For more than a decade, this casual spot has claimed that it’s a sports bar that offers something more—and a recent visit convinced me of that, at least for now.
The smoked pork-belly burnt ends are quite beguiling appetizers—maple-cured and applewood-smoked, and accompanied by honey-mustard dipping sauce. However, there are other apps such as tempura popcorn shrimp (addictive), beer-battered pickles, buffalo calamari and even tempura-battered cauliflower (reaching out to vegetarians, in another turn for a lot of sports bars).
The Fifty/50 is famed for its wings, and they come in three varieties: regular breaded, boneless breaded and applewood-smoked. (They like applewood here.) On the other end, there are several salads available, including the Wicker Park, appropriately (mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, cucumbers, vine tomatoes and roasted shallot vinaigrette).
And, of course, there are burgers and baby-back ribs galore. I actually found the burgers particularly fascinating, with varieties such as HELL (with habanero salsa, roasted jalapeños, Fifty/50 hot sauce and pepper jack cheese), The O-Face (Merkts cheddar, BBQ pulled pork, waffled mac’n’cheese on a pretzel bun) and the very tasty Big Hered, which is a bison-based concoction.
By the way, keep this place is mind for casual patio dining this summer if you’re a dog owner, as that area of this spot is canine-friendly.
Francesca’s on Chestnut brunch
Francesca’s on Chestnut (200 E. Chestnut St.; www.miafrancesca.com/locations/profile/francescas-on-chestnut-gold-coast) has a brunch that measures up with its other meals.
That’s wonderful for at least two reasons: great quality at fantastic prices (especially considering the restaurant is in the heart of Streeterville, one of the most most expensive neighborhoods in Chicago, if not the Midwest). Arancini Benedict ($13) involves crispy risotto balls with prosciutto, poached egg, hollandaise and house potatoes—and could be a meal on its own. Ditto for the delicious brioche French toast ($10), which is made simply and wonderfully.
However, practically everything is a hit here, including the Davanti burger ($16; roasted tomatoes, crispy mozzarella, arugula, bacon jam, and roasted garlic aioli, served on a brioche bun—and, yes, it’s served with fries). However, if that’s not your style, other offerings at this particular Francesca’s restaurant range from smoked salmon salad ($14) to rigatoni alla paesana ($13; rigatoni with roasted sausage, wild mushrooms and peas in a light tomato cream sauce).
And with the money you save, you can hit the shops on nearby Michigan Avenue—maybe.
Baconfest: Meat-and-greet
Thousands of attendees got to “ham it up” April 6-7 at the UIC Forum, where Baconfest Chicago took place.
At Baconfest—where a portion of the proceeds go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository—Chicago and suburban chefs concoct and serve dishes to thousands of bacon lovers. Just a few of the restaurants present this year included The Heritage (which served bacon-and-red floriani cornmeal dumplings), Bites (Billionaire’s BLT bao), Carnivale (maple-bacon pops), Inspiration Kitchen (bacon pistachio beet empanadas), Italian Village Restaurants (bacon BBQ truffle) and Edzo’s Burger Shop (pancake-and-bacon milkshakes). In addition, there were alcoholic beverages and other products (such as Burton’s Maple Syrups) that complemented the meats.
Keep up with the latest Baconfest news at baconfestchicago.com/.
Note: Restaurant profiles/events are based on invitations arranged from restaurants and/or firms.