Category Archives: Chicago

25 Degrees

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**** (4 stars)

This is a burger joint with cloth napkins and cocktails. The interior is nice but can get quite loud, so try for a table on the sidewalk.

The burgers are huge, with two giant patties and all the fixings. I opted for a Number Six, because it is essentially my standard loaded burger. Everything was tasty, but the extremely juicy patties quickly overwhelmed the soft bun, and I ended up with two handfuls of mush. Tasty mush, but still…

There’s a nice assortment of drinks, plus spiked sodas and shakes.

Service was friendly.

25 Degrees
736 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 943-9700
http://www.yelp.com/biz/25-degrees-chicago

Café Iberico

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**** (4 stars)

This bustling tapas restaurant serves classic Spanish tapas in a rather brightly lit and loud dining room. Ironically enough, the bar is much quieter and more pleasant. In addition to the extensive list of rather large tapas items on the menu, there are smaller tasting size plates displayed in the cases that line the top of the bar. There’s also a fairly extensive list of wines and fino by the glass or bottle. Service is efficient but busy.

Café Iberico
737 N Lasalle Blvd
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 573-1510
http://www.yelp.com/biz/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3

Dough Bros: Pizzeria & Sub Shop

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**** (4 stars)

This place makes great New York style pizza and sells it by the slice for the great price of $4 for any type. It’s heated to order, and comes out piping hot. Because there are very few seats, you’ll be tempted to get it to go, but don’t. The crust is a perfect combination of thin, soft, slightly chewy, yet crisp on the bottom, and it won’t still be that way when you get home.

If you like spicy food, try the Roland. It has Thai basil, lemon grass, and sausage, and is covered in a sriracha drizzle. Wow!

Dough Bros: Pizzeria & Sub Shop
400 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 600-9078
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dough-bros-pizzeria-and-sub-shop-chicago

Seoul Taco

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***** (5 stars)

If there’s any cheaper way to have a tasty meal in River North, I haven’t found it.

The Tacos make up in spiciness what they lack in size. The tortillas are cooked to order, so everything is hot and fresh.

The other entrees are larger, but I thought the taco was just right. And I added (for just two bucks) the kimchi fried rice, which is almost a meal in itself.  

For less than $5 I left stuffed.

Seoul Taco
738 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 265-1607
http://www.yelp.com/biz/seoul-taco-chicago-2

Sepia

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**** (4 stars)

Sepia provides a fine dining experience in a pleasant, laid back atmosphere. Service is professional without being stiff, and there is a wonderful wine list with reasonable pricing.

The best way to go here is the prix fixe dinner, as you get to try many smaller portions of their specialties. While everything we had was very good, the only true home run was the duck, which had a wonderfully crispy skin, and sat atop a truly amazing carrot puree. The toasted almonds elevated it to something better than food. This was also the homerun of the optional wine pairing, with an exotic Italian pinot noir providing the perfect accompaniment.

While Sepia’s food might not be quite as off the charts as a few of the area’s elite, it is a very solid choice for a fine meal in a relaxed setting.

Sepia
123 N Jefferson St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 441-1920
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sepia-chicago

Andy’s Jazz Club

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**** (4 stars)

7pm show and dinner on a Thursday. $10 cash cover at the door.

Cool jazz quartet: piano, acoustic bass, drums and sax. You definitely won’t be having a conversation, despite them being”conversation friendly”! But it’s all about the music, so who cares?

Delicious ceviche.

Fall off the bone short ribs with a rich and complex sauce.

Excellent cocktails, each with a unique spin.

Prices reasonable for the area and entertainment.

No verbs were harmed in the writing of this review.

Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E Hubbard St
Ste 1
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 642-6805
http://www.yelp.com/biz/andys-jazz-club-chicago-2

Ocean Cut

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**** (4 stars)

Chicago Cut is one of  my least favorite steakhouses in town, so I was hesitant to try their sister restaurant, particular given its Ricky start in the press over two iterations.

But right from the start this experience was better, as fresh crusty sour dough showed up even before I ordered.

Tuna tartare was beautifully presented with summer melons and cilantro.

The lobster salad had pretty stingy serving of lobster for its price, I doubt there was an ounce of it in the entire dish. But the lobster was fresh and sweet.

Wine prices are a bit high by the glass but there is a nice selection of whites to accompany the fish.
Overall quite a nice choice for a high end (and fairly expensive) lunch.

Ocean Cut
20 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 280-8882
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ocean-cut-chicago

Broken English Taco Pub

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**** (4 stars)

This is one of the few good Mexican restaurants in the area. The food is a nice mix of authentic and creative. The focus here is on soft tacos and guacamoles and drinks. There’s a nice vibe from all the funky decorations, and an extensive bar for single businessmen at lunch time.

The Achiote Hummus was an interesting low-cal appetizer. The achiote chili flavor dominated, and the jicama was better for dipping than the cucumber.

Tacos Al Pastor De Pollo were authentically served on double corn tortillas. I’ve had pastor pork, but never chicken, and it was good, but not as rich as some. The traditional pieces of pineapple added a nice sweetness.

I would have liked to have tried more tacos, but each order includes two, and you can’t mix and match, which seems like an arbitrary restriction. The guy next to me wanted to buy three tacos, and you can’t do that, either. I think they’re shooting themselves in the foot with that arbitrary rule.

The highlight of my meal was actually the chips and salsa (sold as an appetizer). The chips were obviously home-made, and had puffed up like pomme souffle to give them a delicate yet somehow hearty crunch. The fact that they were slightly greasy could be forgiven, because of that great consistency. The accompanying green sauce had a slight hint of sweetness, and the red sauce had a strong ginger note that made it quite exotic. I couldn’t stop eating these!

The margarita was good if not remarkable. Service was friendly and attentive. The sidewalk dining is a bit too sunny at lunchtime, but might be nice in the evening.

Broken English Taco Pub
75 E Lake St
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 929-3601
http://www.yelp.com/biz/broken-english-taco-pub-chicago

Bistronomic

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***** (5 stars)

This bistro serves authentic French bistro food in a modern decor or a pleasant covered outside dining area.

The early evening three course prix fixe menu is an excellent deal, and includes so of the best menu selections.

Duck confit was perfectly crisped, served with a lightly dressed frisee salad.

Salmon was perfectly browned and served over some marvelous vegetables.

Two classic desserts round out the prix fixe menu.

The wine list focuses on affordable French wines, with a limited selection by the glass.

Service was friendly and efficient.

While the ambiance is not traditional, of the French bistros in River North, this is my favorite for food.

Bistronomic
840 N Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 944-8400
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bistronomic-chicago

Chicago Cut Steakhouse

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*** (3 stars)

I’m surprised by the reviews on this place, because we found nothing to distinguish it above a dozen nearby Chicago steakhouses, and several things were barely mediocre.

First of all, the outside patio on the river is one of the best locations, so that is certainly their strongest plus.

The wine list is presented on one of those gimmicky iPad applications that make is impossible to quickly assess the list. Ten minutes of searching revealed that the list is heavily dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, to the point the browsing this category–an almost endless jumble of randomly arranged bottles–is impossible. Prices are quite high, but we found a lovely bottle of Argentine Cabernet Franc at a reasonable price.

The assortment of bread presented at the start of the meal was interesting, but two of the three varieties would have been better yesterday.

Salads were fine, if pricey. The wedge salad is–oddly-not served as a wedge, but chopped and tossed; perhaps this was just our server’s idea.

We shared a bone-in New York strip and Chilean sea bass. The bass was fine; this tends to be a very mild fish, so the accompanying yuzu cream was a great idea to add some flavor. The steak was tender (a good thing, since the dangerous-looking steak knives were about as sharp as a butter knife) but was undercooked to a comical degree. Regardless of how red you think medium rare should be, half of your steak should not be completely raw. No doubt this could have been fixed, but since the server had already split and plated the steak with the fish without checking with us about how it was cooked, we didn’t bother. The fact is that the dry aging had produced a fairly gamey flavor to the semi-cooked edge, and we decided to focus on the other dishes.

Accompanying green beans almondine were a tasty recipe, but also within a minute or two of being uncooked. I like some snap to my vegetables, but when you can’t cut them with your steak knife, it gives one pause.

Onion rings were giant, the breaded kind, and were good, probably the best thing we had other than the yuzu sauce.

Overall, a fairly unsatisfactory dinner, not nearly good enough to make us want to return, especially given that we walked past a dozen other steakhouses on the way. There are better–and cheaper–choices.

Chicago Cut Steakhouse
300 N Lasalle
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 329-1800
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-cut-steakhouse-chicago