John’s food & wine
The green-painted outside and gold letters reading “John’s Food & Wine” stood out to me compared to the rest of Halsted’s stores. As I made my way in, I heard the bustling conversations and noticed the menu posted largely next to the bar. A waiter kindly greeted us, and asked us for our order before we even sat down.
Reading off the menu like it was McDonald’s, my father listed everything we wanted. After the waiter took our order down at the front of the restaurant, we made our way to the table. It was unconventional, but made for an incredible night filled with incredible food.
Besides the water and wine glasses on the table, there was a small QR code printed onto a sheet of glass. You couldn’t order more food, but you could always order more drinks. It was so different, and I was amazed.
We started the night off with their citrus cured crudo (love the alliteration). Tangy, sweet, and refreshing, this starter was a punch of flavor. I enjoyed the little pieces of onion and pepper in the citrus too. The crudo was a very strong start to our meal.
Next came the crab salad. Definitely one of the most stunning dishes I’ve ever seen, I felt like I was staring at a little bush. The salad, perfectly circular, was covered in chives and a green-spotted sauce at the bottom. It simply looked like summer in a bowl, and that’s how it tasted, too. The crab was fresh and sweet, and the chives were as green as anything could be. On top was a cracker of some sort, which added a nice crunch and saltiness to the sweet salad.
Speaking of salad, you aren’t at a Josephson dinner if you don’t order/make a green salad. My dad loves the simple vinaigrette, but in no way was this salad boring. The salad had this incredible thickly-grated yet light parmesan, a lemony yogurt dressing, and the freshest chickpeas and lettuce. Don’t even forget the delicious bacon cubes that were sweet and savory. The flavors were insane. If there was one salad I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be this one.
Onto the mains, we had to try the corn gnocchi, a seemingly-perfect dish for the transition from August to fall. I have always loved gnocchi, and this corn gnocchi dish did not disappoint. Fresh, corny, and perfectly cooked, I really enjoyed the pieces of corn and croutons added to the thickish sauce. It wasn’t my favorite dish of the night, but it was still spectacular.
Before coming to John’s Food & Wine, my parents had told me that their steak is the best they’ve ever had. We are a big steak family, and so I had to see what they were talking about. This steak was perfectly seared, had a crunchy outside, and a nice touch of flakey salt. However, I didn’t love the thickness of the steak. In the way they prepared it, much of the steak is the center, and not the outside. The ratio seemed off to me, because I was eating bites with no real flavor. But, those pieces with the sear were heavenly!
If you order the steak, you cannot forget their famous beef-fat fries. Remember how I said that John's Food & Wine was like ordering at McDonald’s? Well, their fries are better than McDonald’s. They were thick, soft, crunchy, salty, amazing. Their potatoes come from this very specific farm, and so when they cannot import the potatoes, there are no fries. In my opinion, that’s pretty cool.
I really enjoyed the irregular style of John’s Food & Wine. While up at the front, the restaurant seems laid back and casual, their food in the back is incredible. It’s the hottest new restaurant. I cannot wait to go back and order what I didn’t get to try last time. The best part is, they are always changing their menu, so there's always something new to try.
