The Coach House is a completely separate restaurant from Wazwan. It is located in an actual brick coach house that survived the Chicago fire. You walk through Wazwan to get there.
They serve an eight course tasting menu at either counter or table seating. A maximum of 16 guests can be accommodated at one time, and there are currently two seatings per night on Thursday through Saturday.
Chef Zubair's food is primarily influenced by memories of his home in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, but is also influenced by South Asian Cuisine, and his experience at restaurants working for Jean Georges Vongerichten and Thomas Keller.
I love Indian food, and was expecting a lot from this meal, but I was blown away by the complexity of flavors. This has been a busy week for us, with dinner at three Michelin starred restaurants, and The Coach House was better than any of them!
We couldn't even pick a favorite course, there were so many spectacular ones. And every single ingredient and flavor was there for a reason, with flavors in a single bite building as you savored it, and lingering long after.
Service was very friendly, and Cheg Zubair is incredibly personable and informative.
I really can't say enough good things about the experience. You just need to try it yourself. Compared to other Michelin-rated places, it's an absolute steal, and an experience you won't soon forget.
This restaurant is BYOB.
Wazwan – Chicago 1742 W Division St Chicago, IL 60607
InteriorExteriorTuna pokeShishito and tuna bacon robataTrio carpaccioSalmon skin roll and ikura sashimi
***** (5 stars)
Wow, I have no idea why I hadn't tried this place sooner, since it's so close to us. Their sushi, sashimi, and robata are all great, and I'm looking forward to going back and trying some other hot dishes.
Everything coming out of the kitchen is a work of art; just look at my photos. That's the prettiest carpaccio I've ever seen.
The seared shishito peppers were also the best I've had, doused in a very light, slightly sweet sauce to counteract the moderate heat.
Tuna tartare was a nice, summery take on the dish with lots of pineapple bits mixed in.
The salmon skin roll was also the best I've had anywhere, a delightful combination of crunchy and creamy.
Service was great (we went at a weird time, so it was not at all busy, but still, it was great).
It's BYOB. If their wine glasses are like their water jars, you may want to BYOG, too!
There. I’ve given Ever five Yelp stars. Now we need to examine that last star.
There are a thousand restaurants in Chicago that deserve five stars. I’ve given five stars to hot dog stands. But when you get into the stratosphere of restaurants — places like Oriole and Alinea — you need to take a closer look at what distinguishes them not just from the rest, but also from each other.
That’s where Michelin ratings come in. You can argue about the importance of some of Michelin’s fetishes such as synchronized seating, synchronized water pouring, synchronized plate delivery, and commemorative menus on departure. Give me a comfortable chair, keep my water glass topped up, and I don’t care if the menu is a QR code.
But Michelin stars do enforce certain food, wine, and service expectations.
Ever is the descendent of Grace, a former three star Michelin that imploded when Chef Curtis Duffy and business partner Michael Muser left. With Ever they set out to improve what was already highly acknowledged. Did they succeed? So far the answer is yes and no. (Full disclosure: I was not a big fan of Grace.) Ever has two stars. But it is obviously trying — really, really hard — for that third star. Maybe too hard.
The first thing you notice is the stunning curved stone walls, then the dining room, with its beautiful, minimalistic lines, and matte black tables isolated in individual pools of light.
The wine list and wine service are perhaps the highlight of the meal. The wine pairing features interesting, food friendly selections, nearly all from the Old World, and presented by the extremely personable Sommelier. The extensive bottle list avoids prestige areas and focuses on wines that people actually drink with food.
But the food is my point of contention. There are many, many ingredients in each dish of the nine-course tasting menu. But as the meal progressed, I began to wonder if less might be more.
The Hamachi course is a good example. The fish has been frozen into beautiful curls that look more like white chocolate. But attempting to eat it turns the plate into, well, a mess. The resulting taste just isn’t any better than a straightforward presentation would have been.
White asparagus is served two ways. The modern way results in something beautiful but uncut-able, while the traditional way, served with Bernaise sauce, is perhaps the best dish of the night. Sometimes tradition is best.
The meal progresses through proteins littered with heterogeneous components. I could not find two ingredients on the duck dish that seemed to work together: duck, fresh strawberry, peanuts?
A few other nits about the search for that third star:
Those beautiful curved walls reflect the sounds of the kitchen directly into the dining room. Either silence the kitchen or separate the spaces with a door.
There is no continuity of service throughout the meal. Dishes are delivered by the entire staff, so it is impossible to forge a relationship with a “host” during your dinner. That’s why the sommelier made such a wonderful impression. He provided the only feeling of being a guest.
Service staff should not wear cologne or perfume.
Stop rearranging the glassware! We had this happen at two other three star places. Every single server moved the glassware — even if we hadn’t touched it since the last move. After a dozen times it just became comical. At some point we could barely reach it! It’s not as if we were being served platters. Just leave it alone!
Okay, rant over. Would I go back to Ever? Probably not. Should you go? Probably so. If you are a foodie who wants to experience the top end of Chicago dining, it’s in a select group. It just might not be at the pinnacle of that group.
EntryChefWorld's cutest chopstick restKue from a 30kg grouperJapanese horse hair crabSkipjack tunaOctopus with avocado ponzuSushi riceBuri (wild yellowtail)Ankimo monk fish liverYatoi katsuo with onion ponzu
***** (5 stars)
There are many sushi restaurants in Chicago. There are even quite a few Omakase restaurants now. And a few of them feature direct interaction with the chef. But there are no experiences in Chicago that quite equal the interaction you'll experience with very personable chef Otto.
Rather than the officious, controlling chefs you so often encounter in Omakase restaurants, Chef Otto brings a friendly, educational attitude to the experience. His vast knowledge of fish and sushi preparation is there for the asking.
It's evident from the first bite, how much he cares about the quality of the fish. It's comprised largely of selections you will seldom find anywhere outside of Japan.
I have no idea how many courses were served during our experience, as we soon lost count. I only know that each bite seemed better than the one before it.
Although the space looks abandoned from the outside, when you step inside you are in an almost Zen-like interior, with the perfect lighting and music to complement an extraordinary meal. And the fact that there are only six seats makes it an amazingly intimate experience.
The small wine list and impressive reserve list are personally curated by the chef, so of course they perfectly complement the meal. We selected both a Champagne and a white Bordeaux. It was fascinating to see how some bites were perfect with one, and others with the other.
If you're looking for the ultimate sushi and Omakase experience in Chicago, you have found it.
ExteriorCrabBentoInteriorSnails in the woodsIce popsLambLobster
***** (5 stars)
The upstairs of this charming little house houses an equally charming restaurant. Certainly deserving of its one Michelin star, the service here — with its synchronized pouring of water and delivery and removal of plates — is even at a three Michelin level. The food might not be quite at that level, but it is certainly remarkable. Stand out courses include the Bento box, and snails in the woods.
If there is a short coming, it is perhaps in the wine area. The very limited wine list focuses on food-friendly old world wines, most of them fairly obscure. These same wines show up in the wine pairings. The problem is that the reserve pairing, which is quite expensive, doesn't really contain any wines I would call truly reserve wines. And a couple of them are very questionable matches to the food. A Pinot Gris from Alsace, for instance, is shockingly tart, and didn't work at all.
That said, the prettiness of the food, and the caliber of some courses definitely justify a visit.
ExteriorInteriorTruffle croissantBistekKare-kareAdoboSinigangPhoto of Kasama – Chicago, IL, United StatesSiomaiLumpia talabaWine listTasting menu and pairings
***** (5 stars)
We have been huge fans of Genie and Tim since the early days of Oriole, so we were delighted to hear about them opening Kasama, and even more delighted when they started serving a dinner tasting menu. It was our first stop on our visit to Chicago.
Kasama is a very different experience at night than during the day. During the day it's all about Genie's amazing pastries and Tim's small plates and sandwiches, much of it served to go. At night it transforms into an intimate fine dining restaurant that is pretty much perfection.
From the moment you sit down you know you are in capable hands, with absolutely pitch perfect service that always seems to be there a moment after you finish a dish or glass of wine, but never seems to be overbearing.
Even the background music is perfect, with upbeat stuff like Asian renditions of I Can't Get No Satisfaction, yet at the perfect volume for pleasant conversation levels at each table.
We certainly got satisfaction! Each dish seems to top the one before it, so it would be impossible to pick a favorite. If you are unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine it doesn't matter, because each dish has a creative twist that has turned it into something completely unique anyway.
The wine pairings are just about perfect, too, with the dish enhancing the wine and vice versa.
The pacing was great, and the amount of food and wine in the 13 courses was also perfect. Clearly Kasama deserves its shiny new Michelin star, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a second one added next time.
Prost is across between a German beer hall and a sports bar. We had the LARGE pretzel, which definitely lived up to its name. We also had a medium wurst platter. Bot came with an assortment of mustards and a beer cheese.
Needless to say, there is a large selection of German beers. The friendly server (owner) helped us to choose beers and wursts that matched our tastes.
I'm glad to see Harry Caray back at Midway in this new location, as I always liked their food.
The burgers are just as good as ever, with a generous meaty patty and pepper bacon. Service is better at this new location, probably because every seat faces your server.
Just be prepared for airport level prices!
Harry Caray’s Shortstop 5700 S Cicero Ave Chicago, IL 60629
InteriorPotato SkinsBig ass pretzelHalf rack of Our Famous BBQ Baby Back RibsSlidersChicken Tenders
**** (4 stars)
From the description of "cozy fireplace" and BBQ, this wasn't what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. True, there is a more tavern-like room with a fireplace, but most of the space is a sports bar, filled with TVs.
The Big Ass Pretzel is indeed giant, and very good, with a crisp crust and light interior, and served with a slightly piquant cheese dip.
The BBQ baby back ribs were also good.
I had an excellent porter, and an equally excellent Irish coffee.
On a Saturday at lunch they were very busy, but the service was on top of it, and the meal was enjoyable.
I really like the interior design of this place, which, depending on where you sit, is an airy cafe, a bar, or a fairly intimate restaurant.
Like most "fusion" places, they're not really doing a fusion of cuisines, but just offering more than one, in this case, Japanese and French, with a bit of American thrown in.
My favorite dish was the mussels, which were served in a wonderful somewhat spicy broth that made a great soup, too.
The tuna tartare was also excellent quality, and the tempura was light and not oily.
The wine list emphasizes French wines, with some nice selections, but no bargains.
