Editor’s note: Kendal Duque left City Tavern later in 2012.
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It’s a strange place to reacquaint yourself with Duque, who, after toiling at Tru, Everest, and NoMi, took the city by storm in 2008 as the opening chef at Sepia. There he gathered plaudits before stepping down and dropping, more or less, from sight. You didn’t hear much about his subsequent stint at the Lakeview sports bar Cuna—his bio doesn’t even mention it. And when Duque poked his head back into the restaurant scene’s consciousness two years ago it was at a relatively low-key spot—the South Loop’s steakhouse-ish Chicago Firehouse.
He’s now crossed the street, and you can see some reflection of his Sepia days, mainly with his fondness for pizzas—ahem, OK, “flatbreads”—which, when they’re positioned at the top of a menu before the starters and priced at a friendly $7, send a subtle sales pitch to the diner that he might need a starter for his starter.
That’s not to say it’s all artless pastorality. There are some finer touches here and there, just enough to remind you where Duque came from—the sunchoke soup, for instance, and a plate of deviled eggs, the smooth, whipped yolks stuffed with smoked salmon and crowned with black and green flying fish roe.
In all, City Tavern’s thematic pretensions are restrained, and its affordability and shotgun menu will serve the neighborhood well, particularly if the restaurant opens for lunch. But if you are traveling here from elsewhere, don’t expect to lose touch with reality.
1416 S. Michigan 312-663-1278citytavernchicago.com
