Phil Vettel Recommends Four-Star Restaurants
Charlie Trotter's is a four-star restaurant (and has been for many years), but it's not the only one. About a dozen places in the Chicago area share that distinction, although chef changes have put the status of Avenues, L2O and Sixteen in question.
Here are some of the others within the city:
Tru
676 N. St. Clair St., 312-202-0001. Hard to believe that I gave Tru my first four-star rating in 1999. Harder still to comprehend that Anthony Martin, the current executive chef, was 18 years old at the time. Martin cooks like an old pro, a master technician who decorates a plate with thickened asparagus "noodles" or hides potato gnocchi under a coy lacy veil of cheese tuile. This is supported by a service staff that sees to diners' every need without a single wasted effort and a superb sommelier in Chad Ellegood. Tru is pure indulgence, always has been, but few restaurants justify themselves so persuasively. Recommended: bay scallops with caviar, lamb loin, langoustine with lobster quenelles, Invigorating Peppermint dessert. Open: dinner Monday–Saturday. Prices: prix-fixe dinners $95, $110, $145. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: required. Noise: hushed. Other: wheelchair accessible, valet parking, jackets required.
Everest
440 S. LaSalle St., 312-663-8920. High above the city on the 40th floor of One Financial Place sits Jean Joho's destination restaurant, whose city views are outshone, with some regularity, by the plates that emerge from this four-star kitchen. The Alsace-born Joho has a special knack with so-called peasant ingredients, turning humble root vegetables into food for the gods, and nearly everything on the menu is sourced from the Midwest, making Everest the most American French restaurant you'll ever experience. Open: dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Prices: three-course menu $89, four-course $110, seven-course $125. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: required. Noise: hushed. Other: wheelchair accessible, complimentary valet parking, jackets strongly recommended.
For the complete story, click here.
Here are some of the others within the city:
Tru
676 N. St. Clair St., 312-202-0001. Hard to believe that I gave Tru my first four-star rating in 1999. Harder still to comprehend that Anthony Martin, the current executive chef, was 18 years old at the time. Martin cooks like an old pro, a master technician who decorates a plate with thickened asparagus "noodles" or hides potato gnocchi under a coy lacy veil of cheese tuile. This is supported by a service staff that sees to diners' every need without a single wasted effort and a superb sommelier in Chad Ellegood. Tru is pure indulgence, always has been, but few restaurants justify themselves so persuasively. Recommended: bay scallops with caviar, lamb loin, langoustine with lobster quenelles, Invigorating Peppermint dessert. Open: dinner Monday–Saturday. Prices: prix-fixe dinners $95, $110, $145. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: required. Noise: hushed. Other: wheelchair accessible, valet parking, jackets required.
Everest
440 S. LaSalle St., 312-663-8920. High above the city on the 40th floor of One Financial Place sits Jean Joho's destination restaurant, whose city views are outshone, with some regularity, by the plates that emerge from this four-star kitchen. The Alsace-born Joho has a special knack with so-called peasant ingredients, turning humble root vegetables into food for the gods, and nearly everything on the menu is sourced from the Midwest, making Everest the most American French restaurant you'll ever experience. Open: dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Prices: three-course menu $89, four-course $110, seven-course $125. Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V. Reservations: required. Noise: hushed. Other: wheelchair accessible, complimentary valet parking, jackets strongly recommended.
For the complete story, click here.
Chicago Tribune (September 8, 2011)