Mattjames

Great Italian food – good primi and secondi. The pastas (tagliatelle w/ meat ragu, pappardelle w/ duck) were both tasty. The stuffed double pork chop was also great, though the potato pancakes that came with it weren’t my favorite. The bread is also delicious.

I didn’t have any wine, but the wine list (while small) was good – especially since everything was available by the glass or the bottle.

Quartino is the perfect place to go with a group. The food is delciious and comes ready to share. Try the pizzas, the risotto and the meats and cheeses they have at the charcuterie bar…

Kaze is always a good time – great fish, interesting pairings.

The space is pretty small, though, so make sure you get a reservation – or just sit at the sushi bar.

tru is definitely my favorite restaurant in Chicago. My wife and I have been going for years now – probably 10 times in total. I’ve been in a group of two, and I’ve been in a group of seven, and the service is always top notch.

The food is fantastic, but one of my favorite aspects of the tru dining experience is that no matter what the group size, everyone at the table will have a different dish (e.g., different “salad”, different soup, different preparation of foie gras… before our city council screwed that up).

I’ve only had one disappointing evening at tru, and strangely enough that came when I was at the kitchen table. This is the only time where each dish was not personalized – there were five of us, and we got two variations for each course. The food we did receive was still fantastic, as was the wine – Scott is fantastic with the wine list.

I used to live across the street and probably ordered something form here at least once a week. The pizza (gourmet and deep dish) is all good, but the sandwiches, salads and pastas are great too.

Phenomenal food… I’ve been to Alinea twice and caught Achatz at Trio once before he left. The food is always creative and delicious. Word of advice – get the tour de force menu, it’s the best way to appreciate the full ability of Achatz and the restaurant.

The food at schwa is fantastic. We had the nine course meal, and every course was good – a couple (the quail egg ravioli and the lamb with green curry couscous) were absolutely phenomenal.

Remember – it’s BYO (we polished off eight bottles of delicious wine)… and if you want actual wine glasses, you have to bring those too. The restaurant has tumblers they’ll let you use if you don’t want to or forget to pbring your own.

If you like nice restaurants because of the environment, the service, etc, etc… then think schwa might not live up to your expectations. If you want creative, well-executed and delicious food, then I think you’ll love schwa.