Decisions, decisions, decisions. Wouldn’t it be nice to leave everything up to someone else for a change? Avoid committing a ordering-related faux pas while guaranteeing that you’ll be served a tasty multi-course meal with these prix-fixe meals. Go ahead, place that white napkin in your lap and wait for a surprise to arrive.
Nacional 27
File under: Nuevo Latino
You’ll forget you’re in the city once you step inside this Latin paradise whose massive dining area is as sleek and sultry as the food it serves. Chicago’s spiciest singles and couples gather here to salsa and merengue to Latin jazz and the beats of guest DJs nightly and to sample tastes inspired by the exotic cuisine of 27 South and Central American countries. The overwhelming menu includes steaks, seafood, extensive tapas and “Latin Comfort foods” like a vegetable-stuffed chimichurri chicken breast.
Simplify by choosing chef Randy Zweiban’s “spontaneous” tasting menu, which features five courses for $44. A sample dinner includes tapas or ceviche for the first course; heart of palms salad second; skirt steak, chimichurri crusted sirloin or filet mignon third; a seafood selection like salmon, shellfish or halibut; and a tasty finishing course of flan, creme brulee or pineapple rum cake. On “Wine Down Wednesdays” Nacional 27 also offers five wine pairings at the $44 tab (other days, it’s an additional $24). Also ask about the three-course theater menu ($22.95).
Ambria
File under: Changes with the season
Ambria will make you sit up straight and hold your martini glass just so. Yes, it’s that posh, and the atmosphere is nothing short of inspiring. Fresh flowers and delicate lamps sit atop crisp white tablecloths offset by dark wood floors, banquettes and chairs. Ambria offers a variety of plates as well as classic, shellfish and vegetarian degustation menus.
Degustation menus feature tastings rather than traditional courses, with dishes like shrimp ravioli with ginger chive beurre blanc, pheasant pate, and apricot tart with lavender ice cream. The classic and shellfish dinners cost $75; the vegetarian is priced at $65. If you’re not looking for a prix-fixe experience, fish, game and main plates cost $29-$36, with a “for two” main plate at $88. Ambria also offers small plates for small appetites as well as soups, salads and an extensive dessert and sorbet menu.
Arun's
File under: Subtle-Thai
Want sample everything on the menu? Arun’s is the place for you. With a whopping 13-dish sampler available for $85, you’ll certainly leave stuffed. Dinner includes four appetizers, seven entrees and two desserts, such as papaya salad, curry and grilled pork salad, green curry chicken, crab soup, shrimp with eggs and fried snapper in chili sauce. The 2,500-square-foot dining room features vibrant red and gold tones; a giant mural depicts the life and death of Buddha in the foyer, and Thai artifacts are peppered throughout the space. Your experience is sure to be just as bright, thanks to Arun’s custom approach. The chefs at Arun’s tailor each meal to the preferences of each diner and to market availability. It’s more than just asking about nut allergies; the waitstaff “gauges the customer’s adventurousness, tolerance for spicing, allergies and aversions.”
Charlie Trotter's
File under: Free-range and organic
This award-winning restaurant continues to draw crowds after 16 years in the business. The interior offers several dining options, including the Kitchen Table, where patrons watch the chefs at work; the bright and open North dining room for parties of 8-10; the darker and more intimate first floor dining room for smaller parties; and the Studio Kitchen, where private parties can watch the chef on the studio’s live camera feed.
The three daily degustation menus include the Grand ($125), Vegetable ($100) and Kitchen Table menu ($175); each offers dishes composed entirely from free-range and organic ingredients. The Grand menu may include dishes such as veal loin with cous cous, steamed European turbot with hama hama oysters and rhubarb sorbet. The vegetable menu offers such dishes as red wine risotto with wild asparagus, confit of turnips with collard greens, sake sorbet or strawberries with sauternes cake. The Kitchen Table offers a larger variety of food, such as king salmon, black bass, Arkansas rabbit, duck breast, cashew cheese cake and caramel custard with espresso jelly.
Atwood Cafe
File under: Different combinations daily
Shiny hardwood floors, sparkling chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows create a bright and airy environment at this downtown restaurant whose the prix-fixe menu changes daily. For $38, Atwood offers a three-course pre-theater menu that includes dishes like pan-seared duck breast, grilled chicken with sour cream mashed potatoes, sauteed blue marlin, watercress with watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes and mango-lime vinaigrette, and roasted banana white chocolate bread pudding. As a nice perk, theater-goers can finish their last course before or after the show, creating an inviting option for post-show coffee, dessert and lingering. Call ahead to find out about the day’s selections.
Tru
File under: French cuisine
Sip champagne and nosh on imported caviar in the bar area or head to the dining room where light jazz music plays as patrons sample mussel-asparagus soup and grilled miso-marinated prime beef sirloin. Tru serves up a three-course prix-fixe menu for $120. The menu includes your choice of appetizer (choose from peeky toe crab salad, the chef’s sushi plate, curried cauliflower salad and more), main course (such as Brazilian red snapper or Greek yogurt-marinated Elysian rack of lamb) and a dessert along the lines of chocolate mousse with banana bisque and candied mint or carrot cake with creme cheese crottin. Tru also offers three private dining rooms: The fully private area seats up to 36, the semi private salon/balcony seats 11 guests and the Kitchen Table, where the chef cooks for you “right before your eyes,” seats six.
Pluton
File under: Contemporary American with a touch of France
Located on an isolated stretch of Orleans next to a detailing business, Pluton could be the next big thing in prix-fixe dining. Walk through the unmarked red door and you’ll think you just entered a tiny study. That’s what’s so charming about it: You immediately feel relaxed and oddly comfortable. The extremely intimate dining room manages to offer comfortably spaced tables so you’re not elbow-to-elbow with other patrons. Pluton offers four courses for $79, five for $89, seven for $99 and 10 for $119. Choose from hot and cold appetizers like Maine lobster salad, corn soup or foie mousse; seafood such as “calamari & clams Portugaise” and seared Tasmanian salmon; and meats and poultry like lamb loin or Long Island duck. Cheese and desserts are offered as well. You can’t go wrong with either the passion fruit souffle or the white chocolate coconut pyramid.
North Pond Cafe
File under: Room with a view
Over the river and through the woods to North Pond Cafe we go! Located next to a peaceful pond in Lincoln Park, this restaurant offers more than just an amazing view. Grab a seat next to floor-to-ceiling windows and gaze at the skyline as you wait for the main attraction. North Pond presents “A Tasting of Summer,” a $74 per person menu that begins with smoked trout mousse and beets, followed by a lobster and shrimp mousseline; grilled halibut with carrots, lime and almonds; lamb saddle and finishes up with a warm lemon souffle. While the prix-fixe menu comes highly recommended, the main menu offers a wide variety of dishes, dessert, appetizers, pastries and cheeses as well.
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