Atwood Cafe
Just off the handsomely ornamented marble lobby of the Hotel Burnham, this dramatic room has oversize windows on two sides; floor-to-ceiling velvet curtains, massive baroque chandeliers and wall sconces, and crimson-and-black walls give it a regal yet comfortable air. New chef Derek Simcik has revamped the menu, which now offers small plates and a short list of snacks for “Atwood After Dark.” Cocktails here are excellent, and Simcik has continued to offer afternoon tea during the holidays. —Laura Levy Shatkin
With its plywood accents on electric-green walls, flame-scorched lunch counters and flat-screen TVs pumping out hip-hop, Benjyehuda vaguely resembles a set from Blade Runner. Nonetheless, the amiable counter folks serving up tasty chow from a menu that melds Israeli and Mexican street food quickly make you at home. If you go with a friend, you can probably sample everything on the limited menu in one visit, though the vast range of condiments allows nearly endless variations. Add Jerusalem salad for minty freshness, baba ghanoush for smoky notes, or the signature hot sauce for a capsaicin rush. Of course, any place seeking street cred must sell fine fries, and Benjyehuda’s are excellent, accompanied by a dipping cup of Merkts spreadable cheddar. Main events are steak, chicken shawarma and falafel. Both meats, minimally spiced, benefit from a peppery blast of salsa; the falafel is delectably crunchy, flecked with parsley, and actually tastes like chickpeas. The cabbage and carrot salads are just fresh vegetables, sliced, minimally dressed, and delicious. Soups, which on our visit included tortilla and a somewhat leaden matzo ball, change regularly. For dessert, there’s churros and nothing else; make sure they’re fresh from the fryer. —David Hammond
The name is Italian for “crazy food,” but I can’t say there’s anything inherently kooky about what’s being served at Cibo Matto, the third restaurant at the Wit Hotel. But compared to State and Lake, its relatively safe and boring downstairs neighbor, it’s pretty remarkable. In fact, Cibo Matto could pass as Spiaggia’s more playful, easygoing younger sibling. Opening chef Todd Stein (now at the Florentine) devised a menu devoted to irreverent upscale Italian with a slight preference for sea creatures. It’s on the pricey side, with most antipasti and pastas ranging from $11 to $16 and entrees hovering around $30. So it helps that many of these dishes have compelling stories a server can sell: the grilled octopus gets simmered with a wine cork; mascarpone creamed spinach was repeatedly and unironically touted by one waiter as “off tha hook.” What’s more, for every marquee item that delivered, I probably enjoyed two unheralded but quietly excellent dishes, beginning with a bowl of peppery bucatini carbonara with cured tomatoes, chiles, and a brilliant orb of duck yolk mixed in at the table—one of the greatest riffs on the classic I’ve ever had. The spaghetti alla chittara was every bit as good in terms of the quality of the noodles, just undercut by slightly overcooked shrimp. Crispy sweetbreads cross sectioned with fried lemon chips, juicy roast chicken exuding gusts of lavender, roasted chicken livers on polenta crisscrossed by slices of crispy duck “bacon,” salty but rich quivering roasted scallops on celery root puree, and crispy seared trout all collectively redeemed the loud, crowded atmosphere. The restaurant’s announcing its new executive chef in January. —Mike Sula
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This South Loop quick-service joint promises all-natural burgers and sandwiches, fresh-cut fries fried in oil free of trans fats and seasoned with sea salt, plus extras like cage-free organic eggs, nitrate-free bacon, and Wisconsin-made cheeses. No doubt because of all the hype on the menu, which is printed with “Epic Rules” like “The bun is the beginning and the end,” I was initially a little disappointed with my cheeseburger: the puffy bun completely overwhelmed the thinnish meat patty. I couldn’t much discern the vaunted “Epic sauce” (its ingredients, the counter guy told us, cannot be disclosed), but once I’d applied some Grey Poupon and smooshed the thing down some I was pretty well satisfied—the pickles and grilled onions are a nice touch. My friend felt the same about his turkey burger with horseradish Havarti, though here again the horseradish wasn’t readily detectable. Tasty fries are worlds better than at other fast-food joints and come in a good-size bag, plenty enough for two. The place is well suited to its Columbia College environs, an industrial space with high ceilings hung with designy white lamps of various sizes and shapes, walls painted with bold abstract graphics, bright orange plastic seating made from recycled materials, and, on our visit, two flat-screen TVs showing a Japanese art film with the sound turned down—don’t ask me. —Kate Schmidt
Good-bye, leopard-print carpeting. This fine-dining destination on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange now has a much sleeker look, with black carpeting, black armchairs, and silver sconces in place of the heavy chandeliers. But though the decor may have once seemed dated, chef Jean Joho’s cuisine has never been. On my last visit dinner began with an amuse bouche: a mousse-light brandade, a sip of artichoke soup, and a dab of celery remoulade festooned with a crispy piece of fried fish. The sauce accompanying a smoky-flavored roast lobster bore hints of horseradish, a flavor that came to the fore later in the form of horseradish-crusted grouper. A single scallop served atop a bed of shredded cabbage was dressed in a hauntingly good sauce featuring melfor, an Alsatian honeyed vinegar, with hints of bacon and pleasant bursts of caraway. The crowning dish, a medallion of venison served with tiny portions of spaetzle and red cabbage, was a revelation. This was followed by an impressive selection of artisanal cheeses. Throughout, the wine pairings, which included classic Alsatian offerings such as a Tokay, a Riesling, and a pinot gris as well as a big American zinfandel with the cheese course, were right on the mark. We floated through the desserts on a cloud of bliss right up to our after-dinner coffees, offered with a selection of petits fours. —Kathie Bergquist
