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…
Contemporary American
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.
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.”
Valhalla confirms Gillanders’s status as one of Chicago’s most talented chefs, yet the restaurant still only represents a half step in his journey…
With your hundredth visit looming in early 2023, the time seems ripe to step back, reflect, and review the creative output that has flowed ceaselessly from Ada Street’s colossus of seasonal American cuisine.
There can be little question of the buoyant spirit Erick Williams has imbued his restaurant (and the wider community) with, but the nature of Virtue’s execution—and its ability to successfully extend that hospitality more broadly—stand ripe for analysis.