Brisket sandwich and mac 'n' cheese as Smoque; four of the five owners, who have drafted a barbecue "manifesto" Rob Warner

January 26, 2007

Smoque
3800 N. Pulaski
773-545-7427

THE FIVE FELLAS behind SMOQUE are savvy businessmen. They chose a name -- clever or annoying, you decide -- that got people yapping months before they opened. And they talk a good game too. Their lofty "BBQ Manifesto" (available at smoquebbq.com) displays a respect for tradition and authenticity, and it ought to be required reading for anyone who thinks barbecue is easy to make or that "fall-off-the-bone" Chicago-style ribs are acceptable. In spite of it, I was suspicious, but with a few caveats I'm happy to say the place is a welcome addition to the woefully barbecue-bereft north side. The house-made sides are good: the mac 'n' cheese has a nice tang, and the noodles in it stand up to the teeth. The slaw is thickly cut, crunchy, and lightly dressed; the beans are mingled with chunks of onion that a real human had to have cut; and the two different barbecue sauces play their proper role as accessory, not focus. I won't order the ribs again -- overrubbed and briny, they have nothing on Honey 1's. But for a juicy, smoky chicken or decent pulled pork, amalgamated with crispy and fatty bits, you could do a lot worse. And what I'll definitely be back for is the brisket. It isn't the transcendent smoked-beef experience that's so easy to come by in Texas hill country, but as far as I can tell no commercial establishment in the region comes closer. Smoque goes a long way toward endearing itself to customers with a staff that's attentive, knowledgeable, and eager to please. Order that brisket fatty and see what happens. --Mike Sula

Chalkboard
4343 N. Lincoln
773-477-7144

WALKING INTO THE airy, elegant CHALKBOARD space, it's hard to believe it was formerly the gloomy Tournesol. But classy as the room is, the menu is decidedly friendly, offering dressed-up versions of classic American comfort food. Daily specials are listed on the restaurant's namesake, a giant chalkboard, but often also on a paper menu that includes chatty asides from chef-owner Gilbert Langlois, a veteran of Rushmore and SushiSamba Rio. The good old combo of grilled cheese and tomato soup, which appears on the appetizer menu as roasted tomato bisque with grilled blue cheese in brioche, was right on: the soup was silky and rich, with added depth from the roasting, the tasty sandwich thoroughly dunkable. A "beef stew" inspired by Langlois' mother's pot roast was actually a juicy, medium-rare steak in beef broth, surrounded by whole baby carrots, potatoes, baby onions, and peas. Seasonal vegetables featured prominently: the chips in the fish-and-chips were made from sunchokes, a pile of Swiss chard accompanied a pink seared duck breast, and tortellini were stuffed with roasted celeriac. The last were handmade by Langlois' mother, and if they seemed a little dense and chewy, well, they had the homespun appeal of lumpy mashed potatoes. The only disappointments on our visit were a server who seemed overwhelmed (the room was bustling on a Wednesday evening) and the chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-stuffed egg roll, a dessert whose novelty has long since worn off. --Kathie Bergquist

Quince
1625 Hinman, Evanston
847-570-8400

QUINCE, IN THE old Trio space, doesn't quite have its vibe worked out. It's a neutral-colored room that wants to be homey -- a fake log flamed in a fireplace flanked by nearly empty bookshelves -- but I recognized a track from Bitches Brew playing on the PA. And the chipper, youthful servers, whose lack of polish was part of their charm, had evidently been instructed to dole out the flatware ostentatiously. Under chef Mark Hannon the upscale American comfort food also gets overly fussy treatment -- the short ribs, for instance, were carefully composed in three small stacks on a long, rectangular dish. For all the care that went into the plating, they were less tender than I would have liked, and the Roquefort risotto they sat on made finishing the meal with cheese unthinkable. A trio of Bibb lettuce cups filled with peekytoe crab, similarly arranged, was wan 70s-bridge-club fare; a succulent roasted duck breast with sweet-and-sour glaze, sliced and fanned over pleasantly bitter greens and unpleasantly cinammony poached pear halves, was more cerebral than dig-in delectable. But the shaved asparagus salad -- served simply in a big ol' bowl with a fragrant truffle vinaigrette -- was delicious. Wine pairings, handled by Alinea vet Joe Ziomek, helped a lot; in fact, if I lived in Evanston and cared more for sweets I might go back for the prix-fixe deal offered Tuesday through Thursday -- an appetizer, an entree, dessert, and wine pairings for $45. Speaking of dessert, we didn't order any, but our server presented us with a couple of complimentary snickerdoodles at the close of the meal anyway. --Kate Schmidt

OTHER RECENT OPENINGS
Aigre Doux Restaurant and Bakery, 230 W. Kinzie, 312-329-9400
Caliente, 2556 W. Fullerton, 773-772-4355
Tepatulco, 2558 N. Halsted, 773-472-7419
Xel-Ha, 710 N. Wells, 312-274-9500

CLOSED
Bank St. Bistro & Bakery
The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton
Meztiso
Rioja

For more on restaurants, see our blog the Food Chain.

What Else Is New

17 more recent openings

Big Pho
3821 W. Lawrence | 773-866-2015

$
ASIAN, VIETNAMESE | LUNCH, DINNER: MONDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY | BYO

A pho joint in Koreatown seemed an odd thing to me, but owner Sean Kim acted on the advice of an uncle who runs one in LA, and given the crowds at lunchtime it looks like he was right. Kim studied at his uncle's place for two months and devised a formula geared toward his Korean customer base, which apparently prefers a less oily broth than the typical Vietnamese pho; it's simmered for ten hours with beef bones -- no chicken or pork, Kim insists. The result seems to lack some of the heady spices that typify the pho on Argyle Street -- I wasn't feeling much star anise -- but the broth is clean and fortifying. Among the 11 varieties a full four are seafood based and include some really pretty green mussels. Much less play is given to organy bits, though you can still get your tripe and tendon flotsam. Right now the menu is limited to soup, egg rolls, and spring rolls, but Kim and his wife are planning to offer a line of smoothies and coffee as well as pot sing boo, a Korean shaved-ice confection with fruit and soft ice cream. Considering that Koreans usually don't go more than a day without some sort of soup, I'm betting Big Pho has staying power in Albany Park -- but where's the kimchi? Mike Sula

Cru Cafe & Wine Bar
25 E. Delaware | 312-337-4001

F 7.4 | S 6.9 | A 7.1 | $$ (7 reports)
GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC, SMALL PLATES | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: TILL MIDNIGHT EVERY NIGHT | RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY

Outfitted with fancy chandeliers, cozy fireplaces, and lots of dark, pretty wood, Debra Sharpe's reincarnated Cru Cafe & Wine Bar exudes all the elegance and luxury you'd expect of the Gold Coast. Not surprisingly, the wine list is the centerpiece, with as many as 50 wines, ports, brandies, grappas, and sakes available by the glass or in flights of three, plus 30 half-bottle options and another 300-odd bottles in the cellar. The menu offers a range of well-executed if predictable nibbles, from charcuterie and cheese plates to bacon-wrapped seared scallops, and some substantial sandwiches and entrees, including a "surf and turf" club of lobster and beef tenderloin and a pretty perfect steak frites dressed up with caramelized onions and tangy cabernet jam. Taken as a whole the scene at this expanded new space (next door to the old one, now occupied by Sharpe's gourmet take-out shop the Goddess and Grocer) screams class, and it passes a critical test with flying colors: the warm hospitality the smooth staff showed this couple of scuzzy-looking night owls on a recent frigid evening was downright gratifying. Martha Bayne

Fiddlehead Cafe
4600 N. Lincoln | 773-751-1500

$$$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

Under chef Robert Levitt (Del Toro, North Pond) the kitchen at this casual, warm, wine-centric cafe offers a range of global appetizers and spiffed-up bistro standards like the signature three-way steak frites, served with russet, sweet potato, and polenta fries. A pork shank entree was one monster hunk of fork-tender meat, served over bacon-braised lentils with a chunky pear mostarda. Both it and a guinea hen special looked and smelled great, though they tasted a bit bland. With more than a dozen reds and a dozen whites and bubblies all available by the glass or in flights of three, it's hard to go wrong with the wine list. But to get to a knockout like a 2004 cab-merlot-Syrah blend from Washington State's Hedges winery, you have to first figure out how to interpret the cutesy little icons that indicate traits like "dry," "complex," "berries," or "oaky." Still, to a person the staff at a recent visit was unflaggingly friendly, and a few days later I even got an e-mail: during dinner I'd asked an idle question about the excellent French cheese flight, and the waiter who'd taken down my (nonidentifying, non-Reader) address actually kept his promise to find the answer. Martha Bayne

Graze
35 W. Ontario | 312-255-1234

$$$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL, SMALL PLATES | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, OTHER NIGHTS TILL 11

Heavily reliant on logs, oversize sunflowers, and lots of glossy, grassy tile, the design team behind River North's Graze appears to be going for some sort of sunny preschool-pastoral theme, but the execution is half-baked: the shiny tree cutouts on the south wall bring to mind the worst of high-80s plasticity, and I can't even guess what the deal is with the square of Astroturf mounted on the bathroom wall. Unfortunately this disconnect between concept and reality extends to chef Bob Zrenner's kitchen as well. The small-plates menu (good for grazing -- get it?) covers a lot of promising if familiar ground, but of the six dishes we tried only the ahi tuna "nachos" (tuna tartare on wonton crisps topped with yuzu and wasabi caviars) and two tasty, tiny crab cakes really delivered. Bacon-wrapped meat loaf drew all its flavor from house-made barbecue sauce and, well, bacon. Seared scallops were flabby, and a plate of panko-crusted artichoke hearts was distressingly TGI Fridays-esque. About the novelty plate titled "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- a slider, mini hot dog, nachos, and Cracker Jack -- the less said the better ("It's a low-key dish," our sweet-faced waiter apologized as he took it back, "more for kids"). Jordan Rappaport's desserts were more successful overall, the crispy "cheesecake ravioli" served with blueberry sauce and strawberry-cracked pepper ice cream a particularly sophisticated standout. Martha Bayne

Hai Yen
2723 N. Clark | 773-868-4888

$$
VIETNAMESE | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS

This elegant Lincoln Park restaurant is the second location for the well-known Hai Yen on Argyle Street. The owners seem to have gone for a scaled-down version of the original: the menu is stripped to the bare essentials, the decor is minimal, and even the portions seem smaller. Is less better? That depends on one's expectations when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, a couple hallmarks of which were clearly evident on a recent visit. Colors were crisp and bright, especially in the spring roll and cahn chua tom, spicy-sour soup. Other dishes were beautiful to behold but sadly not so tasty. Clay-pot Chilean sea bass, for example, was perfectly textured but lacking in flavor; bo luc lac, a French-inspired dish of beef tenderloin sauteed in red wine, butter, and garlic, sounded rich on paper but was lackluster in the flesh. Service was exemplary despite our dining late: rather than being pressed to leave, my companion and I were induced to try some lovely dessert specials, a key lime calypso cake and a decadent chocolate pyramid. Ultimately, this is decent food at a fair price with wonderful service, but if you want the real thing a trip to Argyle is still in order. Chip Dudley

Juicy Wine Company
694 N. Milwaukee | 312-492-6620

$$
SMALL PLATES | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 3, OTHER NIGHTS TILL 2 | RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY

From the name you'd expect Juicy Wine Company to be all about the grape, but the instant you walk in the door and a complex, potent blend of vapors hits you square in the face, it's clear the place is just as much about the cheese. A "retail plus" wine bar from Rodney Alex (formerly of Wicker Park's Taste), Juicy offers a dozen-odd "cheese experiences," a selection of cured meats, and even a butter flight that pairs three artisanal butters with various sea salts. A trio of raw-milk cheeses included a nutty Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a rich, dense, Taleggio-inspired Meadow Creek Grayson, and a potent blue from Bayley Hazen whose rind evoked the subtle flavor profile of a barnyard in summer. Both the wine and cheese lists have a strong domestic emphasis, and everything's available to go. Wines served in-house are marked up a flat $15 over retail, a "chill-out price" that makes even the swankier bottles relatively accessible; there's also a dozen reds, whites, and bubblies by the glass. Downstairs the wood-trimmed, minimalist space is split between a wine wall and deli case in the front and a low-key seating area of tables and banquettes in the rear. Upstairs is a cozy bar and lounge, complete with DJ booth. The staff is casual and helpful -- Alex pressed a shaving of a rare Swiss something on us as we were halfway out the door -- and in all it's a pretty pleasant (er, "chill") scene, even if the prices (about $12 per glass) may still render it a little haute for some tastes. Martha Bayne

Kansaku
1514 Sherman, Evanston | 847-864-4386

$$$
JAPANESE | LUNCH: MONDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

At Kansaku it's not easy to resist the seductive and colorful "signature rolls": we had the Fiesta, a tangy cigar of salmon, tuna, jalapeno, and cilantro, as well as the Citrus Spring Roll, a spicy tuna paste with cucumber and avocado peeking through translucent rice paper. Both of these nouveau Asian items were fine, but my recommendation is to stick with more traditional sashimi or sushi and savor embarrassingly fresh finned things shipped in several times a week to this atmospherically lit, stylish, and friendly place. We had a buttery escolar, rich enough to smear on bread, and tuna sliced thick as a ham steak and so transcendently tender I couldn't bear to defile it with soy and wasabi. If you really must have meat, there's tonkatsu, fried pork cutlet. To drink take the plunge with unfiltered sake like ozeki nigori, a tongue-coating, richly textured beverage, floral and suitable as aperitif or with dinner; I tried a more expensive filtered sake, which seemed neutered by comparison. David Hammond

Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi
111 N. State | 312-781-2939

$
JAPANESE | LUNCH: MONDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY

Every detail down to the last filament of nori seems premeditated at Takashi Yagihashi's fancified food-court noodle shop, located on the seventh floor of Macy's on State. Line cooks pump out homey bowls of ramen and giant mounds of fried rice to the masses, but last-second sprinklings of seaweed, ginger, and fried parsnip make the process seem more civilized. Yagihashi's design background manifests itself in the finer details -- black wooden trays and hooked soup spoons elevate mall dining to new heights. Ramen comes in three flavors: miso, shoyu, and shio; the last, a hybrid of the other two, benefits from the ferment of the miso and the subtle richness of the shoyu. Ground pork and toothsome vegetables get mixed in with the standard ramen noodle. House-made tofu, tired fried dumplings, crispy spring rolls, and steamed buns stuffed with smoky braised pork round out the delightfully brief menu. There may be better ramen in the city, but it's unlikely you'll find better eating in a food court. Kristina Meyer

Osteria di Tramonto
601 N. Milwaukee, Wheeling | 847-777-6570

$$$
ITALIAN | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

I didn't care how much of a Midas Rick Tramonto might be as I schlepped up the expressway through a gulag of office parks: would Osteria di Tramonto, his new casual Italian hotel restaurant, really be worth this expedition to Wheeling? The Italian Mojo, a signature cocktail served by an overwhelmed barkeep, seemed an inauspicious beginning: it was essentially a weak mojito further diluted by prosecco. But once we were seated in the bustling, roomy space, things got better. The menu ranges all over the boot with antipasti, four crudos, a very sexy collection of cured salumi hanging in a glass "cave," wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and meaty entrees. Among my favorites were an incredibly plush and creamy burrata caprese salad, house-made meatballs in a bright San Marzano red sauce, and big cuts of meat like a lamb porterhouse with salsa verde in garlic jus and a pork porterhouse with baby brussels sprouts and sour cherries. Everything about the place is big, from the menu to the army of attentive waitstaff to the towering two-story glass "wine wall" and the extensive list of Italian liqueurs, which includes some pretty uncommon options. Mike Sula

The Pierogi Factory
1034 W. Belmont | 773-325-1015

$
POLISH/RUSSIAN/EASTERN EUROPEAN | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS

"Reach for happiness!" the inspirational label on my bottle of Polish apple-cherry juice instructed. I reached for my plate of fried sauerkraut-and-mushroom pierogi instead. Same thing, as it turned out. The dozen or so pierogi varieties at the Pierogi Factory -- cabbage, potato cheddar, and spinach among them -- are available fried or boiled, but any caloric difference drowns under the topping of fried onions, bacon, and sour cream. Marginally less heavy menu items include cheese or meat pyzy (potato dumplings), grilled Polish sausages, and potato pancakes. White borscht with potato, onions, and sausage appears as a special now and then; red borscht takes the form of a thin, hot beet broth with stained-pink ravioli floating in it. For dessert the cherry pierogi, topped with powdered sugar, are filled not with the oozy-sweet cherry pie filling I expected but with pleasantly sour whole cherries. Plastic forks and knives, wax-paper-lined trays, and counter service produce a fast-food atmosphere, but the pierogi are fresh and the service is downright jovial. This is the first location of a projected chain. Anne Ford

Sapore di Napoli
1406 W. Belmont | 773-935-1212

$$
PIZZA, ITALIAN | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, MONDAY-THURSDAY TILL 11 | BYO

"They used to do this 100 years ago in Naples," the chef at Sapore di Napoli told us as he slammed a wad of dough against the counter -- a little open-kitchen entertainment before the meal. The dozen kinds of Neapolitan-style pizza here include salsiccia e cipolle (Italian sausage with smoked mozzarella and onions), verdure (asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, and roasted pepper), and quattro stagioni (artichokes, prosciutto di parma, mushrooms, and olives). Thanks to the 800-degree brick oven, they're all rapidly prepared in "like, five minutes," our server said, and feature a crackerlike crust. The patate e rosmarino, with thinly sliced potato and rosemary, was more than respectable, but skip the di rucola salad with anchovy and vinegar unless your feelings for arugula run deep. A cooler holds about ten flavors of gelato and sorbetto, none of them labeled but all so good you could be excused for playing dumb just to get samples. More exotic varieties include zabaglione, made with sweet marsala and tasting a lot like eggnog. Though this small, warm restaurant had been open only a few weeks, we found the service endearing: setting down after-dinner coffee, our server said proudly, "I steamed the milk for you, so there's no coldness!" Sapore di Napoli is BYOB, with a $5 corkage fee. Anne Ford

Simply It
2269 N. Lincoln | 773-248-0884

$$
VIETNAMESE | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | BYO

Peek through the picture window and the new BYO Vietnamese spot Simply It looks like a sweet bijou of a place, with paper lamps hanging overhead and one exposed brick wall. Inside things are a little more prosaic: there's a number on each table, the noise level fluctuates between boisterous and deafening, and the waitstaff, though eager to please, seems antsy and inexperienced. With few exceptions, though, our food made up for all this. The hot, tender grilled lemongrass beef appetizer, rolled into a moist rice-paper sheet with fresh mint and cilantro, was so good it was hard not to make a meal of it. Two baseball-size clumps of fried shrimp and sweet potato turned out to be the shrimp fritter appetizer -- again, large enough for a serious seafood fan to dine on. Only the vegetarian spring rolls were at all ordinary. Entrees include Simply It's Beef (more or less a bigger version of the lemongrass beef starter) and roasted duck curry, the latter served skin on, all the better for lovers of duck fat. Banh mi fans will have to stick to Argyle Street; there's only one here, renamed the "Saigon sandwich" and relegated to the side-dish category. For dessert there are complimentary lychees (floating in syrup and looking like small, wan sea creatures) or a slew of fruit smoothies in flavors from creamy-but-bland avocado to a more flavorful banana version. Anne Ford

Taos
2114 W. Roscoe | 773-248-6899

$$$
SOUTHWESTERN | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY

Sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover -- or a restaurant by its menu. Did anyone at Taos consult a dictionary before choosing the word "placidness" to describe the inherent character of corn? My friends and I scanned the page for New Mexican-influenced dishes that weren't Flayed with some sort of sweet-and-sour element, but saw only candied pecans in the mixed greens, black cherry chimichurri and scallops, and bourbon-spiked mixed berry sauce on pork tenderloin. We needed something placid, so we gambled on a roasted-corn-and-poblano chowder, a bowl of toothy kernels floating in a tomato "broth" so thick and sweet you could have poured it over ice cream. Grilled mahimahi with coconut mole was nice on the inside if dry around the edges, but overpowered by molasses-garlic roasted squash and charred pineapple-avocado relish. A butterscotch, marshmallow, chocolate, and pecan "adobe brick" dessert may have been the most savory dish of the night. Mike Sula

Tramonto's Steak and Seafood
601 N. Milwaukee, Wheeling | 847-777-6575

$$$$
STEAKS/LOBSTER, SEAFOOD | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

The North Shore Westin is pretty utilitarian looking, but once inside Rick Tramonto's new steak house you'll find characteristic Tramonto flourishes: a 1,200-bottle climate-controlled wall of wine, a waterfall. The luxe treatment extends to the menu, which offers sybaritic steak toppers such as bone marrow, a whole roasted foie gras, and a truffled poached egg. Starters included pristine though inexpertly shucked Penn Cove oysters and tender snails overpowered by pureed spinach resembling lemony baby food. Salads include one with sauteed sweetbreads and a terrific if slightly overdressed Caesar with a single, delectable white anchovy. (Note to the chef: pony up a few more.) Surf and Sky was wood-roasted lobster and foie gras artfully coupled with Asian pear and crisp haricots verts. A grain-fed bone-in rib eye, with its fresh, clean beefy flavor, was memorable, but Tramonto's Tomahawk Chop, 40 ounces of dry-aged beef meant for two, merely hinted at the intense mineral tang of properly dry-aged beef. Sides were well executed, in particular the twice-baked potato with Irish cheddar, roasted wild mushrooms with crispy croutons, and wood-roasted brussels sprouts. Scrumptious Gale Gand desserts include the Best Ever Chocolate Pudding, which it very well may be, and a root beer float coupled with sugar-dusted beignet french fries with cherry ketchup. Service is beyond reproach, the waitress attentive and professional, an assistant sommelier directing us to a lovely Oregon pinot noir, and support staff constantly pouring, polishing, and generally fluffing the room. Gary Wiviott

Wings Around the World
321 E. 35th | 312-326-6930

$
GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC, SEAFOOD | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, MONDAY-FRIDAY TILL 11:30 | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED | TAKEOUT ONLY

Wings Around the World opened in a neighborhood with an inordinate concentration of fried chicken franchises, and though it's far more imaginative, ambitious, and wonderful than any of them, the potential for a wildly successful chain is obvious. Owner Abeng Stuart does wings grilled or fried in 34 (soon to be 50) different sauces or rubs, more or less representing nine different cuisines: Jamaican, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Greek, "Canadian," and "American." The wings themselves are steeped overnight in a base seasoning and cooked unbattered in fresh, clean oil, leaving the meat an unadulterated vehicle for these intense flavors -- also applicable to shrimp or fish. The "Maple Twist," filed under Canadian, is a light syrup-and-butter potion, meant to evoke pancakes, or more appropriately, chicken and waffles. The Greek lemon-and-garlic wing is bright, citrusy, and smothered in roughly minced garlic, while my favorite, the Parmesan garlic, is crusted with real cheese. The jalapeno is smothered in whole sliced chiles, and the rum and bourbon barbecue sauces are unmistakably spiked. Several were designed with the pleasure/pain principle in mind: the Kamikaze is a powerful multichiled blast that flooded my skull with endorphins. These aren't prepackaged assembly-line concoctions, but house-made dressings dreamed up by someone who understands proportion and balance and has a knack for conjuring up vivid associations. Mike Sula

Yolk
1120 S. Michigan | 312-789-9655

$
AMERICAN, BREAKFAST | BREAKFAST, LUNCH: SEVEN DAYS | BYO

Perhaps self-evidently, the specialty at this sunny South Loop breakfast-and-lunch spot is eggs, offered in several different Benedict styles (for example, there's an Irish Benny topped with corned beef hash) as well as in omelets and frittatas or served just plain old sunny-side up. I opted for a "West Coast" crepe filled with scrambled eggs, avocado, mushrooms, and cheese; though I'd been warned by the menu, which said "sweet crepe" right there, I still found it odd with all the other savory flavors. As for the eggs Benedict (we went for the classic version), despite the fact that it was crowded on the plate by huge chunks of fresh fruit ("Who wants fruit covered in hollandaise?" my companion asked), it was very good. In addition to egg dishes, Yolk's menu features a variety of pancakes, waffles, and French toast, as well as sandwiches and salads for the lunch crowd. The custom-roasted coffee was significantly better than typical diner swill and refilled often, and on a weekday service was friendly and prompt. Kathie Bergquist

ZKFood
1633 N. Milwaukee | 773-278-9600

$$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL | BREAKFAST: SATURDAY; LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SUNDAY BRUNCH | RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY | BYO

Just northwest of the Damen/ Milwaukee/ North crotch, ZKFood takes the Zoom Kitchen formula of fast, fancified comfort food -- soups, salads, sandwiches, and entrees in the meat loaf and roast chicken family -- and adds table service and (eventually) liquor. There's also a take-out counter featuring a build-your-own salad option and soups by the quart. The vegan tomato-lentil soup was pretty good, hearty and filling if otherwise unremarkable. A flank steak nicoise salad was similarly fine -- some mixed greens with standard nicoise trimmings, including an apparent half-pound of olives -- topped with strips of slightly chewy beef and a little too much creamy tarragon dressing. It's nothing that's going to land anyone on the cover of Food & Wine, but it's a reasonably low-key, affordable option in an increasingly overwrought neighborhood. Martha Bayne

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