I’m surprised they didn’t get one star. They deserve it as much or more than many that gor one star.
I went for lunch earlier this year. That visit wasn’t 2* worthy IMHO. Perhaps dinner is different but lunch was a great deal. I’d go back.
As discussed in an earlier thread I ate there in 6/2013 for a HDH La Mission Haut Brion dinner put on by HDH. No way did we have anything close to a starred experience. I’ll give food a slight break due to the large party size (unsure of exact size but I’d guess 20-30?) but service was a handful of confusion with glassware and food issues delivery/placement, etc…
That’s a shame. I tend to think group dinners can be confusing, as much depends on how well it was coordinated between host and restaurant (and sometimes hosts want to change on the fly), though in no way am I discounting your experience. I thought that this write-up echoed my last visit (which admittedly is not quite as recent):
10 of us dined at Les Nomades last week. It was the same night as the Flickinger dinner (upstairs); I think we drank better >
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The food was the best we had all week, including trips to RPM Steak, Blackbird and Naha. And it wasn’t good like you have to think about it, it was head and shoulders above all the others. When I was doing some research, one poster here had commented that, in retrospect, they should have gone there two nights - I fully agree, and if/when we return, we will in fact dine there twice or more. Service, too, was fantastic. Matt was the person running the show for our table, and this guy is at the top of his game.
Having gone to Guy Savoy in May (11 or 14-course tasting menu, with wine pairing, and one-star Naha just last Friday), I prefer Les Nomades over both of them, by a goodly margin.
Here’s what we had to choose from, and between 10 people, we pretty much ordered at least one of everything on the menu. I’ve talked with my mates since the event/4 dinners, and everyone agreed, Les Nomades, hands down. You can choose the 4-course (fish OR meat) or the 5-course (fish AND meat), but whichever one you choose, for service reasons, the whole table has to choose the same. We ordered the 5-course, we had a lot of wine to drink…
Les Nomades, Chicago - Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes - WineBerserkers >
I think he’s doing much better with his ramen shops. I don’t know how many covers a night he has at Takashi, but it’s always excellent
Yes. Absolutely. I think the 2** reflects the dinner more than it does the lunch. It is a hotel restaurant so it needs to be open for lunch (I assume) so while the food for lunch may not quite be 2** the dinner IMO, since Lents took over has been wonderful. I think his dishes show an absurd amount balance and uniqueness without being over the top. The room is beautiful also. We will heading back in December.
George
Have you been when the meal wasn’t a wine dinner? I’ve been to a couple of events there (HDH & TCWC) and while they were certainly better than your experience, I’m not sue I would judge them, or any restaurant, soley by a wine dinner. I’ve been many times and I didn’t think it is a two star, I do think it is as good or better than many one stars on the list.
JD
If you look at the 3 and 2 stars they have a point of view they are emphasizing.
Takashi is a great chef and I’ve had many great dinners there. That being said the business in the city is getting tougher. Starting to emphasize restaurant groups and less room for independents.
What happened to Vie?
we had a great meal there in the summer
According to Michelin you are incorrect. hehehehe
I have not been there otherwise. With me not living in Chicago and only being up there intermittently I rarely visit the same restaurant multiple times and when the experience is poor on the first visit that normally crosses it off the list quickly.
So sorry to see Takashi close; I always enjoyed it there.
I found Spiagga “good.” Its pedigree from Levy Restaurants was a bit too apparent, IMHO. Food was fine, service was very good, but the food didn’t make me want to rush back.
To me, L20 had run its course. A sign they were getting ‘tired’ was going into the kitchen and seeing their giant fish tanks no longer stocked with exotic sea life but just with some regular Maine lobsters. (This was before the announcement and even rumors of them closing)
Someone above mentioned goosefoot. I must say, I had the most amateur meal there of my life, in a restaurant that regularly gets accolades. I couldn’t believe how amateur it was, as if a home cook who thought they were a chef opened a restaurant. Tiny little flowers, used to far excess, placed on EVERY plate. The first appearance was nice. After that, it got silly. And the cooking was, IMHO, very amateur.
Time to go back to Grace for a second visit…
WvG - I was not impressed with Goosefoot either. I think it gets a lot of hype due to low cost (comparatively) and BYO. I definitely need to give Grace another shot also. If you have not been I highly recommend Elizabeth.
George
+1. The meal I had at Goosefoot had some very good dishes, but a lot of repetition including not only the plating, which I also noticed, but the flavors. Three dishes in a row had an intense flavor of truffle oil. Not good.