SALPICON
The historic significance of this Old Town restaurant is that it demonstrated that the success of Frontera Grill (where chef Priscila Satkoff worked, but did not cook) was replicable that there was room for more than one serious fine-dining Mexican restaurant in Chicago. Five years and one expansion later, Salpicon is still pleasing palates with Satkoff’s flavorful, spice-friendly cuisine; may it ever be so.
NoMI
The name may be awkward (an abbreviation of North Michigan Avenue), but everything else about this restaurant, a showpiece in the Park Hyatt Hotel, fits together perfectly. The elegant dining room features mosaic tiled floors, etched-metal panels and a spotless display kitchen; a bank of windows provides glittering views of the Water Tower. Sandro Gamba’s French food incorporates global influences, offering daily sushi specials along with truffle-scented white-bean soup and outstanding risotto.
MOD
Space-age decor meets serious, artisan-focused regional cuisine in this delightful Wicker Park restaurant. Kelly Courtney cooks with wit and vigor, evidenced by such dishes as a “ham and eggs” made of ciabatta crostini and prosciutto and a Texas-sized ribeye steak with a Stilton cheese-Vidalia onion fondue.
TRU
The car valet asks for your name, and remembers it. The entryway leads to a champagne bar with soaring ceilings and arresting art pieces. The dining room has upholstered purse rests, automated doors leading to the kitchen and an original Warhol on one wall. Thoroughly dazzled, you await the spectacularly artistic dishes by Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand. Sip cappuccino-style soup from a Versace cup, nibble caviar from a glass staircase and marvel at the minds that dreamed this stuff up.
302 WEST
A former bank building in Geneva becomes a surprisingly comfortable and warm setting for one of the western suburbs finest restaurants. Joel Findlay’s contemporary American cooking shows a particularly deft touch with seafood, but don’t overlook the meat offerings. And save room for dessert; more that a dozen are offered daily, including the poached peach featured on our cover.
AUBRIOTt
Husband-wife team Eric and Stephanie Aubriot (he’s the chef; she’s the front-room manager) have been wowing fans since they opened their Lincoln Park restaurant two years ago. The cuisine is complex and daringly different (foie gras with chocolate sauce?), and the dining room is comfortable and low-key, though always precise and professional. ot bad for a couple whose 30th birthdays are still somewhere over the horizon.
COURTRIGHT’S
This Willow Springs restaurant opened impressively a few years ago and has improved every year since. Blessed with a location bordering a forest preserve (the view in fall is particularly beautiful), William and Rebecca Courtright make sure the indoor visuals–specifically, the imaginative contemporary American food–are equally appealing.
EVEREST
I have a technique I employ when I dine at Everest: I identify the most unusual, unappealing food item I can find on the menu–and order it. Such is my trust in master chef Jean Joho, who has an uncanny ability to transform humble foodstuffs into food for the gods. Over the years, this technique has saddled me with wild grouse, pork cheeks (I disn’t ask which ones) and barnacles–and I’ve yet to regret a single decision.
