A roundup of restaurants recently reviewed by restaurant critic Phil Vettel.
Dan McGee ** 330 W. Lincoln Hwy., Frankfort; 815-469-7750. Dan McGee has cooked on three continents, but when it came time to open his own place, he chose a location very close to his Orland Park hometown. The idea is to deliver a city experience at suburban prices, and he largely succeeds with an understated yet stylish, 46-seat dining room, and a menu with enough imagination to create a halibut-and-shortrib surf-and-turf. Friendly service needs more polish and the kitchen needs to address an item or two, but this yearling is impressive. Recommended: Gorgonzola cake, sea scallops in ginger-carrot broth, Grand Marnier panna cotta. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sat., lunch Tue.-Fri. Entree prices: $20-$32. Credit cards: A, DC, M, V. Reservations: Accepted for parties of 6 or more only. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, parking lot.
Graham Elliot ** 217 W. Huron St.; 312-624-9975. Once a maverick, always a maverick. Graham Elliot Bowles, who earned four stars at Avenues while defying customer expectations of haute cuisine (using prepared foods such as candy and Rice Krispies cereal as ingredients), takes a sledgehammer to the notions of creature comforts at his self-named restaurant in River North. Tables are bereft of tablecloths and candles; mirror-boxed arrangements of fruit stand in for fresh flowers. But the food always exhilarates and satisfies, and though Bowles will garnish cheddar risotto with Cheez-Its and continues to offer foie gras crusted with Pop Rocks, like some culinary Warhol, his iconic/ironic touches always hit the mark. Recommended: GE Caesar salad, beet salad, pork prime rib, BLT salmon. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun. Entree prices: $27-$35. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking.
Hub 51 ** 51 W. Hubbard St.; 312-828-0051. The first restaurant by R.J. and Jerrod Melman, sons of legendary restaurateur Rich Melman, will remind diners of a certain age of Melman Sr.’s first restaurant, R.J. Grunt’s. The menu at Hub 51 is similarly uncomplicated (basic American “fun” food in an industrial-chic atmosphere), there’s the same nonconformist humor in the wisecracking menus and, just as important, it’s as tuned into the youth culture today as R.J. Grunt’s was back in the ’70s. Recommended: Dry-rub ribs, Three Green Bites. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., lunch Mon.-Sat. Entree prices: $16-$35. Credit cards: A, DS, M, V. Reservations. Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking.
L2O **** 2300 N. Lincoln Park West; 773-868-0002. Chef/partner Laurent Gras presents flawless ingredients in ways you never anticipated. Gras delights in playing with texture — even the menu has a rubbery coating for tactile interest, and the minimalist dining room combines natural woods, frosted glass and steel-cable room dividers. The Japanese influence extends to the inclusion of tatami rooms, featuring elaborate kaiseki meals for $225. Bring your wallet (dinner will run $200 per person, easily) but leave your preconceived notions about fish behind. Recommended: Cherrywood-smoked kinmedai, Golden Egg Yolk, dessert souffle. Open: Dinner Mon., Wed.-Sun. Prices: Four-course menu $110; 12-course menu $165. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended (credit card required). Noise: Hushed. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking, jackets suggested.
Mercat a la Planxa *** 638 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-765-0524. The cooking of Spain’s Catalan region gets uncommonly reverential treatment in this South Loop restaurant whose multi-tiered, wildly colorful dining room would feel at home in the middle of Barcelona. Executive chef and local-boy-made-good-elsewhere Jose Garces (whose acclaimed Amada and Tinto restaurants are in Philadelphia) produces dishes that blow you away with pitch-perfect details, from an olive-oil drizzle that adds brightness to pan con tomat to a bacon marmalade that adds salty-sweet notes to a flatbread pizza topped with shortrib meat. When Garces isn’t here, which is most of the time, chef de cuisine Michael Fiorello does the heavy lifting, ably abetted by an exemplary service staff possessing the eager zeal of religious converts. Recommended: Jamon de campo, Spanish omelet, hamachi en escabeche, rabbit agnolotti. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., breakfast/lunch Mon.-Fri., brunch Sat.-Sun. Prices: Small plates $5-$16; tasting menu $55. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking.
Perennial *** 1800 N. Lincoln Ave.; 312-981-7070. Posited as a casual counterpart to its elegant sister property, Boka, Perennial has many creative, artistic dishes (courtesy of chef de cuisine Ryan Poli and executive chef Giuseppe Tentori) that would look right at home on Boka’s menu. At least the budget-conscious prices bear out the relationship; Perennial is a considerably less-expensive proposition. Factor in the savvy wine list and sharp, knowing service, and there’s nothing to dislike about this place. Recommended: Scallops and short-rib cannelloni, pork belly with spoonbread, deconstructed cheesecake. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. Entree prices: $17-$32. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking.
Soul *** 1 Walker Ave., Clarendon Hills; 630-920-1999. It’s easy to assume that this west-suburban newcomer takes its name from soul food, inasmuch as chef Karen Nicholas’ regional-American food makes extensive use of ingredients such as black-eyed peas and collard greens. But her take is decidedly modern, marrying Low Country to haute cuisine in dishes such as oxtail hoppin’ John and hushpuppies filled with salt cod. An ambitious beverage program includes affordable wines and well-crafted signature cocktails. Recommended: Oxtail hoppin’ John, bourbon-glazed duck. Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun. Entree prices: $16-$18. Credit cards: A, DS, M, V. Reservations: Recommended weekends. Noise: Conversation-friendly. Other: Wheelchair accessible, valet parking.
Tallulah *** 4539 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-942-7585. In a neighborhood (Lincoln Square) dotted with intimate restaurants, Tallulah may be the most sophisticated. Chef Troy Graves’ contemporary American menu is delicious agony, one enticing choice after another, and the vision-in-ivory dining room is smart and comfortable, if rather noisy. And Graves has a knack for making incompatible-sounding ingredients (strawberries and fava beans), play nice together. Recommended: Lobster deviled eggs, mushroom-prune tart, pistachio cheesecake. Open: Dinner Tue.-Sun., brunch Sun. Entree prices: $17-$26. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: Strongly recommended. Noise: Conversation-challenged. Other: Wheelchair accessible.
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Ratings key:
OUTSTANDING ****
EXCELLENT ***
VERY GOOD **
GOOD *
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
