New Too
Cipollina1543 N. Damen | 773-227-6300
“Aesthetic delectation is the danger to be avoided,” declared Marcel Duchamp. So he’d have to scoff at Michael Taus, whose chummy Bucktown spot Duchamp is aesthetically delectable in a couple ways. Unlike the chef’s pricier Zealous, most main courses here run between $15 and $20, and for that kind of money they’re a lot more satisfying than might be expected. We approached a crispy fried skate wing “fish-and-chips” with tartar sauce with some unease, but the dense pieces of fish held up well to the oil under the bread-crumb batter (though the garlic spuds on the side didn’t). The awkwardly named “Return to Thailand Bouillabaisse” (enough with the quote marks already) was simply a luxuriant coconut curry with mussels, shrimp, and a gorgeous piece of sea bass. The least successful of the large plates we tried was a hunk of braised pork shoulder, luscious and tender but so big it rejected the penetration of the puttanesca that sauced it. Small plates were a little more expensive, relatively speaking, but mostly gratifying: a white pizza with sweet lobster offset by some beefy trumpet mushrooms; an off-menu tempura rock shrimp toast afloat in a thick, rich lobster bisque; smoked salmon tartare blinis like little turbans ornamented with dollops of creme fraiche; duck rillettes set atop swabs of cauliflower puree. Utilitarian desserts—creme brulee, lemon tart—were outclassed by a duo of mini chocolate cupcakes and chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. There are a few questionable decorative choices—clear Plexiglas dining room chairs and bar stools that resemble torture devices might’ve made the ol’ Dadaist happy—but the broad communal tables don’t seem to foster a rushed, chaotic environment (see Avec, Urban Belly). This is a comfortable, enjoyable spot the neighborhood’s lucky to have. —Mike Sula
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$$Bar/Lounge, American Contemporary/Regional | Lunch, dinner: Sunday, Tuesday-Saturday | Closed Monday | Open late: Saturday till 3; Sunday, Tuesday-Friday till 2 | Reservations accepted for large groups only
Rosa de Lima2013-15 N. Western | 773-342-4557
At the time of the 2000 census, fewer than 1 percent of Clarendon Hills residents were African-American. So things must have radically changed over the last eight years for the affluent, sleepy DuPage County hamlet to get its very own soul food restaurant, appropriately enough called Soul. Well, probably not—and as you might guess, this large, brashly appointed suburban peculiarity (the decorator might have shot a flock of macaws out of a jet turbine) is more “soul food” than soul food. One of the major players behind it is none other than Bill Kim, whose smashingly popular noodle bar, Urban Belly, does a similar thing with a similarly populist food. Both have taken traditionally simple, inexpensive cuisines and amped up the execution—with a corresponding increase in price. Kim’s lieutenant in this venture is executive chef Karen Nicolas, formerly of the private Metropolitan Club and NYC’s Gramercy Tavern, who oversees the attractive menu of high-end takes on folkloric foodways. She tends to balance richly and sweetly flavored proteins and whole grains with hearty, bitter greens—and I’m a sucker for that. I’m talking a robustly piggy grilled Duroc pork chop with a lode of internal fat, served with bewitchingly fragrant baby mustard greens and braised farro over roasted fig sauce. Or glazed duck breast with pureed yams in foie gras sauce and sauteed rapini. It’s everywhere—shrimp and chicory, scallops and radicchio, codfish hush puppies and frisee. It’s not that there are no surprises—a pureed apple-parsnip soup I expected to be a thick, heavy harbinger of cooler weather was instead a bowl of sunshine, tart and sweet with a touch of grassy herbaceousness from pickled celery. Not everything I ate at Soul knocked my boots off—I have a friend who calls this sort of place “high-end boring.” But Clarendon Hills could do a whole lot worse. —Mike Sula
