Gaijin has garnered praise as one of Chicago’s most ambitious openings of 2019, and, while the last year saw little by way of new concepts in this city, the restaurant’s reputation is well-earned. You have visited the establishment four or five times following its first day of service in early November and must attest that the space is inviting, the food is delicious, and the experience flows with nary a hiccup…
Despite what you may have heard, Mako does not serve the best sushi in Chicago. Sure, it is a stunning, special venue. The staff is polished. The branding is slick. There is a well-priced beverage pairing and a decent wine/sake selection to boot. You may even go so far as to say that Mako is one of the better Japanese restaurants in the city. But in terms of sushi?
RPM Steak caters to the 99% of customers who did not make a Bavette’s reservation a month in advance of their special dinner. The restaurant caters to the 99% of customers who are impressed with hulking cuts of meat from unknown ranches–customers who take a bite, find they can chew through it, and think: “fair enough!”
Sure, Galit has gotten plenty of positive press, Cabra’s Peruvian fare is fantastic, and Gaijin promises to shift the paradigm for Japanese food in the city, but Tzuco stands as Chicago’s hottest opening of the year…
Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf excels in Chicago’s crowded steakhouse scene by consciously subverting so many of the nasty tropes that have plagued this genre of restaurants nationwide. There is little glitz and even less glamour…
It has taken you quite some time to appreciate Alinea, and, in many ways, it still confounds you as a restaurant. You will admit that you long harbored a slight grudge against the establishment…
CLAUDIA offers Chicago’s newest tasting menu, and, at $185 for a 10-course menu, the restaurant is clearly competing with “big dogs” like Smyth and Acadia.
If critics of the screen and stage can single out individual actors for praise and criticism, then why can’t restaurant critics?
I used to be a star-chaser like you. That is, drawn to stellar bodies of the bibendous kind…
I sit here now, a rain-speckled afternoon in the third week of October, reflecting on just why I chose to develop this online journal…