Someone at my table suggested that the quick trip down the tasting menu at Han 202, the unusual new Bridgeport Asian restaurant from the folks behind Evanston’s late Restaurant Guan (previously Ninefish), would be the perfect date for sophisticated teenagers. It’s serious but in no way stuffy, and at $20 for five expertly turned-out courses, it’s also one of the best deals in town—an affordable lesson in fine dining for budding fressers. But it has a lot to offer older and more experienced eaters too. Like any self-respecting chef, Guan Chen winces at the term fusion, though he acknowledges that in some cases there’s no better way to explain his mix of Western and Asian ingredients and techniques. But his judgment is too sound and his touch too deft for any of the excesses that dated label conjures.
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Let’s look at three of his simple second-course salads. Julienned green apple is dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, and two of the most aggressive ingredients you can think of, capers and truffle oil, applied with such restraint that it’s difficult to imagine them not working. For his beef and lemongrass salad Chen simply builds on the apple salad, adding the herb and tender glazed chunks of beef; it’s completely different from the base but no less memorable. And a bowl of romaine laced with wakame seaweed is a harmonious preparation—and head-slappingly simple, easily duplicated at home.
Chen says he can source high-quality ingredients, maintain tightly orchestrated service, and still keep his prices ridiculously low because his rent is about a third of what it was in Evanston. But his mission of bringing Asian fine dining to an underserved neighborhood comes at a cost. I’d be happy if just a small percentage of the hordes that have descended on River North’s overrated Sunda would glance away from their fellow diners, look south, and flutter down to this remarkable little spot, which could certainly use the help. —Mike Sula
Few kitchens can maintain consistency over such a vast range, so I wasn’t too shocked when tilapia fish tacos arrived soft and soggy and lamb taquitos greasy and oversalted. But a red snapper ceviche was bright and fresh, and a pork chop with mole manchamanteles was perfectly cooked even if the sauce was wasn’t nearly as nuanced as it should be. Moles—four regular offerings and a weekly special—are something of a specialty here, and diners have the option of dolloping them on any of a number of proteins. In short, it seems possible to make whatever sort of meal you want here, within certain predictable parameters, and you can be assured it’ll arrive in a large, ostentatious presentation. My suspicion is that someone’s been studying Chain Restaurant 101, and though this is only the second Fuego from the Arlington Heights-based Foodworks Hospitality Group, I’ll be surprised if it’s the last. —Mike Sula
Ristorante al Teatro
Fuego Mexican Grill
605 W. 31st, 312-949-1314
1227 W. 18th, 312-784-9100
alteatrous.com
2047 N. Milwaukee, 773-252-1122
fuegomexgrill.com
