"A Great Night Out"

June 29, 2012

• Food:
• Decor:
• Service: Great!
• Cost: $$$
• Wine / Cocktails: Great cocktails and wine list!

Overview:

First of all, I have to thank Mike and Charles for making my first time to The Bristol a great experience! They really made us feel welcome and we enjoyed sitting at the bar and hanging out for several courses of great food and drink.

We decided to start with some cocktails and the cheese and charcuterie boards while we perused the menu. We eventually decided on the wagyu beef tartare, smoked mackerel, smoked chicken hearts, witbier romanesco tempura, prawns, rainbow chard, and the duck fat fries. Everything was great and perfect to nosh on while sipping our way through some great cocktails. We were surprised with desserts as well, and even though we didn't have room for them, we throughly enjoyed the homemade blueberry pie with key lime ice cream that was toasted like a merengue! We also went crazy for the homemade nutter butters. Heaven!

Great time at The Bristol; we are looking forward to going back!

Recommended Dishes:

"Pappardalle"

November 1, 2011

• Food:
• Decor:
• Service:
• Cost: $$
• Wine / Cocktails:

Overview:

Anything Chris does with pappardalle is great

Recommended Dishes:

pappardalle

"The Bristol"

April 9, 2011

• Food: Mediterranean influenced, local farm driven, comfort food with finesse
• Decor: Comfortable, warm, rich woods, small room, nice bar, communal tables, homey
• Service: Polished, but comfortable, personable, informal, but not precise.
• Cost: $$
• Wine / Cocktails: Very good list, almost all wines under $100 with very reasonable markups. Ecclectic, but something there for every palate.

Overview:

The B is a place I like to call home at least once a week, sometimes twice, when I am in Chicago. Everything about the place is comfortable to me. The food, which is constantly changing, is always artful, flavorful, and comforting. Chef Pandel has a real talent for delicately layering Italian perspectives into his distinctly local fare. His unabashed willingness to use all the parts of the animal make The B a favorite for me. Comfortable room, really nice people, excellent charcuterie, pastas, meats and desserts. Their new pasty chef, Amanda Rockman, is a a Rockstar and her Basque Cake is one of my favorite desserts of all time.

While the menu changes, things that are always there and worth it: Scotch Olives, Flatbread, Bone Marrow, Charcuterie, Pan Roasted Chicken and ANY of the house-made pastas. From time to time they will offer a Cote du Bouef, Pig Tail or Goat, which are not to be missed.

Recommended Dishes:

Greatest hits from the past: Beef Tongue in Aspic, Beef Heart Tartare, Cote du Bouef, Whole Roasted Fish, Goat Brain Ravioli, Pasta with Botarga, Hangar Steak, Duck Fat French Fries, Vitello Tonnato, Testa and Porchetta, to name just a few....