West Town Tavern

Had the pleasure of dining with petit pois and eatchicago last night at West Town Tavern. I’m not sure how this restaurant has managed to elude me for so long. Despite good press, and constant urgings to go from fellow food friends, until last night it remained lodged deep inside my "I have to go there sometime" file. Maybe I have wrongly placed it in a growing category of mid-range, market basket, dime-a-dozen, Chicago establishments whose menus look great in theory, but in the end leave you feeling numb from insipid mediocrity.

Shame on me.

Fine value, great service, warm atmosphere, street parking, inviting bar, and most importantly simple, well-cooked, honest food. What’s not to like?

Certainly the crisp homemade potato chips drizzled with white truffle oil, aged balsamic vinegar, rosemary and Parmigiano-Reggiano were a nice start—they were a special, but I could see these as sort of the ultimate bar snack. What came on their Charcuterie Plate was of high quality, but it could have used a little more variety. Coppacola, Peppercorn Salami, and Soppresata garnished with various pickled things and some mustard seemed too one-note for me. The duck confit entrée was seriously good. A leg/thigh with mashed parsnips, caramelized shallots, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

Since it was my first time, I can’t comment on the consistency—but certainly each dish that our table ordered was executed well. And Eat/Petit said that in their experience West Town Tavern is reliably good. I know others have commented briefly on it—and it was written up in the Slow Food book, eatchicago.net and some other national publications—so it’s clearly recognized, but I wonder why it’s not more popular.

West Town Tavern
1329 West Chicago Ave
www.westtowntavern.com

This place has been a favorite of mine for a while, in fact the same husband/wife team used to operate Zinfandel on Grand before they opened West Town Tavern. The food has been consistent throughout both incarnations of their restaurant.

You are correct, though, somehow West Town Tavern seems to constantly fall off my radar as well. I don't get there often enough.

As a West Town denizen, I have enjoyed the food and libations at West Town Tavern many, many times. I'd be careful, though, to characterize it, even slightly, as "not popular" or "should be more popular" lest people go and expect a quiet restaurant. Sure, during the week, it can be less busy, but they do a brisk business most days of the week, and the weekend can be downright crowded.

But, I have tried almost everything on the menu and various specials and have never been disappointed. I like that Chef Susan incorporates more seasonal items - for instance, the accoutrements for the chicken will be a lighter panzanella during the summer, and a heavier cheddar bread pudding during the winter.

And the wines by the glass are unique and plentiful and not restricted to the usual array of Chardonnays, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignon (although they have some very nice versions of those).

Good to know. I'm moving within walking distance of it after Christmas and wondered how it was.

Agreed... been there twice and it was a solid, solid place.

Though I'd still give it up in a heartbeat to have Jim 'n Johnny's back

trixie-pea wrote:Fine value, great service, warm atmosphere, street parking, inviting bar, and most importantly simple, well-cooked, honest food. What’s not to like?

There's not much more I can say about WTT that trixie-pea didn't say here or that I haven't said already on this board or my blog. petit pois and I have been eating there with regularity for years and I consistently crave a comforting WTT dinner, especially in the winter.

trixie-pea wrote:Shame on me.

No shame at all I'm sure we've all got a lot of good places on our "to do" lists.

trixie-pea wrote:Certainly the crisp homemade potato chips drizzled with white truffle oil, aged balsamic vinegar, rosemary and Parmigiano-Reggiano were a nice start—they were a special, but I could see these as sort of the ultimate bar snack. What came on their Charcuterie Plate was of high quality, but it could have used a little more variety. Coppacola, Peppercorn Salami, and Soppresata garnished with various pickled things and some mustard seemed too one-note for me. The duck confit entrée was seriously good. A leg/thigh with mashed parsnips, caramelized shallots, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

I'm usually someone who shies away from the category of "hipped-up-junk-food", that is, things like kobe burgers or potato chips with truffle oil. I do have to say that the fancy chips at WTT were killer. Give me this weekend's Bears game, a couple bottles of dark beer and two baskets of those, please.

The charcuterie plate is the first thing that I've ever ordered there that I can honestly say I won't order again. Not because it was bad, but because I can make it myself just by opening packages. In my opinion, a charcuterie plate should have at least one or two elements that you can't just buy at the deli. The chef should make a paté and/or a rillette. This plate, while tasty, showed no culinary chops.

I have a hard time passing up duck leg confit on any menu, but this one is one of my all-time favorites, particularly because of the sides that it is presented with. Every item on the plate tastes even better when it is paired with the thing next to it. It really is one of my favorite plates of food in the city.

Best,
Michael

we had dinner at WTT last night, and it was great. Shared the mushroom flatbread app., covered with many kinds of shrooms, some (roasted?) leeks, and white truffle oil. I had two apps for dinner - the arugula salad with watermelon, fried proscuitto, and pine nuts, and a soft shell crab BLT. That BLT was the best thing I've eaten lately, with a roasted tomato topping and chewy, grilled bread. Husband had the chanterelle-stuffed roasted pork, served with corn pudding and french green beans. Best part of that dish was the corn pudding, as the pork was a little bland. Overall great meal and we'll go back, especially because you can sit outside and it's relatively quiet.

messycook wrote:we had dinner at WTT last night, and it was great. Shared the mushroom flatbread app., covered with many kinds of shrooms, some (roasted?) leeks, and white truffle oil. I had two apps for dinner - the arugula salad with watermelon, fried proscuitto, and pine nuts, and a soft shell crab BLT. That BLT was the best thing I've eaten lately, with a roasted tomato topping and chewy, grilled bread. Husband had the chanterelle-stuffed roasted pork, served with corn pudding and french green beans. Best part of that dish was the corn pudding, as the pork was a little bland. Overall great meal and we'll go back, especially because you can sit outside and it's relatively quiet.

I think this restaurant is one of the best in Chicago - at that price point. They manage to consistantly turn out great food at a reasonable price while remaining largely under the radar.

Fun wine list, too. Some interesting things you do not find elsewhere. Last time we were there, in the winter, we had some delectable duck, braised beef and a couple of bottles of a great Greek red whose name escapes me at the moment.

There are some really excellent recipes on the WTT website, too. I made the white bean bruschetta last weekend, and my Customary Dining Companion not only proclaimed it the best appetizer I've ever made - but actually asked for the recipe (!), after I told him that it was approximately of the same degree of difficulty as a mud pie, and requires no cooking other than the oven-toasting of the bread. It can be dressed up or down as you like, too - I skipped the truffle oil and arugula, but added some chiffonaded fresh basil along with the thyme. Real good eats.

Behold Taste of the NFL Bruschetta!

Thanks so much for the heads up about the WTT website. I have been dreaming about their pot roast for years. I never thought to check their website for recipes. There it is... Yes.

The chef says the secret to the dish is the cut of meat. She says to find a good butcher who can cut the short ribs. The recipe calls for a 9oz. square cut boneless short rib piece. I always thought a short rib was a small piece of meat attached to a short rib. When I make pot roast I usually use a large piece of chuck.

Anyone have any suggestions of a good butcher who would understand the request? Paulina Market?

mk wrote:Thanks so much for the heads up about the WTT website. I have been dreaming about their pot roast for years. I never thought to check their website for recipes. There it is... Yes.

The chef says the secret to the dish is the cut of meat. She says to find a good butcher who can cut the short ribs. The recipe calls for a 9oz. square cut boneless short rib piece. I always thought a short rib was a small piece of meat attached to a short rib. When I make pot roast I usually use a large piece of chuck.

Anyone have any suggestions of a good butcher who would understand the request? Paulina Market?

I used plain old short ribs (they are usually boneless, afaik) purchased at Costco and adapted the recipe for a slow cooker. It turned out pretty well - enough so that my husband raved about it for weeks. Perhaps the cut of meat is less important when you are using a slow cooker?

Also, just to warn you - reducing the red wine vinegar takes forever and gives off terrible ammonia fumes the whole time. IIRC correctly, the recipe calls for a good quality zinfandel vinegar. I used a $2 bottle of red wine vinegar from Stanley's and thought the sauce was fine.

All in all, a great recipe. I'm amazed and delighted that Chef Goss shared her secrets!

In light of the featured article in yesterday's Tribune regarding vinegar, and vinegar sauce in particular, I thought it would be a propos to write about a roasted chicken with vinegar sauce that I recently had at West Town Tavern.

This dish is a rare find on menus. The version here was quite outstanding and made with red wine vinegar. The sourness of the vinegar at first is intense, but provides a lively kick to a perfectly executed, but otherwise plain, roast chicken. At first, the intense sourness seems unpleasant. But not unlike many ethnic dishes that burn your mouth with their searing heat, there's something about it that makes you want to come back for more.

The dish is served with a cooling lemon-butter linguine, which provides a nice contrast.

Even if you're not apt to order chicken, I suggest trying this dish at least once.

It's interesting that this thread started in December '05 with the comment by the poster that they didn't know how West Town Tavern had eluded them so long. Well, here it is May, 2007, and I just got there.

I want to add my endorsement to every facet of their operation; an inviting room, excellent service, and a top flight kitchen at work.

You know someone's thinking about every facet of the operation when the bread and butter comes, and the whipped butter has lemon rind and some herbs in it. I couldn't taste the herbs, but the lemony butter was Spring on bread.

A great special they have now, for an appetizer, is a soft shell crab BLT. It's an open faced sandwich, from the bottom up, with toasted bagette-type bread, lettuce, cucumber, breaded and fried soft shell crab and some chopped tomato, with a bit of a chipotle mayonaise. It didn't work as a sandwich, but it was a great dish.

I wish this joint was in my neighborhood.

Jonah

Love the Duck.

optionyout wrote:Love the Duck.

Option,

What is it you love about the duck at West Town Tavern?

I'm a fan of duck and would be very interested.

Enjoy,
Gary

Can someone please comment on the noise level at WTT? I've been wanting to try it for ages. My friends and I are getting together to catch up so I wasn't sure if WTT would be conversation friendly. Thanks
(edited to be more specific: I'm hoping that it is loud enough to prevent neighboring tables from eavesdropping but quiet enough for us to converse w/o asking others to repeat themselves or yell.)

Depends on when you go, Fri, Sat night, extremely loud.

It's obviously subjective, but I've been there on a Fri/Sat night, and wouldn't call it extremely loud. It helps to define terms. I define "extremely loud" as "can't hear the conversation of a person sitting at your own table." By this definition, Cafe Absinthe was extremely loud for years (before its business fell off a bit); West Town Tavern is not. I would instead call West Town "pleasantly loud," which I would define as "can totally hear the conversation at your own table, but no one at other tables can hear yours."

Depending on the size of your party, there's also the option of seating outside if the weather is right. I believe the outdoor tables seat 4 max, though.

i loved "zindfandel" and i even remember when proprietors drew and susan goss had a wonderful place in indianapolis called "something different".

By reading the posts upthread, I feel as if I ate at a different restaurant. Many people who's tastebuds I respect greatly have weighed in on WTT. My experience food wise was nothing at all similar.

We ordered 3 things that were unanimously disliked by all in attendance. Was it an off night? Perhaps. It was Monday and that's a likely day off for the "A" team. As I've never been before and most definitely won't be back, I'll have to believe something was wrong. Very wrong.

We started with the Chips. The Chips themselves were good. Hard to say fried potatoes can be anything but. The sauce that accompanied though seemed to me to be applied with an amateurs folly and was ill fitting at best. A sickeningly over sweet/sour Balsamic applied with a toss of herbs was virtually inedible. I doubt anyone tasted it and served it that way on purpose. I also doubt the chef had in mind what we were served. In fact, we didn't eat 3/4 of it, and when it was taken by our waitress as she bussed our table and asked about it, we stated "it was not to our liking" a fact she ignored when she charged us for it later. I can't imagine someone intentionally doing that to a perfectly good potato.

We also ordered what sounded promising, a salad of fennel and radish. How could that not at least be good? Here's one way. Prep the previously mentioned and hold them in a water bath for service for hours until they are waterlogged and devoid of any flavor or texture. Then toss with lemon juice and oil without the benefit of salt or pepper. While I couldn't see the mis en place, I'd be shocked if I am incorrect.

Last and very much least was the fried chicken. We found it to be over done and dry. Crisp would be polite if I were feeling that generous. It was accompanied by throughly average garlic mashed and Swiss Chard which was the best tasting thing of the evening (along with any of the fried potatoes that had escaped the dressing). The entree's were served incorrectly, with one of us getting something we did not order ie. trout instead of chicken. We had ordered dark meat only and it was not. It was the 1/2 bird, later supplemented by a leg and thigh. After tasting we all remarked that we wished that we'd kept the trout.

As mentioned above, the final issue was being charged for the uneaten app. And I thought only men were oblivious. $70 in my opinion, wasted. For that price, we could have bought barrels of the Colonel or Popeye's and had better sides.

Worst of all, a meal I'll never get back.

Jazzfood wrote:As mentioned above, the final issue was being charged for the uneaten app. And I thought only men were oblivious. $70 in my opinion, wasted.

Alan,

Having had the pleasure of your and Vikki's company at West Town Tavern I agree with your harsh review with the exception of taking the Tavern Potato chips off the final bill. Yes, in a perfect world the waitress would have registered our negative comment, noticed we ate but a few of the mound of cloyingly sweet chips strewn with an over abundance of rosemary and deleted it from the bill, but, cynically, I no longer expect that type of service. Though I have no doubt if specifically requested it would have been deducted. Water over the dam.

Tavern Potato chips


After reading about the Fried Chicken Throwdown West Town Tavern did last March with John T. Edge to benefit The Southern Foodways Alliance Documentary Film initiative I had high hopes for West Town's 'only on Monday' fried chicken, but found myself disappointed with the overcooked verging on dry bird. Resorting to ketchup, David Hammond's favorite condiment, I ate my bird, but with a culinary pedigree like the Goss's and a $16.95 plate of chicken with provenance, Miller Farms Natural chicken, it put me in mind of having to douse a Morton's steak in A1 Sauce.

West Town Tavern Fried Chicken


In general I liked West Town Tavern, if not for the food, which I am willing to chalk up to a one-off kitchen out of step night, but the comfortable atmosphere and convivial bar. Adding to the enjoyment of the evening we ran into Aschie30 and Cinny's Mom and had a terrific conversation.

Wendy/Aschie30 (L) Maureen/Cinny's Mom (R)


Enjoy,
Gary

West Town Tavern
1329 W. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL
312-666-6175

Gary and Alan-

It was fantastic meeting you. Alan, while I agree that WTT's chicken was not spot-on last Monday, mine certainly wasn't nearly as bad as yours, in fact, only one piece was off and it had an overly-crisp breading on the bottom. All of my other pieces were moist and juicy. In any case, it certainly is miles above Popeye's and KFC, two words that don't deserve to be in the same sentence as WTT.

The problem I have in general with "down-home favorites" night at any restaurant is that dishes like fried chicken or meatloaf or ribs, etc. tend to be so polarizing. Everyone has their favorite versions, and it seems like some people will either love or hate it. I think WTT's fried chicken gravitates towards the crispier/more heavily breaded version, which may turn off some, but it does have it's fans, as anyone can see given the crowds in their on their fried chicken Mondays.

Alan - I understand your reticence but I do hope you choose to go back to this restaurant and sample some of the regular menu. It does seem unfair - although not out of line - to judge a place based solely on a "special" night like Fried Chicken Mondays, which are intended to be a light and fun way to get people in the door on a Monday night.

I had the Fried Chicken a month or so back, was highly disappointed. The breast was a boneless/flavorless mass with decent breading, and the leg meat was dry. Harolds and Popeyes make a product 100x better than this expensive rendition.

I do like West Town Tavern otherwise - great space, tasty entrees, good service (for me anyway). But don't go for the fried chicken.

Lest I seem too harsh: I liked the atmosphere. I liked the bar. I liked that it's in my neighborhood. I loved the company (I mean come on, it was you and my sister). And, seeing it pictured, I forgot that I liked the biscuit as well. I do recall you mentioning the gravy "seeming" to have lived inside of a can, conjecture we eventually dismissed, but with the offending evidence in front of us, it seemed apropos at the time.

Besides the odd undressed chip and the Swiss Chard, that would be it though.

The above is meant to be an accurate description of a singular slice in time. Unfortunately, low expectations for service in general adds to the poor service issue encountered in many places other than WTT. If, in our proverbial perfect world a waitron unit notices and remarks about an uneaten item, and is told why and ignores it, I say that's someone either not listening, caring or intentionally stacking the bill. When a customer has an issue, legit or not, you fix it. But that needs to be the philosophy of the restaurant and must come from the top. Unless you prefer your staff to be poorly trained. I won't beat a dead horse but just yesterday, a thread was locked over the controversy of this very issue. The actual value of that food was probably around a dollar or so. A prudent businessman would weigh if it's worth a dollar to irritate a group of customers? Me, I'd be a sport for a buck... and my staff would know that would be the way to handle this type of problem should it arise as it would be company policy.

Now... if my meals were bankrolled by a publication say and I had an interest in all fairness to try to disprove my initial impression or I had an expense account I might try it again. I also agree that the menu looked interesting.

But on my own dime, end of story.

I had hoped to try the Monday night dinner there but from the reviews
I'll pass...

pardon the OT post
Any of you remember when the space was Jim & Johnny's?
I lived around the corner and eat there frequently.

" In fact, we didn't eat 3/4 of it, and when it was taken by our waitress as she bussed our table and asked about it, we stated "it was not to our liking" a fact she ignored when she charged us for it later."


I just wanted to make a general comment about whether something should be taken off of the bill. From the tone of what you wrote, I am certain that you were trying overly hard to be polite and I think that the server probably did not understand your concern. She did notice something was wrong and inquired as to the problem. There is a difference between "it is not to our liking" and "I think that this might not have been done correctly."

When I go out with others, we will frequently order something to share (particularly an appetizer) that we would not necessarily choose on our own. It allows for the opportunity to expand our horizons or be adventurous. Sometimes this is great and sometimes it is not good and we don't finish it (a rare occasion in my family). However, if we simply don't like it, I would not expect it to be taken off of the bill.

I realize that this is not what actually happened in your case. It sounds as if the dish might have been prepared incorrectly, but the server was not informed of this. I would be really surprised if WTT was attempting to jack up the bill.

In my own place, I inquire when food is remaining on the plate and it is not possible to know when someone is just being polite. On the other hand, we have been asked to take things off the bill that are made exactly as they are described on the menu. My favorite was the vegetarian who didn't realize that chorizo is meat, so the breakfast burrito was returned. The bill was adjusted because it was not worth the argument. But, if she had said that it was simply not to her liking, I hope that we would ask if she wanted something else instead. If she had declined, we would still have charged for what she had ordered.

Correct. I recognize that there's a distinct difference between a concerned professional and indifferent hack. We had the latter. While I'm not going to lose sleep over the $7. I will say it pretty much summed up the experience and just left a further bad taste (pardon the pun) in our mouths. Again though, it goes back to training and policy originating from the top. Your employees are a reflection on you. My people, and it sounds like your people know how to handle that situation. That's all I'm saying.

I doubt very sincerely that the food was made correctly, nothing else was. We had already accepted our fate. Depending on the situation I would choose to bring it to their attention or not. For whatever reason, we choose not to make an issue of it at the time.

Jazzfood wrote:Correct. I recognize that there's a distinct difference between a concerned professional and indifferent hack.

Alan,

You view our West Town Tavern waitress interaction in a much harsher light than I. Sure there was a fumble or two, but it's not her fault the kitchen dropped the ball on the potato chip appetizer and, truth be told, we were, as Twisted Spoke mentioned, being "overly polite."

While she did not take the initiative, I am certain if we asked to have the item deducted when we got the bill it would have been taken off promptly and politely.

Enjoy,
Gary