Chicago's Best New Restaurants
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CHICAGO'S BEST NEW RESTAURANTS FROM DAZZELLING NEIGHBORHOOD SPOTS TO HIGH-TECH WONDER According to the May 2004 issue of Chicago Magazine. JAPONAIS 600 West Chicago Avenue; (312) 522-9600 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.japonaischicago.com Japonais is this year’s most glamorous scene. The whole place – dining room, bar, riverfront lounge – oozed high design elegance, from the giant urns to the glass backed waterfall. No wonder it’s always jammed with a stylish crowd sipping Floating Orchids. The creative cuisine, a syntheses of partner Mile Lim's Mirai Sushi and Ohba menus and a triumph for Chef Gene Kato. - D.R.W. SUSHI SAMBA RIO 504 North Wells Street; (312) 595-2300 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.sushisamba.com Just your typical Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian restaurant via New York, but glamorous SushiSamba Rio fits right in with the foodie fashionistas who roam River North. A stunning oval sushi bar signals that high-quality sashimi and sushi are major draws around the multilevel mango-hued dining room. - D.R.W. PARK GRILL 11 North Michigan Avenue; (312) 521-7275 Email: [email protected]; Website: www.parkgrillchicago.com Park Grill may be Millennium Park’s best perk: The window wall of the contemporary American spot overlooks the McCormick Tribune ice rink in the winter and the city’s biggest al fresco patio in summer. Partners Matthew O’Malley and Jim Horan have outfitted the handsome 300-seat room with a fireplace, wood laminate tables, and large booths. Chef Bernard Laskowski offers up bold, likable food. - D.R.W. PLUTON 873 North Orleans Street; (312) 266-1440 {Best New Restaurant} The small ivory-toned room is serene and minimalist, set with luxurious embossed linens, Christofle silver, Bernardaud dishes, and Riedel glassware. Pluton calls his new menu “contemporary American rooted in French technique.” This makes the 2000 Beaucastel Reserve California Paso Robles syrah ($76) by the famed French Chareaneuf-du-Pape winery a perfect choice at Chicago’s best new restaurant. - D.R.W. FLIGHT 1820 Tower Drive, Glenview; (847) 729-9463 This breezy wine bar and restaurant, tucked into a redeveloped Glenview Naval Air Station property, has quickly established itself as a destination for imaginative grazing an sipping. Amid a concrete-and-steel bar, Miro-pattern upholstered banquettes, and copper-topped tales, owners Jeff Burklin and Steven Herzon stick to the theme with a menu of international food and wine flights (wines are listed by claim number instead of bin). - D.R.W. KORYO 2936 North Broadway; (773) 477-8410 This is everything Korean food should be: tender, fresh, and slightly dangerous. Joanne So and her husband, Chef Jun Park, have decked out their sleek Lake View storefront with abstract art and black vinyl seats. Seems like an unlikely spot for a little bit o’ Seoul, but appetizers of pan-fired calamari, and a browned kimchi pancake prove Koryo has got the goods. - J.R. 10 WEST 10 West Jackson Avenue, Naperville ; (630) 548-3100 “Hey, that table’s on fire,” a guest nonchalantly pointed out during a recent visit to 10 West. Seems an absent- minded diner across the room had left a menu too close to a candle. The global restaurant in the old Elaine space is red hot, all right. The restored brownstone has become one of downtown Naperville’s busiest spots thanks to Patrick Cassata’s offbeat dishes. -J.R./D.R.W. LA TACHE 1475 West Balmoral Avenue; (773) 334-7162 There’s an oddball cake at La Tache that mixes pineapple, cardamom and vanilla mascarpone. It has no business succeeding, much less being a knockout. That’s La Tache – slightly overpriced; no reservations; awfully loud for a quiet Andersonville side street – but the place doesn’t just work, it puts in overtime. Chef Fale Levitski turns bistro cooking on hits ear. - J.R. BOKA 1729 North Halsted Street; (312) 337-6070 From now on, when I buy tickets for Steppenworf, I’ll make reservations at Boka. Draped with a sweeping textile sculpture that makes you wonder if John Malkovich has just dropped in by parachute, this sophisticated pretheater spot offers delicious American food from Chef Guiseppe Scurato, previously at Spago and MK. Co-owners Kevin Boehm and Orb Katz put their names together to come up with BOKA for the marquee, and they put their heads together to come up with the cell phone booth strategically located outside the dining room. Both smart moves. - D.R.K. SPEAKEASY SUPPER CLUB 1401 West Devon Avenue; (773) 338-0600 Every neighborhood should be lucky enough to enjoy an anchor like Jody Andre’s boisterous spot. Chef Tiffanie Hicks doesn’t mess too much with her contemporary menus; the best ‘hood joints always keep their fans’ favorites on hand. It’s even better when the place is BYO so you know what wine to take based on the dish you’re already psyched for. - D.R.W. MOTO 945 West Fulton Market Street; (312) 491-0052 {Best New Chef} Homaro Cantu's creative mojo is in hyperdrive at Moto, the serene new Fulton Market-district destination. After four years at Charlie Trotter's, the 27-year old Cantu is cooking at a level of creative elan we first saw in Trio's Grant Achatz a couple of years ago - and his dishes are like nothing you've ever seen. Calling his food "avant-garde with Asian minimalism." Cantu's food is brilliant but tiny: If you opt for the five-course dinner, a swing by Portillo's might be in your future. - D.R.W. TWEET 5020 North Sheraton Road; (773) 728-5576 Q. What do you get when you cross the owner of a gay bar with two chefs from Charlie Trotter's? A. Tweet. Michelle Fire hired Chefs Janice Martin and Kimberly Stewart for this one-of-a-kind, cash-only BYO charmer last September. All three seem to be having a blast, and the cheer rubs off on servers as well as diners, who've turned the bird-themed storefront into the hottest scene Uptown. - J.R. SAIKO 1307 South Wabash Avenue; (312) 922-2222 Like Japanimation come to life, Saiko unleashes a flood of shapes and colors. And we're not just talking about the décor. Sushi and maki by Kenju Horikoshi are gorgeous and fresh. - J.R. AVEC 615 West Randolph Street; (312) 377-2002 Avec packs so many people into its communal banquettes and hipster bar, the place should have been named Sur. This hot spot takes no reservations, and dinners waiting for a prized seat are practically on top of one another. - D.R.W. FUSE Hotel 71, 71 East Wacker Drive; (312) 462-7071 {Best New Dish} Developed by Richard Mott (North Pond) and designed by Nancy Warren (Kevin Topolobampo), the elegant space is accented with blue mosaic tiles and textural artwork. Aubriot says he's doing French-influenced contemporary American cooking. -D.R.W. ISABELLA'S ESTIATORIO 330 West State Street, Geneva; (630) 845-8624 " I just spent two hours on the phone looking for Lebanese yogurt," Isabella's Chef, Sean Eastwood, told us two months before the placed opened last October. Right then, we knew Isabella's was a pretty good bet. And Eastwood who arrived at this smart, noisy Mediterranean spot in downtown Geneva fresh from San Francisco's Kokkari Estiatorio, doesn't disappoint. -J.R. TANK SUSHI 4514 North Lincoln Avenue; (773) 769-2600 For smart sushi in Lincoln Square, think Tank. This spiffy storefront is part dining room and part stylish bar - sparkling so bright that I always head right to it. Makes sense: Executive Chef Sami Signorino's seafood tastes fresh enough to have just been fished out of a seawater tank. - D.R.W. LA PIAZZA 410 Circle Avenue, Forest Park; ( 708) 366-4010 Italian is not the flavor of the month. But then there's Sicilian Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto's cozy trompe I'oeil small- town La Piazza, shining bright in the western suburbs. Di Benedetto has his idiosyncrasies - that prosciutto-draped "tree" in a flowerpot looks wacky, but he told us it was inspired by a Sicilian festival where people climbed greased poles to reach edible treats. That helped. So did the fact that it was delicious. La Piazza's flavors blossom with authenticity, and the Chef's renditions of beloved regional dishes are scintillating. - D.R.W. CAFÉ LE COQ 734 Lake Street, Oak Park; (708) 848-2233 I'm begging you to ask me "Where's a good place to eat in Oak Park?" just so I can answer, "Café Le Coq." A dead ringer for a Parisian bistro, this gem sparkles with the talents of Chef Steven Chiappeti. - D.R.K. VERMILION 10 West Hubbard Street; (312) 527-4060 When I heard Virmilion touted as Indian-Latin fusion, I groaned. But these exotic cuisines blend seamlessly in the hands of Chef Maneet Chauhan. And the owner, Rohine Fey, has created a space as vibrant as its eponym, noting that the color is a symbol of Indian femininity. The Mondrianesque, mostly white interior is smartly adorned with large black-and-whites by Farrokh Chathia, a top Indian fashion photographer. The patrons are stylish, too, sipping grenadine-red-signature cocktails, nibbling tapas-style appetizers. - D.R.W. Article Written By: Dennis Ray Wheaton Chief Dining Critic Chicago Magazine & Jeff Ruby Deputy Editor Chicago Magazine .