Category Archives: Illinois

Bandera Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

I love the atmosphere of this place, which is intimate and fairly dark, with spotlights aimed at the tables rather than the diners. The live jazz is just the right volume, giving the place a supper club feel.

The menu is similar to Hillstone’s and Houston’s, which isn’t surprising since it’s affiliated. A couple of our favorite starters from there appear here. The spinach artichoke dip is creamy, and served with sturdy tortilla chips perfect for dipping. Also included are sour cream and a salsa with just a hint of heat. House smoked salmon is very smokey, delicate and flaky, served with crisp toast and a mayo and dill based spread.

Bandera’s Caesar salad isn’t for purists, as it uses kale, and the croutons are made from a fairly sweet corn bread. Ours were heavily over-dressed, but when the waitress noticed we weren’t enjoying them she immediately had them remade with about one fifth the dressing, and they were much better.

A house specialty is the enchilada, which is available with steak or a la carte. It’s a bit unusual in that it’s stuffed with squash, but is quite creamy, cheesy and satisfying.

Much of the menu is given over to burgers and other sandwiches, so the price for dinner and a show can be quite reasonable.

Service was super attentive without being intrusive.

Waits can be long, so reserve ahead, despite the fact that their reservation system doesn’t work as well as opentable.

This is definitely a great place for live jazz in a supper club atmosphere.

Bandera Restaurant
535 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 644-3524
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bandera-restaurant-chicago

Labriola Ristorante & Cafe

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**** (4 stars)

This is one of the best places for outside dining in the Magnificent Mile area, because the sidewalk cafe is actually a balcony far above Grand Street, so there’s no automobile traffic.

The usual pasta dishes are on offer, but we concentrated on appetizers, and loved everything we tried, particularly the zucchini blossoms, which were very lightly fried and stuffed with a creamy smoked mozzarella that was delicious.

The ricotta appetizer was also excellent, with fresh honey and crusty toasted bread.

Clams and mussels are served in a garlic laced broth that’s not too rich.

We also shared a pizza. The offering changes weekly, so your mileage may vary. We loved the authentic Naples-style crust, but didn’t care for the raspberry and onion based sauce on our particular offering.

There are some nice selections on the wine list, and the service was friendly yet professional.

Labriola Ristorante & Cafe
535 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 955-3100
http://www.yelp.com/biz/labriola-ristorante-and-cafe-chicago

Good Stuff Eatery

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***** (5 stars)

Definitely a candidate for best burger in Chicago, and almost certainly the best fast food burger in Chicago–although it’s not lightning fast, since each burger is cooked to order.

This burger is all about crunch. The thick patty is perfectly cooked to a delicate medium, but the outside of the patty has a definite crust that seals in the juices and provides a satisfying crunch with each byte. Add crisp bacon, onion and lettuce, and the texture is great. I also loved the almost cucumber-like pickle slices and the mayo-based sauce. In fact the only shortcoming was the bun. It was a tasty egg roll, but hadn’t been grilled and was a bit too soft to stand up to the crunchy contents.

Fries also had a nice crisp exterior.

Service was friendly, and the place is bright and airy.

It takes a while to cook the perfect burger, so sit back and sip your drink while you wait.

Good Stuff Eatery
22 S Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 854-3027
http://www.yelp.com/biz/good-stuff-eatery-chicago

Nia

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**** (4 stars)

This tapas place at the start of Randolph Street’s restaurant row offers a nice assortment of small plates, craft cocktails and interesting wines.

The food emphasizes Greek and Eastern Mediterranean food rather than Spanish tapas. An eight course dinner offers several selections for each course, providing a nice way to sample a whole range of offerings without being stuck with preset choices.

Several interesting wine flights are available, including uncommon varietals from Greece. Service was friendly and efficient.

Nia
803 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226-3110
http://www.yelp.com/biz/nia-chicago-2

NYC Bagel Deli

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**** (4 stars)

Here’s a popular place for New York style food, from bagels to pizzas to sandwiches. I was there for an authentic deli sandwich, and I left satisfied.

My choice was hot pastrami on rye with swiss cheese. The tender pastrami was piled high, but not so ridiculously high that it was impossible to eat, like many in NYC are. I liked the addition of cucumber slices and onion to the yellow mustard and mayo.

It came with a giant dill pickle and some rather granular potato salad I didn’t care for; next time I’ll pick a different side item.

The place has only two tables, so arrive early or expect to get your sandwich to go.

NYC Bagel Deli
515 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 923-9999
http://www.yelp.com/biz/nyc-bagel-deli-chicago-3

Oysy Sushi

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Exterior

Sashimi: snapper, hamachi, salmon, eel sushi

White Dragon – white tuna, shrimp tempura, yellow tobiko, cucumber, avocado

California Sunset – imitation crab, avocado, mayo and cucumber, seared salmon, topped with a shies leaf and ikura, miso dressing

Emerald – lightly saute‘ed scallop, asparagus, cucumber, green caviar, and spicy sauce

Summer – Tuna, masago, red snapper, cilantro, avocado, green pepper, chili oil, spicy sauce, lime juice

***** (5 stars)

This stylish and spacious restaurant on Grand can get very busy, so the best place to eat during the summer is on the sidewalk. The menu is extensive, with many rolls, some cooked dishes, and all the sashimi and sushi selections you can imagine.

Beer selections are limited, but there are some nice wines and quite a few sakes.

We liked everything we had, so much that we couldn’t pick a favorite. We tried:

An assortment of sashimi: snapper, hamachi, salmon, and eel sushi. The eel was the best I’ve had.

White Dragon roll – white tuna, shrimp tempura, yellow tobiko, cucumber, avocado. A very attractive roll, and the white tuna was excellent.

California Sunset roll – imitation crab, avocado, mayo and cucumber, seared salmon, topped with a shies leaf and ikura, miso dressing. This roll was best eaten disassembled.

Emerald roll – lightly sautéed scallop, asparagus, cucumber, green caviar, and spicy sauce. The asparagus provided a nice crunch.

Summer roll – Tuna, masago, red snapper, cilantro, avocado, green pepper, chili oil, spicy sauce, lime juice. This one probably had the best overall combination of flavors, which united to be more than the individual components.

So far this is the best sushi place I’ve found in downtown Chicago, and I am including the high end names in that comparison.

Service was prompt and friendly.

Oysy Sushi
50 E Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 670-6750
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oysy-sushi-chicago

M Burger

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**** (4 stars)

When you can’t decide between a hamburger and a grilled cheese sandwich, M Burger’s secret menu comes to your rescue. Ask for a bacon cheeseburger “Roman style” and you’ll get both. Yep, a bacon cheeseburger with two grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns.

If that sounds insane, it is pretty extreme. However I must say that both the burger and the grilled cheese are top notch, and the combination weirdly satisfying.

Fries and shakes here are just run of the mill. Pricing is quite reasonable.

I like this location’s ample outside seating, which is nicely shaded. That’s a good thing, since the dining area inside is about two feet wide!

M Burger
161 E Huron St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 254-8500
http://www.yelp.com/biz/m-burger-chicago

Tortoise Club

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**** (4 stars)

This may look like any of the hundred other steakhouses in River North, but the food here is a but above (no pun intended) and it’s not all about steak.

The bar can be pretty loud after work, and the patio gets crowded on nice summer days, but even when full the dining room has some reasonably un-boistrous corners.

We stared with the excellent smoked salmon, a generous serving with bagels and condiments, and the hamachi crude, which was topped with peppers with just the right amount of spice.

For entrees we also enjoyed the rich and tasty Oak Aged Bourbon Barrel Meatloaf, which came with some very creamy seller root mashed potatoes. The Lake Superior Whitefish had a really nice crust and a pleasantly citrus tinged beurre blanc.

The Not Your Father’s Root Beer float was the perfect dessert.

Wine markup seems a bit steep, although there was a nicely priced Scotch flight the week we visited.

Tortoise Club
350 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 755-1700
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tortoise-club-chicago-3

El Hefe

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*** (3 stars)

I was a bit hesitant to try this place because of its reputation as a noisy dive bar and a jam packed disco. But that’s at night. At lunch time it’s just a Mexican restaurant. Which is not to say it isn’t noisy.

The food is fairly predictable. I had the nachos, which were a very generous pile of just about everything you’ve ever seen on nachos. The underlying chips were thin and crispy, and the only fault I found was the use of liquid cheese rather than melting real cheese under a broiler.

The margaritas are served in a 20 ounce glass, but they’re more than half ice cubes, which quickly dilute the already tentative tequila and lime flavors. Nothing really wrong with it, but you’ve had better margaritas, I’m sure.

Service was friendly but slow, especially given that the place was half full. It started with a ten minute wait to be noticed at the front desk, which could be a problem on a tight lunch schedule. Another ten minute wait for a server didn’t help. But in the end the food came out quickly and the nachos turned out to be more than enough for lunch.

El Hefe
15 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 548-6841
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-hefe-chicago-3

Bohemian House {BoHo}

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**** (4 stars)

If you’re looking for something different, BoHo offers excellent Central European food in a funky yet stylish environment. We tried it for Sunday Brunch, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and attentive service.

We sampled the Hungarian Langos, a pice of fried potato bread with garlic butter, sour cream and shredded gouda. It was good, but one slice was plenty. The Pork Schnitzel Sandwich was more to out taste. Served open face, it was a stack of rye bread, sauerkraut, the schnitzel and Emmentaler cheese, topped with perfectly cooked sunny side up fried egg. Rich, but tasty. The beer flight provided an interesting accompaniment.

We finished with an order of doughnuts, which are really beignets, served with two dipping sauces.

While the menu is not extensive, there’s enough variety to bring me back to check out their other offerings of this interesting cuisine.

Bohemian House {BoHo}
11 W. Illinois
Chicago, IL 60654
(779) 333-0236
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bohemian-house-boho-chicago-3