A roundup of restaurants recently reviewed by restaurant critic Phil Vettel.
AIGRE DOUX ***
230 W. Kinzie St., 312-329-9400. Though the name means “sweet and sour,” there’s scarcely a distasteful note to be found in this remarkable restaurant, run by husband-wife team Mohammad Islam (chef) and Malika Ameen (pastry chef). Nominally an American restaurant, Aigre Doux’s menu incorporates a multitude of global influences and knowing twists on classic cooking (Mediterranean lamb and couscous becoming American lamb chops over Perigord-butter grits, for instance). The result is delicious food that’s also intellectually satisfying. Recommended: Mussels in Thai broth, artichoke soup with bay scallops, slow-baked salmon, sticky toffee pudding, creme fraiche panna cotta. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sat., lunch Mon.-Fri., brunch Sat.-Sun. Entree prices: $24-$34. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Valet parking, no smoking.
CHALKBOARD ***
4343 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-477-7144. Gilbert Langlois (ex-Rushmore, SushiSamba Rio) brings his creative-comfort-food act to the Lincoln Square neighborhood with this 62-seat charmer, a beautiful dining room full of uncluttered elegance, enlivened by the occasional appearance of the chef’s son, Owen. Arrive 15 minutes early and spend the time hunting for a metered parking space. Recommended: Grilled quail with “secret” stuffing; beet salad, striped bass, fried chicken, bread pudding. Open: Dinner Mon, Wed.-Sat., brunch Sun. Entree prices: $15-$28. Credit cards: A, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, no smoking.
FIXTURE *
2706 N. Ashland Ave., 773-248-3331. When is a small-plates restaurant not a small-plates restaurant? When it’s this year-old, 30-seat neighborhood spot, where chef Sarah Nelson cranks out portions that are about the size entrees would be if anybody listened to nutritionists’ advice. Choose judiciously among the three-dozen menu items, therefore, because three is all you’ll manage. Recommended: Chicken croquettes with caponata, chile-marinated lobster ceviche, suckling pig with habanero barbecue sauce, orange cheesecake. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun. Prices: Small plates $6-$13. Credit cards: DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, no smoking.
KODA **
10352 S. Western Ave., 773-445-5632. Although owners Janice and Patrick Daley have been praised for opening this bistro in the restaurant-deprived Beverly neighborhood, the truth is that Koda would be a welcome addition just about anywhere. Chef Aaron Browning brings a lot of experience to a menu that incorporates French classics with more contemporary dishes, and just about everything sings. Service needs polish, but is certainly friendly and eager enough, and in addition to a handsome, understated dining room, there’s an adjacent lounge whose comforts are no doubt appreciated by the people waiting patiently for a table. Recommended: Tart flambee, scallops over risotto, roasted salmon, chocolate-espresso cake. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun. Entree prices: $14.50-$27. Credit cards: A, DS, M, V. Reservations: Accepted. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, parking lot, no smoking.
LE LAN ***
749 N. Clark St., 312-280-9100. The arrival of chef Bill Kim has invigorated and focused the kitchen of this River North restaurant; hot and sour soup becomes haute cuisine in Kim’s hands, as do any number of prosaic sounding, brilliantly executed dishes. Exemplary service and a food-friendly wine list are significant pluses. Recommended: Pork-shrimp spring rolls, tea-smoked duck, mahi-mahi with pineapple-cucumber relish, white kimchi, lemon-coconut creme brulee. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sat. Entree prices: $20-$36. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking, no smoking.
NICHE ***
14 S. Third St., Geneva; 630-262-1000. Once there was a stellar contemporary-American restaurant in the Fox Valley called 302 West. When that restaurant was sold in spring 2006, its chef, wine directors and most of the other staffers banded together to open this cozy 72-seater a half-year later. Fans of the old 302 will find plenty of similarities in Niche’s scrupulously seasonal menu and unerring seafood preparations, but this impressive newcomer is definitely a new chapter for chef Jeremy Lycan, manager/sommelier Jody Richardson, and crew. Recommended: Smoked sturgeon, grouper with crawfish, pecan-crusted walleye, roasted duck breast, chocolate assortment. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sat. Entree prices: $27-$32. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, no smoking.
PALERMO’S *
11255 W. 143d St., Orland Park, 708-364-6700. A family Italian restaurant best known for its pizza is not where one expects to find a French-trained chef, but Reinhard Barthel, late of Cafe 36, is expanding his repertoire these days at this ambitious young offspring of the original Palermo’s near Midway Airport. Barthel’s cooking is deeply respectful of Italian cuisine, but his menu offers more depth than most similar operations ever attempt. Recommended: Arancini, gamberi sambuca, spaghetti amatriciana, veal braciole. Open: Dinner Mon., Wed-Sun. Entree prices: $16-$25. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Recommended weekends. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, no smoking.
PANE CALDO **
72 E. Walton St., 312-649-0055. Though it sits on one of the Gold Coast’s most tony streets, this 70-seat jewel is anything but ostentatious. Veteran chef Maurice Bonhomme adds a French lilt to the nominally Italian menu, seen in his complimentary amuses and his complex, understated sauces. Recommended: Lobster mille-feuille, black-grouper ceviche, mushroom risotto, chocolate trio. Open: Dinner and lunch Mon.-Sun. Entree prices: $31-$37; tasting menu $69-$95. Credit cards: A, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Hushed. Other: No smoking.
RICCARDO TRATTORIA ***
2119 N. Clark St., 773-549-0038. Riccardo Michi was an executive chef with the Bice restaurant group for many years, and Lincoln Park locals are thrilled to be getting Bice-quality food at neighborhood-trattoria prices — one of the big reasons that it’s hard to get a reservation at this narrow 50-seater. Michi’s robust, rustic cooking is first-rate and attitude free; he’s as happy to make a sinfully rich spaghetti carbonara as he is to laboriously create tripe Florentine, a signature dish that has developed something of a cult following. Recommended: Tuna carpaccio, orecchietti with boar sausage, lobster risotto, ricotta cheesecake. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun. Entree prices: $12-$24. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking, no smoking.
SEQUEL***
44 Yorktown Center, Lombard; 630-629-6560. Beset with mid-priced chain competitors, Steve Byrne closed his beloved Bistro Banlieue and remade it into a more upscale contemporary-American with fewer seats, white tablecloths, crystal stemware and other niceties. Free from the restrictions of the bistro label, chef Mark Downing is cooking with renewed vigor and creativity, and the addition of pastry chef Matthew Sayers has elevated the dessert selection considerably. Recommended: Diver scallop over braised oxtail, tiger shrimp with snow crab in miso broth, pear-lacquered duck breast with lingonberry demiglace, cashew panna cotta with curry sauce. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sat. Entree prices: $18-$28; tasting menu $70. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Hushed. Other: Wheelchair accessible, no smoking.
TRAMONTO’S STEAK & SEAFOOD ***
601 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling; 847-777-6575. Chef Rick Tramonto applies a gourmet touch and his trademark showmanship to the steakhouse concept in this dining room in the Westin Chicago North Shore hotel. The menu offers such throwbacks as iceberg-wedge salad and shrimp cocktail, and the shellfish platters are named after characters from “Gilligan’s Island.” Recommended: Frog legs, beef tartare, ribeye steak, lemon-meringue tart. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun. Entree prices: $19-$47. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking, no smoking.
VIAND ***
155 E. Ontario St., 312-255-8505. Steven Chiappetti is back in the city. The one-time chef of Mango has attached himself to this attached-to-a-hotel dining room just steps east of Michigan Avenue and is cranking out the sort of unaffected, flavor-packed cuisine that made him a hero to downtown foodies years ago. Recommended: Lamb riblets, pork and shrimp wontons, roasted chicken, lamb tagine, Junk-Food plate. Open: Dinner, lunch, breakfast Mon.-Sun. Entree prices: $15-$24. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking, no smoking.
XEL-HA **
710 N. Wells St., 312-573-9947. The much-traveled Dudley Nieto is behind this River North newcomer, a Mexican restaurant that focuses on the Mayan-influenced cooking of the Yucatan Peninsula — which promises slow-cooked, achiote-marinated meats and citrus-drenched seafood. Recommended: Cochinita pibil, los tres ceviches, panuchos de pato, spice-rubbed ribeye steak, cuatro leches cake. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sat., lunch Mon.-Fri. Entree prices: $14.95-$22.95. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, parking lot ($10) across street.
Ratings key:
OUTSTANDING ****
EXCELLENT ***
VERY GOOD **
GOOD *
SATISFACTORY
UNSATISFACTORY
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
