Chicago's Towering Cuisine

Three eateries -- one with an unparalleled panoramic view -- prove there's first-rate dining in the Second City.

By John Mariani
Bloomberg Markets, November 2008

No one really doubts that New York is America's greatest restaurant city, but I expect some flak when I declare that Chicago comes in a close second -- ahead of trendier contenders such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I say this not because Chicago has more restaurants than New York, or better ones than L.A. and San Francisco. The variety of Chicago's restaurants spreads out across more than 75 neighborhoods, and the annual infusion of 3 million hungry, free- spending conventioneers guarantees a continual flux of classic old and exciting new places.

One of the toniest additions to the dining scene is Sixteen, on the 16th floor of the Trump International Hotel & Tower. The place charges top dollar for a panorama of the city that almost makes it worth the $20 appetizers and $44 entrees.

As you might expect from a property owned by Donald Trump, even the way you enter the restaurant is dramatic. From the elevator, you pass through the wine gallery, flanked by uplit glass cases that showcase reds on the right and whites on the left. The broad dining room is divided into three sections with 30-foot-tall (9- meter-tall) windows that provide a spectacular view of the Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower. Time your visit right and you can enjoy the golden glow of the buildings against the deep blue of Lake Michigan at twilight.

The centerpiece of the deliberately grand room is a tubular, UFO- like chandelier -- said to be the idea of Donald's daughter Ivanka Trump. Its 19,000 Swarovski crystals add more than a touch of Vegas to the otherwise sedately handsome surroundings.

Australian chef Frank Brunacci's menu is clearly meant to mimic the surroundings, which means there's sometimes too much visual content and not enough flavor. When so much time is put into designing each dish -- on unheated plates -- the food can come out tepid, as several dishes did when I visited.

There is, however, some fine food here, including pork belly with English pea puree, portobello mushroom salad and garlic chips and a juicy loin of lamb, cooked sous vide in a bag and then roasted, with a savory and complex Moroccan tagine of vegetables and morels. A praline croustillant with caramelized banana and lime- tequila ice cream was the best of the desserts.

Brunacci changes the menu frequently and finds much of the produce he needs right in the Midwest, sourcing specialty herbs and baby vegetables from the Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio, and meat from Chicago-based purveyors.

The white-clothed tables are widely spaced, and all afford a good perch for business dining with a grand view. Private parties are encouraged as well.

Two less-formal restaurants bolster the case for Chicago's culinary seriousness. The first, Takashi, is a new eatery on Chicago's North Side that serves French-American food with Japanese influences. Chef Takashi Yagihashi, whose recent gigs were at flashy Las Vegas casino restaurant Okada and a money-is- no-object extravaganza in suburban Detroit called Tribute, has opened this two-story affair in a former artist's studio in burgeoning Bucktown, a trendy neighborhood dotted with shops and bistros.

The menu is divided into selections of small and large plates that encourage you to sample a variety of dishes. It's the kind of food you sense the chef really enjoys preparing, and he often emerges from the open kitchen to see that customers are faring well.

You could begin with glistening yellowtail kampachi and monkfish foie gras or rich, crispy pork belly soaked in a light caramel sauce with soy and ginger. Then move on to simply sauteed skate wing with braised turnips and shiso leaves or a simmering chicken in a clay pot with shimeji mushrooms, eggplant and okra. Finish the meal off with excellent panna cotta and a glass of perfumed 2004 Meyer-Fonne Katzenthal Muscat from Alsace.

It's a small and friendly space with 55 seats, a 4-seat bar and an outdoor patio. The white brick walls and cherry-wood accents create a clean, minimalist design. Not surprisingly, it's more casual than Sixteen and a good choice when you want satisfying food without the fuss.

Mercat a la Planxa is chef Jose Garces's first venture outside Philadelphia, where he has three very different restaurants that offer Spanish and Latin-influenced food. The first hometown outpost for the Chicago native and two-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee is a bright restaurant done up in fuchsias and oranges on Michigan Avenue overlooking Grant Park.

The emphasis is on Catalan-style tapas, including food cooked on la planxa (the griddle), which gives an intense, quick sear to prawns, New York steak, rack of lamb and chorizo sausage.

You could bring three friends and easily order just about all of the tapas selections. These include the lusciously silky jamon Iberico with fig salad, baby spinach, spiced almonds and sherry vinaigrette and a selection of bocadillos (sandwiches) like La Ramblas, with grilled chicken, crisp bacon and a classic romesco sauce of ground tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, onion and almonds.

Also try briny baby squid in its own ink atop saffron-scented angel-hair pasta, braised-rabbit agnolotti pasta with a truffle- chestnut puree and brandied cherries, and mahogany brown-skinned suckling pig with rosemary-scented white beans.

For $55 per person, you can choose La Mesa de Jose, which offers a changing selection of tapas selected by the chef that's available with wine pairings.

The wine list brims with Iberian and South American bottlings you won't easily find anywhere else in town, and the terrific white, red and seasonal fruit sangrias go down easy. More than 40 Spanish wines are available by the glass.

The open, two-tiered space can get noisy at night, so for a quieter time, go at lunch and ask to sit downstairs near the window facing South Michigan Avenue. Or opt for the private room that can accommodate 23 diners.

The D-Ash design firm has styled the restaurant with a hexagonal theme that takes inspiration from Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. You'll feel like you're in Barcelona as you sip sangria under the spiral staircase.

Sixteen, 401 N. Wabash Ave.; 1-312-588-8030; www.trumpchicagohotel.com Takashi, 1952 N. Damen Ave.; 1-773-772-6170; www.takashichicago.com Mercat a la Planxa, 638 S. Michigan Ave.; 1-312-765-0524; www.mercatchicago.com

John Mariani writes about restaurants and wine for Bloomberg News. john@johnmariani.com

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