The first thing you’re likely to notice when you do a web search for the Kitchen Chicago is its nominal similarity to Kitchen Chicago, the shared-use kitchen that incubated so many of our small food businesses over the last nine years. That’s the sort of tone-deaf oversight we’ve become accustomed to from out-of-town restaurateurs who parachute in without really understanding the local food scene.
I suspect this primo real estate accounts for the price points—which don’t appear particularly elevated at first glance, until you get a sense of the rather light portioning on some dishes. Nineteen dollars for a half dozen oysters is only a hair more dear than Shaw’s, but it seemed positively wasteful due to the sloppy presentation; otherwise nicely shucked east- and west-coast bivalves were strewn across a bed of ice as if they’d been tossed there.
Desserts by pastry chef Claire Smith are simple and satisfying, like a rich, gooey toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream—but not always strictly straightforward, such as a slice of pumpkin pie shot with cardamom and sprinkled with pepitas.
316 N. Clark 773-836-1300thekitchen.com/the-kitchen-chicago
