This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2022, held March 25–April 10. To browse past Restaurant Week coverage between 2013 and 2021, click here.
Sweet potato chaat with kale tempura, tamarind, and mint chutney, in front of green pea & goat cheese kulcha
Best Bite: Restaurant Week seemed like a great opportunity to finally try ROOH’s progressive Indian cuisine. The most exciting bite of the meal was the sweet potato chaat, with the crunchiest kale-puffed rice pieces interspersed with the softer roasted sweet potato and an acidic hit from the yogurt. The entrees were also impressive. The savory layer between the two slices of paneer added depth, and the lamb shank’s mild curry also had great flavor.
Paneer pasanda with red pepper makhani and fenugreek and Bengali lamb shank (kosha mangsho) with pearl onions and cilantro
Other notes: The textural surprises continued into the chocolate rum ball dessert with a cookie-dough-like halva crumble, tiny bursts of raspberry, and more crispy chocolate. A colorful marigold-garnished mango cocktail rounded out the meal.
Chocolate rum ball with toasted milk ice cream
Shimla Retreat cocktail with Misunderstood ginger whiskey, mango eau de vie, Dimmi apricot and peach flower liqueur, and lemon
This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2022, held March 25–April 10. To browse past Restaurant Week coverage between 2013 and 2021, click here.
Key lime pie
Best Bite: L. Woods was purported to be a hidden gem of the Lettuce Restaurant You restaurant group, and it lived up to that reputation. L. Woods serves traditional supper club fare, including classic homestyle desserts. The chilly key lime pie had the right level of tartness with a buttery graham crust and crown of whipped cream.
L. Woods is also known for their barbecue, so I went for a meaty entree that was exclusive to the Restaurant Week menu. The texture of the country pork rib was impressively tender, and corn pudding and sweet potato fries are two of my favorite sides anywhere (usually independently), so it was a nice treat to have them together.
Boneless country pork rib with caramelized barbecue sauce, sweet potato fries, and corn pudding
Other notes: You can’t go wrong with a molten cheese-topped French onion soup, with the savory soaked crouton underneath. And I had to get an old fashioned in true Wisconsin supper club fashion, this one a springy strawberry.
French onion soup
Strawberry old fashioned with High West bourbon, fresh strawberries, and rhubarb bitters
This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2022, held March 25–April 10. To browse past Restaurant Week coverage between 2013 and 2021, click here.
Steamed yellow curry custard with jumbo lump crab, curry leaf, and fried bitter melon; Szechuan-style braised lamb dumplings with chili crisp and scallions
Best Bite: Proxi has been on my list to try for a while, and the mostly family style Restaurant Week menu allowed us to try 12 different dishes inspired by cuisines across Asia. The steamed curry custard with generous lump crab on top was the most unique bite, comforting yet elegant. I also couldn’t get enough of the salmon salad, perfectly dressed with coconut, peanut, and heat from the chiles.
Poached king salmon salad with young coconut, smoked trout roe, and peanut
Shrimp toast with lemongrass and red chili; roasted carrots with berber spice butter and whipped tahini
Other notes: Among the other highlights were the roasted heirloom carrots, well spiced with creamy tahini, and an especially excellent version of shrimp toast where the topping and bread melded into singular goodness. My favorite of the heartier dishes was the wood-grilled pork tenderloin, which came with a smoked peanut mole sauce that I wanted to drink by the gallon.
Wood-grilled pork tenderloin with smoked peanut mole and knob onions; wood-grilled prime beef short rib ssam with butter lettuce, pickled daikon, rice, and spicy ssamjang (plus a cameo from chef Andrew Zimmerman)
All three desserts were outstanding, from the purple corn sorbet with warmed spiced pineapple jam, to the cardamom-laced mango kulfi with a beautiful shortbread tuile, to the coffee-chocolate opera cake with a s’mores-like combination of accompaniments. And it was a bonus to sit at the counter in view of the kitchen, with chef Andrew Zimmerman (also of Sepia) expediting.
Dessert course of mango kulfi with cardamom mousse, citrus shortbread, and frosted pistachios; chicha morada (purple corn) sorbet with pineapple jam and coconut; and vietnamese coffee & chocolate opera cake with chicory streusel, hot fudge, and whipped cream
