If you’re going to spend $23 on a cheeseburger, it better be an exceptional cheeseburger – and indeed it was at John’s Food and Wine, a small upscale lunch and dinner spot with a cocktail bar on Halstead in Lincoln Park. We split the burger for lunch (served Friday-Sunday) – plus an order of beef fat fries with aioli and a delicious “Little Gem” salad with little gem lettuce (somewhere between butterhead and romaine), charred ramps, ample white shavings of ricotta salata (the dry version of ricotta) and a creamy greenish buttermilk dressing (think refined Green Goddess).
What made that burger so good? It was perfectly charred on the outside – which explained why John’s open kitchen was sending out smoke, although it never got too smokey (the burger is popular); the meat was house-ground fresh and a perfect medium rare; topped with melted clothbound cheddar cheese and aioli; the bun was a homemade yellowy, slightly sweet milk bun, perfectly toasted. My iced expresso was just right, not too heavy or too sweet. We’ll be back!
Slightly closer to home is our neighborhood Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant, Cedar Palace, on Armitage, that we forget to go to. I longed for a good Middle Eastern restaurant in Des Moines – and now there’s one two blocks away. First, the hummus is not too tangy or gritty, just the right creamy consistency and amount of garlic and lemon. Everything else I’ve tried is good including the chicken kafta dinner (which we shared; $22.99 including good yellow lentil soup). The back patio is lovely when the weather permits (and oddly, located next to one of Chicago’s most expensive mansions on Orchard Street) and in the winter the small dining room is cozy and welcoming.
TakeBetsywithyou 