Wow. Tallulah is the latest new joint in Lincoln Square’s restaurant row. Based on gushing reviews I decided to have dinner there for my birthday – which I considered risky because there are so many wonderful places where I know I’ll get a great meal (Tank, Bistro Campagne, etc).

It was worth the risk. Everything was perfect, from the wine to the apps to our entrees. In fact if it weren’t for some shaky service I’d give it the full five.

Best dish: the bulgogi pork belly appetizer. Perfectly cooked belly with a delicious, rich and salty bulgogi sauce, accompanied by spicy kimchee.

Honorable mention: my steak frites were also perfectly cooked. I loved the Asian tinge to the steak and fries both. It wasn’t enough to overwhelm the flavor of the meat; just a hint of ponzu and soy to make it interesting.

My wife had a sashimi-style marlin that was also fabulous although I didn’t eat much of it because I was so enthralled with my red meat.

We sat on the partially enclosed patio, which was buzzing but not too loud. They’ve done a great job with the shrubs and stuff so it’s outdoorsy but clean and classy.

Now the downside: our waiter tended to disappear for stretches, and the food took a while to arrive, despite our having an early res (6:30). But new places often struggle to nail the service so I’ll cut them some slack.

We’ll be going back.

In the heart of restaubrant mediocrity and overpriced tourist traps that is N. Michigan Ave., Bandera easily stands out.

One of the best burgers in the city. They know how to work the grill here, and make hearty salads with no shortage of flavor.

Expensive, so best left for expense-account dining. But if you’re paying it’s worth it.

Thin. Saucy. Hot. Plus, if you dine in, you buy your booze at the attached liquor store, thus avoiding the restaurant mark-up on wine and beer.

So it’s cheap too. Can’t ask for more than that.

My wife loves this place so we order their ’za about once a week.

The good: really nice choices on the menu. They don’t do the standard cheese, then choose your toppings. They have preselected the topping combinations and you choose from their menu items. Pepperoni is the only standard choice, but the others we’ve tried are very well put together.
Crust is perfect – thin, cooked but not cracker-crisp. That’s how I like it.
Toppings seem very fresh.

The bad: NOT ENOUGH SAUCE. Here’s the thing: sauce is the single most underrated ingredient in pizza. Everybody talks about cheese and crust. I love heaping piles of tangy, spicy sauce.
At Apart, the sauce either doesn’t have a strong enough flavor or they’re just not using enough of it.

So if you’re a sauce junkie like me, stick to traditional Chicago-style thin crust. If you like NY-style, thin and light on the sauce, you’ll probably love Apart.

One of those places that, if it weren’t in a hotel in a great part of town, probably wouldn’t make it. Perched above a much, much better restaurant (Capital Grille), Caliterra offers decent but unspectacular, overpriced dishes.

One great dish: the lettuce wraps. Otherwise, the entrees we had – spare ribs, salmon – were mediocre. Calamari unspectacular.

Service was equally unimpressive. Our server was perfectly pleasant and attentive but the place was empty and our food still took a good 20 minutes to come out.