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Tasting Menu

MORSEL: VALHALLA (August 2025)

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More than a year after my last visit to Valhalla, I now ask: was I right to have faith, or did I jump the gun?

Posted on September 18, 2025September 18, 2025 No Comments

MORSEL: NIC + JUNIOR’S (July 2025)

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With Nic + Junior’s listing among the hottest restaurants in Chicago, it would appear the concept is finally ready for primetime…

Posted on August 1, 2025August 1, 2025 No Comments

TIDBIT: ENEMY at WARLORD (June 2025)

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Can lightning strike twice? Can the team at Warlord totally reinvent its tasting menu without losing what made those first two meals so special?

Posted on July 9, 2025July 9, 2025 No Comments

TIDBIT: ENEMY at WARLORD (May 2025)

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I was so impressed by my first meal at Enemy that I knew I had to rush back…

Posted on June 20, 2025June 20, 2025 2 Comments

MORSEL: ENEMY at WARLORD (April 2025)

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Enemy formed the entry point through which I could finally get to know what Warlord was doing…

Posted on May 1, 2025May 2, 2025 5 Comments

MORSEL: SUGAR SHACK at LE BOUCHON (March 2025)

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I have learned over many years and many tasting menus to be suspicious of any meal that seems like “too much of a good thing.”

Posted on April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 No Comments

MORSEL: TASTING MENU at KUMIKO (March 2025)

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Kumiko is another one of those places (like Obélix) that feels so familiar it can be hard to write about critically. At the same time, it is a place that remains so uncompromising in its vision it can sometimes perplex and polarize segments of its audience.

Posted on April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 1 Comment

MORSEL: JOHN’S FOOD AND WINE TASTING MENU (February 2025)

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John’s Food and Wine took its time building a foundation that could reliably support a tasting menu rather than going all-in, from the start, in pursuit of glory. The slow, steady, and sustainable route has yielded something spectacular.

Posted on February 14, 2025February 15, 2025 1 Comment

Understanding SMYTH: 2023-2024

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For those open to its charms, Smyth remains the signature, most singular restaurant of its generation. The third Michelin star only confirms its spot in Chicago’s pantheon.

Posted on January 24, 2025January 25, 2025 4 Comments

Understanding FELD

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An investigation of Feld: one of the Chicago dining scene’s most engaging (whether you find yourself enamored or averse) culinary expressions to date.

Posted on September 5, 2024September 11, 2024 1 Comment

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