Thattu is an interesting neighborhood place that is not ready for the big time. It is arguably not even ready for the small time, and you wonder when—if ever—the restaurant will live up to a reputation that almost seemed predetermined before opening.
Author: Grimod
Having just completed a series of articles on three of Chicago’s most enduring fine dining establishments, you now return to another specimen that has reached middle age…
After a brief interlude, you now take aim at another concept that has comfortably reached maturity…
After spending a bit of time exploring two of Chicago’s more longstanding fine dining concepts, you now shift your focus to a restaurant that has successfully reached middle age…
In North Pond, you find a restaurant that stands totally apart from time yet, just the same, has stood firmly ahead of its time for most of its existence…
Does Boka, today, represent an enduring legend or reflect, in line with other recent missteps, BRG’s downfall? Whatever the answer, asking the question presents an opportunity to immortalize an establishment that has cemented its place in Chicago’s gastronomic history.
Jinsei Motto forms a valuable addition to Chicago’s sushi scene. It is the approachable, irreverent entry point to the genre, and one that—with such a clear, undeluded sense of self—you find rather refreshing.
Rising from the ashes of Elizabeth, Atelier has already surpassed your expectations, with the restaurant representing an essential beachhead in the fight to democratize fine dining and foster an appreciation of local sourcing that transcends the cloistered world of “foodieism.”
Chicagoans need to beware that the experience offered at Sushi by Scratch Restaurants today is a pale facsimile of the version Phillip Frankland Lee put on at opening, but there is still some fun to be had.
With LEYE’s luxe sushi spot recently celebrating its first birthday, the time seems ripe for you to pay the concept a visit and test its intention of being “the best omakase in Chicago.”