by Adam L Stanley | Sep 1, 2013 | Food
Summary: Not recommended / Needs to work on service.
I really really want to like this place. The food was tasty and flavorful. The drinks were innovative, unique, and well presented and cute little bottles. The location, on North Wells in the midst of lots of other great spots, was also appealing. However, something just was not right about the place. Worse, observing the staff and chef, I walked away with the general feeling it will never change. And thus, my initial thinking is that I would not recommend this restaurant. There are simply too many options in Chicago and, in my opinion, restaurants rarely get a second chance. That said, I will be watching to hear of improvements and focus on service to make this good restaurant great.
#Foodie Review: Sumi Robata (Chicago)
702 N. Wells
Chicago, IL
FOOD: 4
Food at the restaurant would most easily be described as tapas. Japanese tapas. Lots of grilled, some fried, and all very well seasoned items on the menu. Their twitter feed describes it as “A traditional robatayaki from Chef Gene Kato. Sumi, which derives from the Japanese word for charcoal, focuses on the tradition and skill of robata grilling.”
With four or five friends, you can easily sample the entire menu and taste all of the different flavors in foods that are available. The actual variety is a bit misleading, however, as there are several that to me seemed very similar. For instance, there are three or four  chicken dishes on the menu that all are presented quite commonly with very little difference between them. But, let me be clear: I do feel that the food is fantastic and nothing I am saying is meant to take away from the assessment of quality of the food.
SERVICE: 2
Service is the greatest problem with the restaurant and its not simply with the actual server that was assigned to our table. Rather, it was the experience. It was the pace, the timing, the way in which the menu was explained, and the overall experience dining at the restaurant. It felt, frankly, as if I was dining at a very amateur restaurant. A restaurant that was owned by someone who really loves to cook but has never been involved in actually running a restaurant. I felt as if I were participating in a Top Chef competition very early in the season. Lots of businesses started by ambitious entrepreneurs with amazing ideas but needing a little business acumen come to mind.
Back when Chicago was basically a city of steak and potatoes, menus were fairly straight forward. As food options expanded, great servers and hosts find ways to unobtrusively explain the concept to new diners. On my first visit to Girl and the Goat, seemingly eons ago, I keenly recall how the server went through the menu, gave us a sense of how many items to order, and gave us time to process the menu. This was not the case here. This place is kind of tapas style but uniquely so. Because Japanese tapas is a relatively new concept in Chicago it is very important that they explain to patrons what the experience might be like. We had a couple of awkward moments when orders were brought out and not explained. One of my guests waited patiently for her lamb while another enjoyed his plate with two pieces on it. Little did he know that he was eating both the lamb he ordered and the lamb she ordered. They had been combined on one plate. Ok, makes sense, but who knew? If I’m not clear, you understand how I felt at the restaurant!
DECOR: 2
In this area, I am told perhaps I did not experience the best of the restaurant as there is a space downstairs that is roomier. As it stood, the upstairs area reminded me a bit of a Chinese takeout restaurant with a few tables, or a Pret a Manger franchise. Basic wood tables, not much space. Nothing fancy or memorable. As I have said before, however, decor alone would never keep me away from a restaurant. Nor would it keep me from recommending. All other things being equal, however, I prefer a nice ambiance with my good food. And less noise.
VALUE: 3
Based on the good quality of the food, and considering the neighborhood, I would say this place is about average. As long as you know what to order based on your party, you can have a reasonably filling meal for less than $50 per person including a cocktail. Given I know that I could have had the same or better meal at other Chicago restaurants with better service and decor, I’m giving a 3 for value.
OVERALL: 3
I would not recommend this restaurant but would not turn people away from it either. There are too many nice restaurants in Chicago for me to tolerate average, but if I lived in the area and wanted a good, flavorful meal without having to get dressed up or impress anyone, I would certainly visit this place.
In relationship with #foodies,
Adam
Adam
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
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by Adam L Stanley | Jun 20, 2011 | Food
L20 Food Review
Summary: Recommended with reservations despite a very bad night.
L20
2300 N Lincoln Park W
Chicago, IL 60614
SHORT VERSION:
After a few rather disappointing meals at this and other 2011 Michelin rated spots, first I must say that a restaurant may get great reviews by critics but the best way to truly judge a place is to go for yourself. Alas, Michelin thus far has proven itself unreliable in my book. Â Under no stretch of the imagination could I see L2O deserving all three of the stars it received. MAYBE two stars. It merits a return visit but ONLY because there is no way service could consistently be as bad as what we experienced.
LONG VERSION:
Continuing on my Michelin star restaurant quest and admitting up front that this review is biased based on comparison to the other Michelin star restaurants at which I have dined. Â See all reviews of the list here
http://www.yelp.com/list…
Most relevant comparisons: Alinea (cost, presentation, length of meal), Ria (Chef from L2O plus staff from Ria would be a PHENOMENAL restaurant), Spiaggia (personality of the staff), Naha (decor)
Food: 4.5
– Bread was awesome, especially the milk bread and bacon filled yumminess they served (Note: bread is better at Girl and the Goat)
– Food was really amazing. Every course of the 8 course tasting menu was fantastic, well prepared and presented. Good looking plating but not so much emphasis on appearance that the food is crappy or cold. The chef rocks (but the house staff fails)
– Wine pairings ok but definitely not stellar. Better wine pairings for less at Ria and sadly, we never even saw the sommollier. Further, our server not only did not know how to pronounce the wine but she really did not have a clue why the wine worked well with each course.
Service: 2
Abysmal. Amateur. SOMEONE IMPORTANT was off that night. Honestly, there is no way this place could be this amateur on a regular basis. The four of us have been to dozens of the world’s best restaurants … Le Bernadin, Le Bec Fin, Ria, Everest, etc … so we know good service. And this was not good service. Out of 8 courses, only one was clearly explained. We sometimes waited ages for water refills and replacement linen napkins. For desert, one of my friends had cheese while the rest of us had the souffle from the tasting menu. Her cheese arrived with our desert wine. We waited and waited and drank the wine and shared the cheese. Then the souffles came out. It was the TASTING MENU. Were they surprised we were having the dessert on the tasting menu?
Sommelier was absent and server could not begin to describe wines
And NONE of the staff seemed to have a personality. There was nothing friendly about any of them. (Actually, the two women at the host station were very friendly but besides pointing me to the restrooms, that did not do much for me.)
Decor: 3
Felt like I was in a hotel lobby restaurant. Boring with a few hanging things to spice it up and give semi-privacy. Clean and elegant, but boring.
The Tatami room concept was ODD. At around 10pm, after we had been there for about 3 hours, we started seeing women in kimonos. They were greeting people at the host station and taking them to tables right near us. And occasionally they were taking them to a side room. We finally asked and they explained this was a private dining experience in the Japanese style. I don’t get that AT ALL as there is no link to the restaurant.
Value: 3
Same price range as Alinea but overall package nowhere near as memorable. For 4 people, our bill including tip was $1300+.
Overall : 3
I suspect that this was a very off night for L2O and the food alone would make it worth you trying it out. It merits a return visit because there is no way service could consistently be as bad as what we experienced. However, it is too expensive for what you get and there are at least five other restaurants I would go to first before returning to L2O. And under no stretch of the imagination could I see L20 deserving all three of the stars it received.
In relationship with #foodies,
Adam
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
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L’Anima (London) Food Review | Grace Food Review | Other Food Reviews
by Adam L Stanley | May 20, 2011 | Food
Blackbird Food Review
Summary: Recommended for great food.
Blackbird
619 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
I went here again last night to see whether the recent successes and awards had changed Blackbird. Specifically, I wanted to see if they too had gone down the path of appearance over quality.
I am happy to say that they have not. In fact, I find it interesting that the James beard award and the Michelin plague are nowhere to be seen, or perhaps in the hallway leading to the bathroom.
The service, food, and decor remain pretty much the same quality as they were 10 years ago when I first began to dine at this restaurant and long before our French friends came here to judge Chicago restaurants.
I do believe this place merits the Michelin star, and think 1 star was appropriate. It is better than many of it’s peers in the 1 star category. I would dine here again many times before heading back to the purees and foam of Alinea, lukewarm food and dated decor of Boka, stuffy pretentiousness of Spiaggia or overpriced snobbery of Sixteen (and, frankly, I will support nothing Trump related, but that’s another story …)
Here goes:
FOOD: 5
EVERYTHING is fattening, artery clogging, buttery goodness. Food looks good on the plate but emphasis is still on taste. Flavorful, savory food with interesting twists but not so much about the show that the food gets lost. This visit, I had as my appetizer the confit of suckling pig with fried ipswich clams. YUM!! Dinner was aged pekin duck breast with golden beets, chestnut soubise and munich malt. My guest (from UK) had the skate wing appetizer and the lamb. Both of us cleaned our plates and enjoyed dinner.
Portions are large enough to fill you up but still leave room for dessert, which we both had. Not a fan of the desserts, but mainly because in this category I am a “Joe Sixpack”. I want an apple pie or brownie with icecream and am unimpressed by fancy schmancy nondescript deserts.
DECOR: 4
Has not changed. Could get old, but it’s clean, crsip, minimalist. Uncomfortable seats to some extent but nothing that woudl keep me away. Slightly loud, but nowehere near Publican or Girl and the Goat levels of noise.
SERVICE: 4
Prompt service, attentive but not overwhelming. And many of the people there have been there for years. Small things like having my coat ready for me when I was done with my meal, the tasty amuse bouche at the beginning of the meal, excellent wine selection, and general friendliness (without being giddy) of the staff were added plusses.
VALUE: 4
Excluding our relatively expensive but great bottle of wine, we paid about $200 for the two of us to have full meal with appetizer, main, and dessert plus coffee. This included the tip. I would say this places Blackbird in the same value tier as Crofton or graham elliott.
OVERALL: 4
Most dinners I have had here: Amazing food and nothing healthy on the menu. No attitude amongst the staff or clientele and no need to wear suits and ties. Love it. Bring on the butter and bacon baby!
In relationship with #foodies,
Adam
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
Follow me on Twitter | Connect with me on Linked In | “Like†me on Facebook | Other Food Reviews
