Bill Marcella Chef Concierge Member Les Clefs d’Or USA chicagoconcierge@jameshotels.comT 312.660.7171 F 312.337.7217 Restaurants Guide 2012

Concierge Team

Mina FakouhiKrista KraussLaurelin Hefter

Members of the Chicago Hotel Concierge Association

David Burke’s PrimehouseModern American Steakhouse616 North Rush Street312-660-6000Located in the James Hotel

Davis Burke’s Primehouse inside River North's swanky James Chicago boutique hotel, Primehouse offers its own dry-age steaks that are hand-selected, from free-range cattle. They are dry-aged on-premise in its own salt cave (a temperature and humidity controlled room fitted with salt tiles).

Chicago Cut SteakhouseInnovative Steakhouse300 N LaSalle Street312-329-1800

This innovative River North steakhouse, brought to you by a couple of guys with experience running the show at Rosebud Prime , focuses on all things local and large. Beef is butchered and dry-aged on-site, and you can expect sizeable steaks, most double cut to enhance moisture and flavor. The space offers an unobstructed look at the Chicago River -- and a 100-seat outdoor patio.

SepiaAmerican Contemporary Farm to Table123 North Jefferson Street312-441-1920

Calling itself a "modern speakeasy of sorts," this Warehouse District dining destination offers nostalgia-tinged sophistication. Look for a custom-made tile floor with Art Nouveau patterns and a floor-to-ceiling wine rack--Sepia offers a 100-bottle, boutique wine list, with most selections less than $75.

Au ChevalContemporary American Diner800 W Randolph St reet312-929-4580

Au Cheval is not your typical greasy spoon diner. It's house-made foods, creative interpretations on classic dishes, and comfortable, easy-going atmosphere— It's big cozy eats. Playful takes on old-school favorites like a fried bologna sandwich, or a pork porterhouse are all made to order, before your eyes in the open kitchen. At the bar, 30+ international beers on tap, speciality cocktails, and wine list.

Reservations Not Accepted

Piccolo Sogno DueRustic Italian340 North Clark Street312-822-0077

Piccolo Sogno (translates to “Little Dream” ) features a menu of fresh, seasonal rustic Italian cuisine with an impressive all-Italian wine list. The menu offers a wide selection of regional Italian dishes–from homemade pastas and hand-tossed pizzas prepared in the restaurant’s wood-burning oven, as well as homemade gelato and sorbet.

JaipurIndian615 West Randolph Street 312-526-3655Price range: $$Taxi: 10 minutes

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is popularly known as the Pink City where the past comes alive in magnificent forts and palaces. The food is a representation of the many and varied regional cuisines of India in a traditional Indian kitchen. 

GT Fish & Oyster SeafoodChef Giuseppe Tentori531 North Wells Street312-929-3501Price range: $$$Taxi: 5 minutes

Brought to you by Boka Restaurant Group, oyster bar and seafood-centric eatery GT Fish & Oyster is named chef/partner Giuseppe Tentori. A glassy facade dressed with sheer drapes gives way to groups chowing down on shareable seafood plates making his newest addition a success.

BokaAmerican ContemporaryChef Giuseppe Tentori1727 North Halsted Street312.337.6070Price range: $$$$Taxi: 10 minutes

A swank atmosphere and an ambitious, Mediterranean-influenced Contemporary American menu created by award-winning executive chef Giuseppe Tentori. No specials necessary on this menu, as Chef Tentori changes his seasonal creations frequently.

Avec American Contemporary, MediterraneanExecutive Chef Paul Kahan & Chef de Cuisine Koren Grieveson615 West Randolph Street 312-377-2002 Price range: $$Taxi: 10 minutes

This nationally acclaimed small-plates spot is tiny, looks like a sauna, has communal seating, doesn't take reservations and is as loud as hell. But somehow it works, after almost seven years since the doors opened, Avec still is as enticing as it was out of the gates.

BlackbirdAmerican ContemporaryExecutive Chef Paul Kahan & Chef de Cuisine David Posey619 West Randolph Street312-715-0708Price range: $$$$Taxi: 10 minutes

Paul Kahan's James Beard Award–winning, minimalist chic restaurant is as popular as ever, with chef Mike Sheerin and (new-to-the scene) pastry chef Patrick Fahy indulging the too-cool-for-school crowd.

Reservations Not Accepted

Heaven on Seven’s Jimmy Bannos and his son Jimmy Bannos Jr. have teamed up with Scott Harris of the Mia Francesca empire to open this Mediterranean-focused spot in River North. Sharable plates are the focus, with pork getting major menu play

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The Publican GastroPub (Pork & Seafood Centric)Executive Chef Paul Kahan 837 W Fulton Market312-733-9555Price range: $$-$$$Taxi: 15 minutes

The Publican is a new beer-focused restaurant featured by Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a space evocative of a European beer hall. Featuring pork and seafood preparations, the menu is best described by Kahan and Huston as “pristine product, simply prepared,” an approach to food Kahan has long espoused in all of his kitchens.

The Purple PigMediterranean Executive Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr.500 North Michigan Avenue312-464-1744Price range: $$5 minute walk from the hotel

Reservations Not Accepted

Riccardo TrattoriaItalianChef Riccardo Michi 2119 North Clark Street773-549-0038 Price range: $$$ Taxi: 15 minutes

This modern, fairly affordable trattoria has proved immensely popular with diners eager to try one of chef Riccardo Michi's seasonally appropriate, Tuscan-inspired dishes. The room goes for contemporary casual, and is perhaps a bit too bright and too noisy to be truly a romantic destination, but foodies will fall in love just the same.

RPM ItalianContemporary ItalianChef Doug Psaltis52 West Illinois Street312.222.1888Price range: $$$-$$$$Taxi: 5 minutes

Celeb couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic has teamed up with Lettuce Entertain You's Melman siblings (RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman of Hub 51 and Studio Paris) to open a modern Italian restaurant. Though Executive Chef Doug Psaltis is heading up the menu, Giuliana promises it will feature a few of her family recipes courtesy of her mother, aka Mama DiPandi.

MercaditoMexican TapasChef Patricio Sandoval 108 West Kinzie Street312-329-9555Price range: $$-$$$Walk: 10 minute

Patricio Sandoval has a hit on his hands with Mercadito, a market food-focused concept that's already spawned three New York locations. Expect a mix of lounge, bar and communal seating in a cantina-inspired space and a menu of ceviches, gourmet tacos and sharable snacks, or botanas, plus a tightly edited selection of larger dishes inspired by the flavors of Southern Mexico.

TavernitaLatin AmericaExecutive Chef Ryan Poli 151 West Erie Street312-274-1111Price range: $$-$$$Walk: 10 minute

Tavernita, a sexy, spirited, modern restaurant that offers a diverse mix of dishes inspired in Spain and Latin American flavors. Designed to encourage sampling and sharing, the small-plates menu will offer something for every taste.

SundaPan Asian Chef Rodelio Aglibot110 West Illinois Street312-644-0500Price range: $$$Taxi: 8 minutes

The restaurant’s name is a nod to the Sunda Shelf, a Southeast Asian landmass, and incorporates modern takes on dishes throughout the region. A large chunk of the lineup is devoted to China and Japan, but fare from other countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, makes an appearance too.  Expect to see Chicago socialites and celebrities at this hotspot, as this the third joint venture of Billy Dec.

Belly QAsian Fusion, BarbequeChef Bill Kim1400 W. Randolph Street312-563-1010Price range: $$-$$$Taxi: 15 minutes

Focused on the unique flavors of "Asian BBQ," this brand new West Loop fine dining spot has some powerful backers: Cornerstone Restaurant Group, Chef Bill Kim and the one and only Michael Jordan. Kim is the same mind behind Avondale's Urbanbelly and Logan Square's Belly Shack and now has his eyes on the Randolph Street corridor.

Karyn’s on GreenVeganChef Adam Staniszeski www.karynsongreen.com130 South Green Street312.226.6155Price range: $$Taxi: 12 minutes

This Greek town spinoff of local vegan restaurant Karyn’s Cooked offers a similar comfort food menu with a slightly more upscale bent. The bar offers an extensive list of sustainable wine, beer and spirits. Modern-day urban foodies will enjoy the earth-chic 100-seat space, complete with a communal table and a ceiling etched with images of leaves and branches.

Green ZebraVegetarianChef Shawn McClain 1460 W Chicago Ave.312.243.7100Price range: $$$Taxi: 10 minutes

This successful spinoff from local star chef Shawn McClain offers an inventive, almost entirely seasonal vegetarian small-plate menu (one seafood dish is thrown into the mix), making it among the city's most sophisticated, globally inspired spots for vegetarian dining. 

Roka AkorJapanese Robata111 West Illinois Street312-477-6262Price range: $$$Walk: 10 minutes

Meats, fish and vegetables are grilled over oak charcoal on a robata-style grill. Sit at the sushi bar to chat with the chefs as the slice and assemble sashimi platters and maki with fish that's flown in daily.

Union Sushi & BBQ BarJapanese RobataChef Worachai Thapthimkuna 230 West Erie Street312-662-4888Price range: $$-$$$Walk: 10 minutes

Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar is a neighborhood restaurant that unites Japanese culinary tradition with a distinctly American persona. Embracing American warmth and character with classic cultural touch points such as graffiti art while juxtaposing them with the high art and ritual of Japanese cuisine, reveals a restaurant that is warm, stylish and a unique culinary adventure. A true riff on what is expected or traditional – East or West.

Maude’s Liquor BarFrench & SeafoodChef Jeff Pikus840 West Randolph Street312-243-9712Price: $$$Taxi: 10 Minutes

Brendan Sodikoff (Gilt Bar, Bavette’s) describes this two-story West Loop bar and eatery as a "rustic, rough, Frenchy divey bar." The ground floor feels more like a restaurant, serving up snacks both raw (oysters, crudos, tartares) and cooked (escargots, chicken in a pot). Cocktails here will be simpler -- drinks served in Mason jars with the ice they're shaken with -- where more labor-intensive libations will be served. Expect an eclectic soundtrack of jazz, pop and punk from years past.

Gilt BarContemporary GastropubChef Kate Croell230 West Kinzie Street312-464-9544Price: $$$Walk 15 minutes or Taxi: 5 Minutes

Brendan Sodikoff, a former corporate chef for Lettuce Entertain You whose resume includes stints with Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse, is behind this casual, relatively affordable eatery in River North. Head down the stairs to find Curio, a cash-only basement cocktail lounge that serves an expanded menu of 20-plus hand-crafted drinks in a candlelit speakeasy atmosphere.

Dining at Moto is like taking part in an ongoing multi-sensory science experiment. Cantu’s post-modern cuisine applies science to cuisine artistically, utilizing high-tech equipment such as Class IV lasers and liquid nitrogen with eclectic ingredients from around the world. The Moto kitchen serves as a laboratory and a canvas for Cantu and his team, an incubation center for ideas that are revolutionizing the culinary landscape – ideas that focus on all things food-related, including menu items, packaging, tools, delivery and more. As Cantu says “to create is not to copy” and this philosophy of “food engineering” drives the Moto team.

MotoMolecular GastronomyChef Homaro Cantu945 West Fulton Market312-491-0058Price range: $$$$Taxi: 10 minutes

INGPan Asian FusionChef Homaro Cantu951 West Fulton Market855-834-6464Price range: $$$Taxi: 15 minutes

The restaurant’s name combines Cantu’s love for Asian influences with the expression of action, and the a la carte menu is divided up into sections such as "cooling" (cold dishes), "melting" (melt-in-your-mouth meat dishes) and "sweetening" (dessert). Other unique features include nano-brewed beer (super-small house-made batches with unorthodox flavors) and what Chef Homaro Cantu calls "flavor-tripping," an experience that will showcase the West African miracle berry that trips out your taste buds by blocking sour and bitter flavors.