When things like tomatoes, corn, blackberries, and asparagus appear on menus around this time of year, it’s like spotting the Easter Bunny in August. By now most new restaurants within certain price ranges must at least pay lip service to the idea that they serve some in-season local food, perhaps produced with a measure of respect for the environment and/or animal welfare. Howells & Hood, a huge, copper-clad beer hall on the first floor of the Tribune Tower, is no different, but the group behind it has taken the extraordinary step of installing Scott Walton as executive chef in collaboration with their own corporate one.
This subverted grandeur can come across as a bit cafeteria-like, a sensation that grows when you survey the “globally-inspired” menu that spans shrimp and andouille, eggplant ragout, French onion soup, wedge salads, burgers, fish tacos, risotto, lamb chops, scallops, and tuna tartare.
There are ways to improve upon such produce. For instance, the kitchen smokes tomatoes in two dishes, concentrating flavors that are deepened by fermented black garlic and smartly paired with lemon ricotta and lamb meatballs, as well as with an eggplant ragout that’s rich with gooey burrata (from Vermont) and briny kalamata olives. Whatever the provenance of the sweet English peas and earthy wild mushrooms found in the brilliant green, technically perfect risotto, they make up a dish that truly speaks of spring.
435 N. Michigan 312-262-5310howellsandhood.com
