This document provides information on 20 Chicago restaurants, including their names, cuisines, addresses, phone numbers, and brief descriptions. The restaurants range from steakhouses and Italian spots to seafood, Asian fusion and molecular gastronomy concepts. Several are headed by renowned local chefs like Paul Kahan and Homaro Cantu.
1. Bill Marcella
Chef Concierge
Member Les Clefs d’Or USA
chicagoconcierge@jameshotels.co
m
T 312.660.7171 F 312.337.7217
Restaurants Guide 2012
Concierge Team
Mina Fakouhi
Krista Krauss
Laurelin Hefter
Members of the Chicago Hotel Concierge Association
2. David Burke’s Primehouse
Modern American Steakhouse
616 North Rush Street
312-660-6000
Located in the James Hotel
Davis Burke’s Primehouse inside River North's swanky James
Chicago boutique hotel, Primehouse offers its own dry-age
steaks that are hand-selected, from free-range cattle. They are
dry-aged on-premise in its own salt cave (a temperature and
humidity controlled room fitted with salt tiles).
3. Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Innovative Steakhouse
300 N LaSalle Street
312-329-1800
This innovative River North steakhouse, brought to you by a couple
of guys with experience running the show at Rosebud Prime ,
focuses on all things local and large. Beef is butchered and dry-aged
on-site, and you can expect sizeable steaks, most double cut to
enhance moisture and flavor. The space offers an unobstructed look
at the Chicago River -- and a 100-seat outdoor patio.
4. Sepia
American Contemporary Farm to Table
123 North Jefferson Street
312-441-1920
Calling itself a "modern speakeasy of sorts," this Warehouse District dining
destination offers nostalgia-tinged sophistication. Look for a custom-made tile
floor with Art Nouveau patterns and a floor-to-ceiling wine rack--Sepia offers a
100-bottle, boutique wine list, with most selections less than $75.
5. Au Cheval
Contemporary American Diner
800 W Randolph St reet
312-929-4580
Au Cheval is not your typical greasy spoon diner. It's house-made foods, creative
interpretations on classic dishes, and comfortable, easy-going atmosphere— It's
big cozy eats. Playful takes on old-school favorites like a fried bologna sandwich,
or a pork porterhouse are all made to order, before your eyes in the open kitchen.
At the bar, 30+ international beers on tap, speciality cocktails, and wine list.
Reservations Not Accepted
6. Piccolo Sogno Due
Rustic Italian
340 North Clark Street
312-822-0077
Piccolo Sogno (translates to “Little Dream” ) features a menu of fresh, seasonal
rustic Italian cuisine with an impressive all-Italian wine list. The menu offers a
wide selection of regional Italian dishes–from homemade pastas and handtossed pizzas prepared in the restaurant’s wood-burning oven, as well as
homemade gelato and sorbet.
7. Jaipur
Indian
615 West Randolph Street
312-526-3655
Price range: $$
Taxi: 10 minutes
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is popularly known as the Pink
City where the past comes alive in magnificent forts and
palaces. The food is a representation of the many and varied
regional cuisines of India in a traditional Indian kitchen.
8. Boka
American Contemporary
Chef Giuseppe Tentori
1727 North Halsted Street
312.337.6070
Price range: $$$$
Taxi: 10 minutes
GT Fish & Oyster
Seafood
Chef Giuseppe Tentori
531 North Wells Street
312-929-3501
Price range: $$$
Taxi: 5 minutes
A swank atmosphere and an ambitious, Mediterraneaninfluenced Contemporary American menu created by awardwinning executive chef Giuseppe Tentori. No specials
necessary on this menu, as Chef Tentori changes his
seasonal creations frequently.
Brought to you by Boka Restaurant Group, oyster bar and
seafood-centric eatery GT Fish & Oyster is named chef/partner
Giuseppe Tentori. A glassy facade dressed with sheer drapes
gives way to groups chowing down on shareable seafood plates
making his newest addition a success.
9. Reservations Not Accepted
Avec
American Contemporary, Mediterranean
Executive Chef Paul Kahan & Chef de Cuisine Koren Grieveson
615 West Randolph Street
312-377-2002
Price range: $$
Taxi: 10 minutes
Blackbird
American Contemporary
Executive Chef Paul Kahan & Chef de Cuisine David Posey
619 West Randolph Street
312-715-0708
Price range: $$$$
Taxi: 10 minutes
This nationally acclaimed small-plates spot is tiny, looks like a sauna,
has communal seating, doesn't take reservations and is as loud as
hell. But somehow it works, after almost seven years since the doors
opened, Avec still is as enticing as it was out of the gates.
Paul Kahan's James Beard Award–winning, minimalist chic restaurant
is as popular as ever, with chef Mike Sheerin and (new-to-the scene)
pastry chef Patrick Fahy indulging the too-cool-for-school crowd.
10. The Purple Pig
Mediterranean Executive Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr.
500 North Michigan Avenue
312-464-1744
Price range: $$
5 minute walk from the hotel
Heaven on Seven’s Jimmy Bannos and his son Jimmy Bannos
Jr. have teamed up with Scott Harris of the Mia Francesca
empire to open this Mediterranean-focused spot in River North.
Sharable plates are the focus, with pork getting major menu play
.
Reservations Not Accepted
The Publican
GastroPub (Pork & Seafood Centric)
Executive Chef Paul Kahan
837 W Fulton Market
312-733-9555
Price range: $$-$$$
Taxi: 15 minutes
The Publican is a new beer-focused restaurant featured by
Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston
crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a
space evocative of a European beer hall. Featuring pork and
seafood preparations, the menu is best described by Kahan and
Huston as “pristine product, simply prepared,” an approach to food
Kahan has long espoused in all of his kitchens.
11. RPM Italian
Contemporary Italian
Chef Doug Psaltis
52 West Illinois Street
312.222.1888
Price range: $$$-$$$$
Taxi: 5 minutes
Celeb couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic has teamed up with Lettuce
Entertain You's Melman siblings (RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman of
Hub 51 and Studio Paris) to open a modern Italian restaurant.
Though Executive Chef Doug Psaltis is heading up the menu,
Giuliana promises it will feature a few of her family recipes courtesy
of her mother, aka Mama DiPandi.
Riccardo Trattoria
Italian
Chef Riccardo Michi
2119 North Clark Street
773-549-0038
Price range: $$$
Taxi: 15 minutes
This modern, fairly affordable trattoria has proved immensely popular
with diners eager to try one of chef Riccardo Michi's seasonally
appropriate, Tuscan-inspired dishes. The room goes for contemporary
casual, and is perhaps a bit too bright and too noisy to be truly a
romantic destination, but foodies will fall in love just the same.
12. Tavernita
Latin America
Executive Chef Ryan Poli
151 West Erie Street
312-274-1111
Price range: $$-$$$
Walk: 10 minute
Tavernita, a sexy, spirited, modern restaurant that offers a diverse mix
of dishes inspired in Spain and Latin American flavors. Designed to
encourage sampling and sharing, the small-plates menu will offer
something for every taste.
Mercadito
Mexican Tapas
Chef Patricio Sandoval
108 West Kinzie Street
312-329-9555
Price range: $$-$$$
Walk: 10 minute
Patricio Sandoval has a hit on his hands with Mercadito, a market foodfocused concept that's already spawned three New York locations.
Expect a mix of lounge, bar and communal seating in a cantina-inspired
space and a menu of ceviches, gourmet tacos and sharable snacks, or
botanas, plus a tightly edited selection of larger dishes inspired by
the flavors of Southern Mexico.
13. Belly Q
Asian Fusion, Barbeque
Chef Bill Kim
1400 W. Randolph Street
312-563-1010
Price range: $$-$$$
Taxi: 15 minutes
Focused on the unique flavors of "Asian BBQ," this brand new West
Loop fine dining spot has some powerful backers: Cornerstone
Restaurant Group, Chef Bill Kim and the one and only Michael Jordan.
Kim is the same mind behind Avondale's Urbanbelly and Logan
Square's Belly Shack and now has his eyes on the Randolph Street
corridor.
Sunda
Pan Asian
Chef Rodelio Aglibot
110 West Illinois Street
312-644-0500
Price range: $$$
Taxi: 8 minutes
The restaurant’s name is a nod to the Sunda Shelf, a Southeast Asian
landmass, and incorporates modern takes on dishes throughout the
region. A large chunk of the lineup is devoted to China and Japan, but
fare from other countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand,
makes an appearance too. Expect to see Chicago socialites and
celebrities at this hotspot, as this the third joint venture of Billy Dec.
14. Karyn’s on Green
Vegan
Chef Adam Staniszeski
www.karynsongreen.com
130 South Green Street
312.226.6155
Price range: $$
Taxi: 12 minutes
This Greek town spinoff of local vegan restaurant Karyn’s
Cooked offers a similar comfort food menu with a slightly more
upscale bent. The bar offers an extensive list of sustainable
wine, beer and spirits. Modern-day urban foodies will enjoy the
earth-chic 100-seat space, complete with a communal table and
a ceiling etched with images of leaves and branches.
Green Zebra
Vegetarian
Chef Shawn McClain
1460 W Chicago Ave.
312.243.7100
Price range: $$$
Taxi: 10 minutes
This successful spinoff from local star chef Shawn McClain offers an
inventive, almost entirely seasonal vegetarian small-plate menu (one
seafood dish is thrown into the mix), making it among the city's most
sophisticated, globally inspired spots for vegetarian dining.
15. Roka Akor
Japanese Robata
111 West Illinois Street
312-477-6262
Price range: $$$
Walk: 10 minutes
Meats, fish and vegetables are grilled over oak charcoal on a
robata-style grill. Sit at the sushi bar to chat with the chefs as the
slice and assemble sashimi platters and maki with fish that's flown
in daily.
Union Sushi & BBQ Bar
Japanese Robata
Chef Worachai Thapthimkuna
230 West Erie Street
312-662-4888
Price range: $$-$$$
Walk: 10 minutes
Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar is a neighborhood restaurant that unites
Japanese culinary tradition with a distinctly American persona.
Embracing American warmth and character with classic cultural touch
points such as graffiti art while juxtaposing them with the high art and
ritual of Japanese cuisine, reveals a restaurant that is warm, stylish
and a unique culinary adventure. A true riff on what is expected or
traditional – East or West.
16. Maude’s Liquor Bar
French & Seafood
Chef Jeff Pikus
840 West Randolph Street
312-243-9712
Price: $$$
Taxi: 10 Minutes
Gilt Bar
Contemporary Gastropub
Chef Kate Croell
230 West Kinzie Street
312-464-9544
Price: $$$
Walk 15 minutes or Taxi: 5 Minutes
Brendan Sodikoff (Gilt Bar, Bavette’s) describes this two-story West
Loop bar and eatery as a "rustic, rough, Frenchy divey bar." The
ground floor feels more like a restaurant, serving up snacks both raw
(oysters, crudos, tartares) and cooked (escargots, chicken in a pot).
Cocktails here will be simpler -- drinks served in Mason jars with the
ice they're shaken with -- where more labor-intensive libations will be
served. Expect an eclectic soundtrack of jazz, pop and punk from
years past.
Brendan Sodikoff, a former corporate chef for Lettuce Entertain You
whose resume includes stints with Thomas Keller and Alain
Ducasse, is behind this casual, relatively affordable eatery in River
North. Head down the stairs to find Curio, a cash-only basement
cocktail lounge that serves an expanded menu of 20-plus handcrafted drinks in a candlelit speakeasy atmosphere.
17. ING
Pan Asian Fusion
Chef Homaro Cantu
951 West Fulton Market
855-834-6464
Price range: $$$
Taxi: 15 minutes
Moto
Molecular Gastronomy
Chef Homaro Cantu
945 West Fulton Market
312-491-0058
Price range: $$$$
Taxi: 10 minutes
The restaurant’s name combines Cantu’s love for Asian influences
with the expression of action, and the a la carte menu is divided
up into sections such as "cooling" (cold dishes), "melting" (melt-inyour-mouth meat dishes) and "sweetening" (dessert). Other
unique features include nano-brewed beer (super-small housemade batches with unorthodox flavors) and what Chef Homaro
Cantu calls "flavor-tripping," an experience that will showcase the
West African miracle berry that trips out your taste buds by
blocking sour and bitter flavors.
Dining at Moto is like taking part in an ongoing multi-sensory science
experiment. Cantu’s post-modern cuisine applies science to cuisine
artistically, utilizing high-tech equipment such as Class IV lasers and
liquid nitrogen with eclectic ingredients from around the world. The Moto
kitchen serves as a laboratory and a canvas for Cantu and his team, an
incubation center for ideas that are revolutionizing the culinary landscape
– ideas that focus on all things food-related, including menu items,
packaging, tools, delivery and more. As Cantu says “to create is not to
copy” and this philosophy of “food engineering” drives the Moto team.