Category Archives: Illinois

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

Weber Grill Restaurant

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Exterior

Interior

Wisconsin burger

Half pizza and salad

*** (3 stars)

The concept here is exactly what you might guess, with the majority of items cooked on actual weber grills in the kitchen. Most are charcoal driven, although a couple are gas.

The main room is long and narrow, with booths along one side and an open kitchen along the other. Despite this, it’s not noisy, and had a nice woody/clubby feel to it.

Our server was bubbly and informative, and made the dining experience a pleasant one.

We started with Caesar salads, which were excellent. Since it was lunch time I had the Wisconsin Burger, essentially a bacon cheeseburger with all the fixings, served on a pretzel bun. The patty had a nice char to it, as you would expect, and was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Unfortunately, despite this, the meat seemed somewhat dry and flavorless. I was also not a fan of the relatively flavorless bun, and discarded it before it could self-destruct.

My companion had the half pizza and salad combo. The pizza is a bit odd, with a very thick crust that has been grilled. On top of that were slices of whole tomatoes and melted mozzarella cheese, and some basil leaves. Although it wasn’t what she was expecting, she liked it except for the crust.

Overall I’d say Weber Grill is a possibility for lunch, but I would select different entrees next time.

Weber Grill Restaurant
539 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 467-9696
https://www.yelp.com/biz/weber-grill-restaurant-chicago

AMC Dine-in Theatres Block 37

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Sesame salmon bowl

**** (4 stars)

I love the large reclining seats and spacious theatre aisles at the DIne-In theatres. I’ve been to the one in Orlando many times. This on is a bit different design, with individual swinging tray tables at each seat, which I like even better.

The menu here is definitely themed, with the theme being “unhealthful.” There are almost no food items on the menu with calorie counts that can be expressed in three digits. In fact, one DRINK has over 1600 calories!

That said, on my last visit I had a sesame salmon bowl, which contained stir fried vegetables and a teriyaki-like sauce. It was superb. I had them substitute quinoa for the rice, which made it even better. I suspect it even had a reasonable calorie count, and I would definitely get it again.

The service is always friendly and efficient, and is not intrusive during the movie.

AMC Dine-in Theatres Block 37
108 N State Street
Ste 434
Chicago, IL 60602

https://www.yelp.com/biz/amc-dine-in-theatres-block-37-chicago

Dao Thai

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Interior

Exterior

**** (4 stars)

This is a good choice for traditional Thai cuisine, better than the River North options.

The interior is open, and very nicely decorated, with conventional tables and also ones where you can pretend you’re sitting on the floor (although you’re not).

We tried the Vietnamese spring rolls, gyoza, Massaman curry, Pad Thai, and a beef and mushroom dish. All were good.

Service was friendly and attentive.

Dao Thai
230 E Ohio St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-0000
https://www.yelp.com/biz/dao-thai-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

Bistrot Zinc

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Exterior

Interior

Mussels

Poulet Grand Mere

Chicken crepe

Walleye with almond brown butter

*** (3 stars)

This is the largest of a number of French bistros in the area. Because it is large, it tends to be noisier, but not unbearably so; it just affects the intimacy, which seems better at the others.

The decor is traditional, and the menu also looks fairly traditional. However I found the execution of the food to somehow feel a bit like Americans trying to make French recipes using American ingredients. As a result, there wasn’t anything that really came together with the clarity and complexity of flavors you’d find in Paris.

We started with the mussels, which were in a creamy broth, however some of them were quite fishy.

The Salade Lyonnaise was a traditional preparation; the dressing was quite vinegary and the lardons were extremely smokey.

Smoked salmon was a fairly small serving atop a giant mound of potato salad… a bit odd.

The chicken crepe was fine. The special, Walleye with almond brown butter, was probably the best entree. Poulet Grand Mere, a house specialty, was just okay; the mushrooms, onions and potatoes in the accompanying stew were very, very cooked.

Our server was very busy, so his visits to the table seemed rushed and infrequent.

On the whole, I don’t think I’d return when there are several other bistros I like better within easy walking distance.

Bistrot Zinc
1131 N State St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 337-1131
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bistrot-zinc-chicago

Petterino’s

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Almond encrusted white fish

Grilled trout

Cannelloni

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This restaurant is connected to the Goodman Theatre and just a few steps from the Oriental, so it’s a great place for a pre-show meal.

The interior is decorated like Sardi’s in New York, with red velvet booths and walls covered with caricatures of famous personalities.

The menu offers pastas, fish and meats. The food is better than one might expect for a restaurant that is capitalizing on its location. I particularly like the Caesar salad, which is a classical style without any of the odd deconstruction that is in vogue. My grilled trout was excellent, as was my companion’s almond-crusted whitefish.

Service is friendly and extremely efficient, because the place is geared to filling up and getting patrons out in time for their show.

This is a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, and participates in their rewards program, which is a nice perk.

Petterino’s
150 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 422-0150
https://www.yelp.com/biz/petterinos-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

Moe’s Cantina- River North

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Ceviche

Chicken Mole tacos

Interior

Nachos

**** (4 stars)

I went a long time without trying this place because the name is similar to a chain I despise, but there’s no relationship.

The cavernous space is neat looking, and has pretty good acoustics from what I could tell, although I was there during a fairly quiet lunch hour. The are several long bars and some tables big enough for large groups.

We really enjoyed the nachos we started with. They are definitely non-standard, almost more like a salad in some ways, with lots of pickled onions, lettuce and jalapeno. We got them without the beans, which I think would have just made them messy.

The menu is mostly tacos, and I enjoyed the chicken mole variety I tried, although I would have liked a variety rather than four all the same. My companion liked her ceviche.

Service was friendly and attentive.

Moe’s Cantina- River North
155 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 245-2000
https://www.yelp.com/biz/moes-cantina-river-north-chicago

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Steak

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Bar

Interior

***** (5 stars)

When I want a great steak in Orlando, I go to Eddie V’s. In Chicago’s River North I’ve tried nearly every steakhouse, and yet, when I want a great steak in Chicago… I go to Eddie V’s.

Even though it’s a chain owned by Darden, Eddie V’s is a cut above almost every big name steakhouse in town. And even though it specializes in seafood, it’s really the steaks that are the standouts. In fact, it’s ironic that Darden’s steakhouse chain, Capital Grille, serves choice meat, but Eddie V’s serves prime.

The service is also a cut above, with gracious, personal and professional waiters delivering a supper club type experience.

And the environment can’t be beat, with a classy dining room, vibrant bar, and live jazz most nights. The Orlando location is high-ceilinged and a bit noisy, but the Chicago restaurant is perfect, with more intimate dining spaces and better sound levels.

The seafood is okay, but not really what I’m looking for. The yellowtail sashimi appetizer is excellent, and the shellfish tower is impressive. But much of the other fish is steamed or cooked in ways that aren’t my favorite. So I stick with the excellent apps, salads and steaks.

In all, a great place for a great experience.

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Steak
521 N Rush St
Ste R01
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 595-1114
https://www.yelp.com/biz/eddie-vs-prime-seafood-and-steak-chicago