Elephant & Castle
185 N Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 345-1710
http://www.yelp.com/biz/elephant-and-castle-chicago-3

Crêpe Bistro

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**** (4 stars)

This intimate creperie offers authentic French crepes in all the usual savory and sweet flavors. There is a full bar and an interesting selection of reasonably priced cocktails.

Service is friendly, but a low staff to patron ratio means it may take a while to place your order. So just go and relax, like the French do.

The L-shaped restaurant has a few tables and a bar in the front, and a more intimate sofa and chair seating area in the back. There is full meal service at the bar, too.

Crêpe Bistro
186 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 269-0300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cr%C3%AApe-bistro-chicago-2

Tru

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**** (4 stars)

I’ve been to Tru four times over a period of seven years, and I think it is the most variable restaurant I’ve ver been to. One time I’ll have a three Michelin star experience, the next I can’t imagine what they were thinking.

On my first visit, every aspect of the food and service was perfect. Upon returning a year later, virtually every one of nine courses was a saucer of goo. A couple years after that we returned to have one of the most visually stunning meals I’ve had anywhere, accompanied by perfect (and not stiff) service.

But my most recent visit was again a disappointment. Aside from a couple of minor elements (walnut bread with the optional cheese course) nothing stood out gastronomically, and the service was stiff even though it was a quiet night. Worst of all was our inability to keep our wine glasses filled with the two expensive Burgundies we ordered. The sommelier placed them on the far side of the room, and then disappeared for fifteen minutes at a stretch. We finally took to just asking passing waiters to refill our glasses. After the  third such time, you’d think someone would have taken the hint.

I’m sorry if this seems petty, but when you’re spending over $1000 on a dinner for three people, the food and service need to be home runs. I’m sure I’ll try Tru again, but I’m going to give them a few years to go through another revolution.

Tru
676 N St. Clair St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 202-0001
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tru-chicago

Momotaro

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***** (5 stars)

I was expecting this restaurant to be crowded, noisy and with forced service, but it was none of these. Even though by the time we finished dinner it was full, it didn’t seem crowded, and noise levels never made it the least bit difficult to converse. Most importantly, our server, Brennan, was the opposite of stiff. He made the whole meal a fun and exciting experience, with excellent recommendations, deep knowledge of the menu and wine list, and a clear passion for what he is doing.

We loved the quality of the fish in the sashimi platter (which is called an omakase, but isn’t really what that is, traditionally).

Crab with shishito peppers was also very good.

My favorite dish was the bacon wrapped quail eggs from the robata grill. With three eggs on each of two skewers, this is a very shareable item.

The flan-like butterscotch dessert was also delicious.

The interior design of the restaurant is beautiful, and reasonable pricing makes it a place I will return to often.

Momotaro
820 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-4818
http://www.yelp.com/biz/momotaro-chicago-3

City Winery

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**** (4 stars)

This new place for outside dining along the river is a great place for a snack or light lunch or just a glass of wine. There are sunny tables along the edge of the riverwalk, and shaded ones farther back.

They’ve done a good job of selecting the best items from the City Winery’s menu for this outpost. My favorites are the hummus and the kale Caesar salad.

Service is efficient, and the view can’t be beat.

City Winery
11 W Riverwalk S
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 733-9463
http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-winery-chicago-3