fle aioli. On Fridays and Saturdays, the lines are even longer, because that’s when duck fat fries are available. The most expensive dog on the menu, that foie gras/duck sausage/truffle concoction, is only $9; the duck fat fries cost $3.50.
XOXO, 449 N. Clark. Want to eat the food of one of America’s most famous, most honored celebrity chefs for less than you’d pay at Olive Garden? Host of numerous PBS series, winner of the James Beard Foundation 1995 Best American Chef award, Winner of the Top Chef Master’s contest, sustainable food advocate Rick Bayless’s newest venture, XOXO, is next door to his other restaurants, Topolobampo (Mexican haute cuisine), Frontera Grill (more traditional and moderately-priced). XOXO (TOC’s 2010 Best New Restaurant) serves breakfast empanadas, made-to-order churros (Mexican doughnuts) and several varieties of hot chocolate from freshly roasted, ground-inhouse cacao beans. At lunch, tortas (sandwiches) are served, and after 3 p.m., caldos, meal-ina bowl soups. Many ingredients are locally and/or sustainably grown. Like Hot Doug’s, there’s often a line.
Avec, 615 W. Randolph. Like XOXO, Avec is next door to its pricier big sister, Blackbird, the offspring of top Chicago chef, Paul Kahan. Avec’s chef, Koran Grieveson, has become wellknown on her own, though, (2008 Food and Wine Best New Chef) for her rustic Mediterranean cuisine. Though there are some higher-priced items, most of the menu is small plates meant to be shared – bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates in tomato/pepper sauce, house-made sausages, and seasonal specialties. Communal tables, and a bar line the narrow, stylishly bare-wood space; the crowd (and there’s always a crowd) is stylish, too.
One reason Chicago has so many affordableyet-exceptional restaurants is their liberal BYO licensing laws. Not only do the restaurants avoid insurance and inventory expense, customers save by not having to pay restaurant liquor markups. The next two restaurants are BYO.
Urban Belly, 3053 N. California. You’d probably drive right past the small undistinguished strip mall where Urban Belly is located unless you knew it was there. But its exterior is deceiving. Inside, Urban Belly mixes coolly Zen-like décor with order-at-the counter service. Chef/owner Bill Kim is one of a growing number of chefs de cuisine who’ve left high-end restaurants to start their own more casual establishments. The outside may be obscure, but Kim’s sophisticated Asian cooking has Chicagoans beating a path to the door with creations like lamb and brandy or Asian squash and bacon dumplings, soba noodles with Bay scallops and oyster mushroom, and rice bowls with organic pea shoots and Thai basil.
Jam, 937 N. Damen. Like Kim, chef/owner Jeffery Mauro is a veteran of some of Chicago’s best restaurants, including Charlie Trotter’s and North Pond. Jam is his first solo venture (albeit with a business partner). The décor is modern, with an open kitchen and gorgeously lacy wall sconces; there’s a sculpture garden with fountain for warm weather seating.
Jam opened nine months ago, serving only breakfast and lunch; and immediately began making a name. I’ve never thought of breakfast as cutting-edge, but what else to call malted custard French toast with rhubarb and lime-leaf cream? Or an egg sandwich with pork cheeks, housemade green apple ketchup, and ricotta? Or savory buckwheat crêpes with braised lamb, Asian pear and hazelnut-sage glaze?
Mauro started serving dinner three weeks ago. Like breakfast and lunch, it’s innovative and affordable. My daughter and I recently had the tasting menu which included: Asparagus soup with crisped proscuitto, and Meyer lemon, Foie gras tortellini with English pea purée and melted onions, Escolar (a Gulf fish) with ricotta, pineapple gnocchi, pineapple Asian basil and pecan emulsion OR Duck breast with braised red cabbage and duck confit pierogi, Malted chocolate minidoughnuts with malt crystals, chocolate mousse and banana jam.
The cost? An incredibly low $25. Mauro says there are still kinks to be worked out in the dinner service and he’s right: service was professional, but slow, and additional lighting is needed in the garden for nighttime dining. There are no kinks in the food, though.
Cutting edge is only as good as it tastes, and so far, everything I’ve had at Jam has passed the test with flying colors.
It’s agonizing to have to stop here because there are so many more – and so many more to discover. I’d love to hear about your Chicago good-but-cheap favorites, too!
Contact Julianne Glatz @[email protected].
