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Originally Posted by jbeans
(Post 29711824)
It'll be my first time visiting Chicago, so while I can't comment on how good these places are hope they at least give you some ideas! :)
Hope you'll have great fun in Chicago, it's a beautiful city! |
Originally Posted by jbeans
(Post 29711824)
I'm heading to Chicago in July, and here's what I've booked so far mostly gathered from this thread: Girl and the Goat, Topolobampo, Oriole, and *hopefully* Alinea (still waiting for the July seats to be released). If I don't end up getting Alinea, I'm thinking either Acadia, Roister, or Everest (thanks bhrubin!) would be my backup.
It'll be my first time visiting Chicago, so while I can't comment on how good these places are hope they at least give you some ideas! :) And I hear amazing things now about Boka, with a former chef from EMP. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29711859)
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. 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. |
Boka (1*, next to Alinea) is delicious and I believe it deserves 2 stars
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Not to repeat myself, even if it’s heresy, but I was underwhelmed when I ate at Alinea 5 years ago. I was also underwhelmed by Grace, too...but I did love the slightly upscale casual spots in town.
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Originally Posted by PsiFighter37
(Post 29713339)
Not to repeat myself, even if it’s heresy, but I was underwhelmed when I ate at Alinea 5 years ago. I was also underwhelmed by Grace, too...but I did love the slightly upscale casual spots in town.
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Originally Posted by JBord
(Post 29714576)
As a Chicagoan of over 25 years, I'd say that's what we do best, "upscale casual", and actually a good way to describe the city in general. Frankly, I'd say it's what distinguishes Chicago from NYC, whether it's restaurants, bars, etc. You can get some of the best meals of your life here, but with a more laid-back, casual midwestern vibe. So as you noted, a trip to Chicago where you eat exclusively at MIchelin stars is missing out on some great experiences (not to mention restaurants like Next that deserve a star but aren't visited).
I haven’t been to Everest, Alinea, or Oriole. But I can recommend Acadia. Very good food with a reasonable wine list. I went back in September. |
My wife and I went to Roister in February and were very impressed. So much so that we went back the next day for their Sunday brunch.
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Originally Posted by GadgetFreak
(Post 29714967)
My wife and I went to Roister in February and were very impressed. So much so that we went back the next day for their Sunday brunch.
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Originally Posted by JBord
(Post 29716249)
How was the brunch? Any recommendations? I was just looking at that menu this week and it didn't really wow me, but I have a feeling the menu is just understated.
The chicken and waffles were sublime. For dinner we sat at the end of one of the benches overlooking the kitchen. I had the A5 Wagyu which was also excellent. |
Our Michelin extravaganza is now set for Japan. We leave Sunday. Will report back when we get back.
Tokyo (3 nights): 3* Sushi Yoshitake dinner 2* Narisawa dinner 2* Sushi Sawada lunch Kyoto (7 nights): 3* Kitcho Arashiyama dinner 2* Gion Sasaki lunch 1* Tempura Mizuki dinner 3* Nakamura dinner Nara (day trip from Kyoto): 3* Wayamamura lunch Kobe (from Osaka): 2* Aragawa Osaka (3 nights): 3* Hajime The only restaurant we are toying with canceling is 3* Nakamura...since we have 2* Aragawa and 3* Hajime the next 2 nights! Any advice? (We also have unagi, sukiyaki, teppanyaki, soba, udon, and ramen lunches and dinners planned, as well as street food in Osaka. A good balance, we think.) I’m so excited! |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29716622)
Our Michelin extravaganza is now set for Japan. We leave Sunday. Will report back when we get back.
Tokyo (3 nights): 3* Sushi Yoshitake dinner 2* Narisawa dinner 2* Sushi Sawada lunch Kyoto (7 nights): 3* Kitcho Arashiyama dinner 2* Gion Sasaki lunch 1* Tempura Mizuki dinner 3* Nakamura dinner Nara (day trip from Kyoto): 3* Wayamamura lunch Kobe (from Osaka): 2* Aragawa Osaka (3 nights): 3* Hajime The only restaurant we are toying with canceling is 3* Nakamura...since we have 2* Aragawa and 3* Hajime the next 2 nights! Any advice? (We also have unagi, sukiyaki, teppanyaki, soba, udon, and ramen lunches and dinners planned, as well as street food in Osaka. A good balance, we think.) I’m so excited! If in Tokyo and you get a chance try Honmora An. It is a stunning soba restaurant in the area around Roppongi I think. It was my wife and my favorite restaurant in NYC for many years, in SoHo on Mercer. Then he moved back to Japan to take over the family's restaurant there. https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/honmura-an Last time I was in the Tokyo restaurant the owner came over to my table and said he noticed my name on the reservation list for the night. He said counting me, there were 7 NYC regulars there that night. You earn that type loyalty, it's a long commute for dinner. :) |
Originally Posted by GadgetFreak
(Post 29716708)
If in Tokyo and you get a chance try Honmora An. It is a stunning soba restaurant in the area around Roppongi I think. It was my wife and my favorite restaurant in NYC for many years, in SoHo on Mercer. Then he moved back to Japan to take over the family's restaurant there.
https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/honmura-an |
I got a call from Osteria Francescana at the last minute telling me that they had a cancellation and if I wanted the table but I was in Firenze at the time and couldn't get to Modena and back easily :*(
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Originally Posted by JBord
(Post 29716249)
How was the brunch? Any recommendations? I was just looking at that menu this week and it didn't really wow me, but I have a feeling the menu is just understated.
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Originally Posted by phant0m
(Post 29716893)
I got a call from Osteria Francescana at the last minute telling me that they had a cancellation and if I wanted the table but I was in Firenze at the time and couldn't get to Modena and back easily :*(
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Originally Posted by aa213bb
(Post 29717772)
Honestly, you didn't miss that much.
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If I could go to only one Michelin restaurant in Chicago, it would be Topolobampo.
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Originally Posted by Bohemian1
(Post 29718715)
We quite enjoyed both times we were there. And Modena (and area) is quite charming.
“Different strokes”, and all that ... |
So I haven't written my quick thoughts about the places I went to since coming back yet cause I'm still coming to the sad realization that I'm back home but here..
1* La Bottega del Buon Caffe (Firenze) - Didn't end up doing the tasting menu since we were so full throughout the day. We instead ordered everything that was seafood off the menu cause my girlfriend is all about seafood and the menu had a lot of pigeon which she couldnt eat. Everything the chef made blew our mind. One of the best meals we had in Italy. Only thing we wished was that we had more. You can tell that he is really trying to work towards a second star. Perfectionist to a T. At one point, they messed up on our order and sent us the wrong dish. We sat in front of the chef's counter and he was looking at us waiting for us to try. When he saw that we didn't, you could tell he was eyeing the waiters to see what was wrong. He was livid in the end that the waiters gave us the wrong order. We ended up having a free dish out of it (well me since it was a pigeon ravioli). Would definitely recommend this place. Every time I mentioned this place at my hotel, everyone was talking about how this is the "place" to go eat in Florence right now. 2* Vun (Milano) - Did the tasting menu here and honestly we were not impressed at all. The chef's signature "caprese" started off the meal and was amazing. We were super excited to see what was to come after that but everything else just disappointed. It wasn't that the food wasn't good but it just didn't have anything that was special or exceptional. Now the worst part of this place was that there was a 30ish minute gap between every dish. I read in some reviews that other people experienced this but I didn't actually expect to see it myself. We would end up playing with our phones and eating bread while waiting for the next course. They really need to work on their timing per table. 3* La Pergola (Roma) - This was my birthday meal, did the 10 course tasting menu with wine pairing. It's a lot to go through but all I will say is that every single dish blew our mind. They let my girlfriend substitute items from the tasting menu and they adjusted the wine pairings accordingly (Vun did not allow any substitutions). With the wine pairings as well, they are definitely not stingy and kept refilling our glasses. Booking with Amex Concierge they gave us a free glass of champagne before dinner too. I honestly got pretty drunk by the time we hit the 7th course and barely made it through dessert. Ran into Chef Heinz Beck after dinner too and he personally thanked us for coming in. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and really made my bday awesome. |
If you could go to only one Michelin star restaurant in Paris - which one would you go to? Ambience of a place is almost as important as the meal itself for me. Any suggestions?
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Originally Posted by in4tar
(Post 29736770)
If you could go to only one Michelin star restaurant in Paris - which one would you go to? Ambience of a place is almost as important as the meal itself for me. Any suggestions?
I’m headed back to Paris in mid July and will be going to a few of the heavy hitters. When is your trip? |
Originally Posted by in4tar
(Post 29736770)
If you could go to only one Michelin star restaurant in Paris - which one would you go to? Ambience of a place is almost as important as the meal itself for me. Any suggestions?
Pierre Gagnaire. I believe the Michelin Guide one year said of them, there’s poetry coming from the kitchen. |
Originally Posted by United747
(Post 29736845)
I’m headed back to Paris in mid July and will be going to a few of the heavy hitters. When is your trip? |
Originally Posted by in4tar
(Post 29737826)
Mine is early September. I am in Paris often, but this one is a special trip, that's why I asked. I've searched the thread as well, but in restaurant business things change quite fast, so some info becomes obsolete quickly.
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These restaurants are all interesting United747 so I´m really looking Forward to your report.
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Originally Posted by in4tar
(Post 29736770)
If you could go to only one Michelin star restaurant in Paris - which one would you go to? Ambience of a place is almost as important as the meal itself for me. Any suggestions?
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Originally Posted by number_6
(Post 29741753)
Best food in terms of flavour: Pierre Gagnaire. Most impressive/grand: Le Meurice. Best value: Lucas Carton (a bargain at lunch), not sure what Michelin star rating now that the legendary Senderin has retired. Went to all 3 during a week in Paris before Christmas, cost for 2 was about 1500 Euro at Pierre Gagnaire, 1100 at Le Meurice (cheaper wine) and 300 Eur for Lucas Carton. All well worth the cost. great ambience at all 3 but dramatically different.
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Off to a two star resto in a short while ... one that isn't a militaristic 14 course parade of small bite artistic courses.
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Originally Posted by Eastbay1K
(Post 29744012)
Off to a two star resto in a short while ... one that isn't a militaristic 14 course parade of small bite artistic courses.
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Originally Posted by Eastbay1K
(Post 29746287)
And so I did. Lovely dinner @ Acquarello. It is about the most pleasant dinner you could ever expect to have. With possibly the finest curated Italian wine list in the USA and a sommelier to match, four of us spent a fantastic 3+ hours.
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Happy to report that I was able to snag a res at Alinea today when the July seats were released, although only at the Salon. Is there only 1 2-top at the Gallery or something? I was on tock as the seats were released, but Gallery was already sold out for 2ppl. Besides a slightly shorter menu, I'm actually not quite sure what the difference is between the two dining areas. Anyway, still pretty excited to finally try Alinea! :)
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Sorry I have been MIA for a while, I've been to a number of starred restaurants in the meantime so please let me know if anyone has specific questions or would like my thoughts on any of these: L'Enclume (2*, Lake District UK); Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (2*, London); Field (1*, Prague); Borkonyha Winekitchen (1*, Budapest); Belcanto (2*, Lisbon); and The Yeatman (2*, Porto).
I'll just say that by far the best meal at all of these was at The Yeatman. My meal there fully deserved 3 stars, I think, so keep an eye on that place. The setting was also beautiful, overlooking the river and the Porto skyline. Wine pairings were wonderful, very reasonably priced, and unceasingly topped up. |
Finished up my Michelin-started dining in Singapore. My thoughts:
Candlenut (1 star): I have eaten very little Paranakan cuisine, so it’s hard to evaluate objectively without comparisons. That said, I enjoyed the very casual, tropical-like ambiance, and much of the food was very good (the smoked chicken curry in particular coming to mind, along with the brown sugar-infused shaved ice). Corner House (2 stars): definitely more Western-style cuisine, but what a great meal. The food was immaculately presented, and every dish was fantastic. The highlight was the fish course - a New Zealand cod served with the skin crisped/flaked such that it resembled / had a texture like dragon scales (or one could imagine). For the wine lovers, they have over 600 bottles to choose from. I also went to Tim Ho wan, which has a star for its HK location. It is so delicious, and I didn’t have to wait in line either. Definitely hit up the Singapore location (in Raffles CityLink) if you have a chance. I’ll throw some pictures up when I get a chance. |
Originally Posted by CappuccinoAddict
(Post 29767919)
Sorry I have been MIA for a while, I've been to a number of starred restaurants in the meantime so please let me know if anyone has specific questions or would like my thoughts on any of these: L'Enclume (2*, Lake District UK); Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (2*, London); Field (1*, Prague); Borkonyha Winekitchen (1*, Budapest); Belcanto (2*, Lisbon); and The Yeatman (2*, Porto).
I'll just say that by far the best meal at all of these was at The Yeatman. My meal there fully deserved 3 stars, I think, so keep an eye on that place. The setting was also beautiful, overlooking the river and the Porto skyline. Wine pairings were wonderful, very reasonably priced, and unceasingly topped up. |
Just returned Monday from our 2 weeks and 21 star extravaganza in Japan. A quick summary:
TOKYO 3* Yoshitake—truly a mind-blowing and very enjoyable experience. Really delicious. Was much more than just sushi. He made me enjoy a full raw oyster for the first time in my entire life, though that could also have been what made my husband sick later that same night! Service was excellent, and he even attempted to speak with us in English a bit during the dinner. Was full but not stuffed even after such a huge meal, but it only took 2.5 hrs. Highly recommended. 2* Narisawa—absolutely worthy of 3 stars and one of my 2 or 3 favorite meals in Japan. Food was stunning and delicious. Service was fabulous, and the mixed wine and sake pairings were tremendous. An amazing dinner, and yet I wasn’t stuffed like I’d normally be after such a lengthy 2.5 hr meal. I’d return in a second. Highly recommended, and agree that it’s one of the best in the world. 2* Sawada—very nice lunch with mostly just sushi in a sterner environment but surprisingly more casual too—perhaps because it was just 4 of us that day, all English speaking. Excellent sushi. Chefs wife was very friendly. Recommended but wasn’t blown away like everyone else. KYOTO 3* Kitcho Arashiyama—truly the most memorable of all our meals in Japan, and worth every penny for me even as it was the most expensive at $1700 for the two of us. Absolutely delicious Kaiseki food in the most amazing authentic Japanese surroundings, providing an immersive Kaiseki/Japanese dinner experience that as much Japanese cultural and cuisine theater as it was an amazing dinner. Loved the private room and garden, loved the hardware, loved the traditional kimono garbed servers, and the food was divine. Highly recommended as long as you’re comfortable spending over $1500 for two people and think of dinner as entertainment as well as food. 2* Gion Sasaki—what a lunch, a truly memorable and very fun counter experience as the only Anglos, yet the team and chefs tried to speak with us and used Google translate even a few times, and the surrounding customers all spoke with us too! Almost everyone was surprised we’d heard of this place, and most were shocked we’d been able to get booking as foreigners. Most fun meal of our two weeks as a result, with very good food and Kaiseki, some truly intriguing courses that were all quite delicious, better even than 3* Wayamamura in Nara. Was just $100 per person for an incredible lunch. Highly recommended. 1* Tempura Mizuki—wow. Truly delicious and memorable tempura bar dinner at the RC Kyoto. Decided to go a la carte so we could do as much tempura that we wanted as possible, especially since we don’t normally like fried foods, but was so delicious we over did it and bill came to $700 for the two of us! That’s how yummy it was. Paired with reasonable champagne that was a bit too pricey, but overall would return in a heartbeat. Highly recommended. NARA 3* Wayamamura—only $60 per person, this easily is the cheapest and most casual 3* meal of all time for us, very casual counter seating environment with extremely good food. Not as impressive as Kitcho or Gion Sasaki but the food tasted almost as good—and at this price, we were ecstatic. The staff tried hard to communicate in Engoish and were very friendly. We were only Anglos. Highly recommended. KOBE 2* Aragawa—overpriced but still enjoyable bucket list dinner with Sanda Kobe sirloin. Truly one of the money ost delicious steaks we’ve ever had, but didn’t think it was worth the $1200 bill for the two of us. Very friendly staff in a very kitschy traditional place. Not really recommended. Only if you have money to burn. OSAKA 3* Hajime—perhaps the absolute most beautiful and artful food and most delicious food of the entire trip, and perhaps all time, but marred by so many sloppy service fails as to be very confusing. The chef is a genius. Made me love all the things I despise: oysters, beets, uni, and even love his vegetable dish for which he is rightly famous. His service team is ill equipped. Actually refused a wine pairing due to a soured Rhône with beef pairing, otherwise the wine pairings were excellent. Complained only to discover that the sommelier was the manager, and he clearly was ill equipped to serve that role. But the food was incredible. Food wise, one of the best meals we’ve ever had. But service wasn’t even worthy of 1 star. Recommended with caution. |
Originally Posted by arkellvspressdram
(Post 29785859)
How was Belcanto? Will be there in a few weeks time with a group of friends.
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Originally Posted by arkellvspressdram
(Post 29785859)
How was Belcanto? Will be there in a few weeks time with a group of friends.
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I also loved Belcanto when I was there last year. I had the Lisbon menu, and thoroughly enjoyed the creatives presentations of all the local ingredients. Agree with CappuccinoAddict that the wine pairing was fantastic.
Originally Posted by CappuccinoAddict
(Post 29791251)
I thought Belcanto was great, very much worthy of 2 stars. I had the Evolution Menu, and I found the flavors and presentation to be impressive, varied, and a great homage to Portuguese cuisine. I also loved the wine pairings, all Portuguese and showing the diversity of Portuguese wines. Belcanto shines with seafood--the grilled lobster was some of the best I've had and the giant prawn was an elegant take on shrimp and grits!
Originally Posted by arkellvspressdram
(Post 29785859)
How was Belcanto? Will be there in a few weeks time with a group of friends.
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My wife and I went to Torishin, a 1* Japanese yakatori restaurant in Manhattan tonight. We hadn’t been there in at least 5 years. We got the chef’s Omakase dinner and shared a small plate of grilled, rare, Wagyu. Everything was quite superb. We sat at the robato/yakatori bar.
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