Without any novelty factor from the food hall setting to help round its rough edges, Valhalla “2.0” must deliver across every dimension: reflecting the lessons learned and dreams dreamt during the prior iteration…
Chicago
In a city that is no stranger to Italian concepts, have Lettuce and Funke truly sought to redefine the genre? Should Chicagoans really wrangle for reservations and pay a premium to experience this vision? Or do you only encounter the same steak and pasta, garnished with a bit of that Beverly Hills glitz, that local diners have enjoyed for generations?
Having tangled with the novel “beef omakase” form, you return to the comforting embrace of a traditional tasting menu. You also find your way back to a genre—Mexican (and, in this case, more broadly “Latin”) cuisine—that you haven’t engaged with since 2019.
After some time spent plumbing the depths of more casual fare, it feels good to get back to the meat of the matter: a fine dining concept looking to offer something Chicagoans have never yet experienced with all the trappings of luxury you so love (to pick apart).
After spending time with two concepts that tickled the national press in 2023, you turn your attention to a restaurant that—having opened at the tail end of last year—seems poised to do the same in 2024.
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.
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…