Originally Posted by
bhrubin
My pleasure! I’d actually say Acadia has a better rep now than Everest, but I’ve never eaten at Acadia. Oriole and Blackbird are others you may consider. If I couldn’t get Alinea, I’d aim for Acadia or Oriole to try something newer. Everest, though, is always wonderful IMO.
And I hear amazing things now about Boka, with a former chef from EMP.
Same for me, never been to Acadia but the reputation here in Chicago is probably better than Everest, which I think suffers a bit from being "an oldie but a goodie". I think Topo and also Naha (I love both) also suffer from not being new enough. Can't go wrong with any of the 3. I also agree with the many people who mentioned Girl and the Goat, still one of my favorites after 5-6 times, and at a much much lower price point than many of the others. Practically affordable
.
Of the others mentioned in the half dozen or so posts preceding mine, the one that I thought was rather average is Sepia (been twice)...average when compared to others with stars at least. Also, if you're going to only one Paul Kahan restaurant, I'd pick Publican over Blackbird every time. Possibly the best oysters in Chicago. But I have not had a bad bite at any of his restaurants.