Chicago’s Top Chefs

Gourmands, prepare to be excited. Your impending visit to Chicago gives you an opportunity to sample the cuisine of some of the finest chefs in the country, perhaps even the world. (You might have to refinance your house to pay for some of them, but I hear you won’t be disappointed.)   The award-winning Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St., which consistently ranks in the top ten of “Best Restaurants in America” lists, was recently declared the world’s top restaurant by Elite Traveler magazine. Its chef, owner, and visionary, Grant Achatz, is well known for his innovations in molecular gastronomy, his deconstructed food, and his theatrical presentation. Dinner (the only meal served) is prix fixe ($210) and consists of 20 courses over a span of about four hours.Yelp reviewers describe it as “pure genius,” “life changing,” the “most amazing meal I’ve ever had,” and “truly an experience that will transcend culinary predispositions as well as American Express cards.”   Recently Grant Achatz also opened Next, 953 W. Fulton Market, for which you must order (and pay for) tickets online in advance. Usually far in advance. However, if you follow their Facebook page, you’ll see that they sometimes offer same-night tickets for unsold tables at $365 per person, including wine pairings. The theme, décor, menu, serving pieces, visual food puns,etc., change every 13 weeks. Paris 1906, Childhood, Tour of Thailand, El Bulli … what’s Next?   (Note: Next door to Next is Aviary, Achatz’s innovative cocktail lounge and “state-of-the-art drink kitchen,” where the beverages are an often interactive (and never boring) cross between a work of art and a science experiment. You might be able to score some tasty bites from Next by way of Aviary’s appetizer menu, or you might even be able to parlay your cocktail experience into an even bigger payoff: According to Next’s website, they occasionally stay open late for customers at Aviary “who express a desire to dine late.”)   Stephanie Izard, chef owner of Girl & the Goat, 809 W. Randolph St., is not only a top chef, she was the Top Chef on Bravo’s Top Chef: Season Four. According to their website, “Girl & the Goat has been serving fun foods, craft beers, and making wine in a rustic and bad-ass environment since summer 2010.” The contemporary American menu changes frequently, but it always includes the categories Vegetable, Fish, and Meat, with some overlap between the three.Prices are quite a bit less daunting than Alinea and Next; you can get a great meal for around$30. Girl & the Goat takes reservations but always saves some tables for walk-ins.   Frontera Grill, and Topolobampo, both at 445 N. Clark St., are run by another culinary superstar, Rick Bayless. Frontera Grill is a colorful, high-energy Mexican restaurant that won the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurant award in 2007. It serves traditional Mexican dishes made with organic, custom-grown ingredients and a contemporary twist. Topolobampo (or Topolo for short) is described as the “quiet, sleek, classy sister” to Frontera. It’s also more expensive. Diners can order upscale Mexican cuisine from one of several tasting menus (which Topolo is known for) or a la carte. And at either restaurant, there’s a good chance of meeting Rick Bayless himself, when he stops cooking long enough to makes the rounds in the dining room.   Another award-winning Chicago restaurant is TRU, 676 N. St. Clair St., run by executive chef/partner Anthony Martin. TRU describes its own cuisine as “Upscale Mediterranean-influenced French food set in a whimsical setting for the serious diner” and as “showcasing the most pristine ingredients in the world.” The three-course prix fixe menu is $98 per person, or you can get a tasting tour of between six and nine courses for $110 to $145. Courses might include wagyu beef short rib braised with aromatics, apple and jalapeno puree; jidori chicken and rosemary with honshimeji mushroom and foie gras; or fallow deer, celery root, black trumpet mushroom, and red currant.   This could be your last chance to visit chef Charlie Trotter’s namesake restaurant, Charlie Trotter’s, 816 W. Armitage. Late last year, Trotter announced that he will close his famous restaurant at the end of August, 25 years almost to the day that it originally opened. Winner of 10 James Beard awards and scores of other honors, Charlie Trotter’s offers three tasting menus each day that ensure “a perfectly balanced meal that continues to satisfy afterwards.” All of the dishes feature naturally raised and organic ingredients. Trotter himself has authored 14 cookbooks and is the host of a cooking show on PBS, The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter.   Chef J. Joho is a “top” chef in more ways than one. Besides earning numerous accolades, including Bon Appetit’s “Best Chef of the Year,” and serving as a guest judge on Top Chef, Las Vegas, his Chicago restaurant Everest, 440 S. LaSalle St., is located on the top floor (the 40th) of the Chicago Stock Exchange. Diners can savor a seven-course degustation or a three- or four-course prix-fixe menu of Chef Joho’s internationally acclaimed cuisine while enjoying the heavenly view.   “Mind blowing.” “Sheer perfection.” “As much like performance art as a fine dining experience.” We’re talking about Schwa, 1466 N. Ashland Ave., the culinary playground of chef Michael Carlson. It’s a Michelin-starred restaurant that’s BYOB. The nine-course menu is updated seasonally and costs $110 per person. Named “Best New Chef” in 2006 by Food & Wine, Carlson prefers to create simple dishes (his favorite is the quail egg ravioli) in a “relaxed, intimate setting,” which is probably why the restaurant has only 26 seats. If you listen to the reviewers, it’s not to be missed.   So these are some of the gastronomic delights that await you. You needed a good way to spend your tax refund, right?   All of the above restaurants are wheelchair accessible.   Linda Kelley is a member of the STC Chicago 2012 Host Committee and currently serves as the Vice President of the STC Chicago chapter.