Spring Restaurant, Reviews and Discussion

Can't seem to find a thread on Spring using both LTH and Google search functions, so I'm starting one.

I had a solid meal with a friend at Spring last night, but let's just say the fact that Zagat gives it a 27 for food is rather absurd. It's a good restaurant, on the rare occasion very good, but I wouldn't call it one of Chicago's best.

Things started off a somewhat less-than-ideal note. We weren't seated for our 8:30 reservation until past 9. No apologies were made or drinks at the bar comped. Not explicitly the restaurant's fault for running late, but the FOH should do a better job keeping people updated and happy.

But since I wasn't paying for my meal, I didn't care that much.

After a somewhat lengthy period of waiting for our waiter to come introduce himself, things got rolling. Between my companion and I, I was able to try the oysters, the the scallop ravioli, the tuna tataki nicoise, beet salad, glazed black cod, and halibut. It was a good amount of food for two people, but much of the cooking here is quite light.

On the whole this is a very seafood-centric restaurant with a New American meets pan-Asian vibe. There's only one meat entree on the whole menu.

The oysters and tuna were probably the highlight of the night. The oysters, topped with a bit of ground fruit and fresh wasabi, were a nice balance between briny, sweet, herbal, and spicy. The tuna was actually a very striking plate, with thin slices of briefly kissed tuna topped with white anchovy, haricort vert, hard-cooked quail egg, and a salty olive vinaigrette. This was an excellent dish.

The beet salad was also quite good, better than I expected. It was the mains that were something of a letdown however. The requisite glazed cod was underseasoned, doing little to lift the somewhat bland cod. The halibut was a nice piece of fish, but kind of boring despite the bold sounding accompaniments of lobster penang curry.

All in all, I would go back to Spring, but wouldn't go out of my way to. It's very solid, and a meal of apps at the bar would be a great way to start the evening. The merits of an entire meal there, given my aversion to Asiany-fusiony cooking, are not quite as compelling.

Thanks Bryan. I was a fan of Spring years ago, but these days it has fallen into my "good, but not going out of my way" list, just as you rated it.

For more, older Spring discussion, see here.

Best,
Michael

After noticing this thread, I have to admit that I was not so excited with the prospect of dining at Spring the other night. But Spring stepped up to the plate with a wonderful meal . . . one of the best meals I have had in quite some time and devoid of even the slightest misstep.

A number of dishes really stood out. I loved the Spiced Yellowfin Tuna Tartare -- sure, we've all had tuna tartare a thousand times, but the flavors here were just perfect, a large cone-shaped tuna tartare garnished with a very light citrus-curry dressing (which did not mask the taste of the tuna) and some cucumber and avocado. To me, there's nothing worse than a tuna tartare where the sauce/flavoring overly dominates the tuna -- not at all the case here.

The short rib dumplings were another big hit -- pillow-soft dumplings filled with tender short rib, served in a surprisingly spicy (but not too so) and very flavorful hot and sour broth. It was served with some shaved coconut and Thai basil -- the basil added a nice cooling effect to the spicy broth.

The braised pork belly with soba noodles, Chinese long beans and hoisin was very flavorful. I would have preferred the pork belly seared (usually my favorite preparation) and maybe a little less hoisin flavor, but still a very nice dish.

All of the entrees I tasted were excellent, but two really stood out. My favorite was definitely the Atlantic Halibut, which was seared and roasted and served with heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, a large slice of shaved fennel and smoked garlic puree. The garlic puree was very subtle, and the flavors of the tomatoes, fennel and burrata cheese (so soft and slightly melting) complemented the dish so well. I can't recall any seafood dish in recent memory that was even close to being this good -- the flavors just jumped off of the plate with the perfectly cooked fish.

Almost as good as the halibut was the Arctic Char, again beautifully seared and roasted and served atop a creamy parmesan risotto, artichokes, fennel and a caper-chive emulsion. Again, a fantastic combination of flavors -- the emulsion added the perfect salt element to the dish -- which worked so well with the Char.

I tasted the Pacific Black Cod which came with a Chinese fermented black bean-sake glaze, grilled hearts of palm and a Yuzu sauce, and while I did not love it as I did the halibut and char, I thought the fish was cooked perfectly and the slightly sweet glaze worked very well with the sour Yuzu.

Desserts did not let down either. The Yuzu Merinque Bars were a Yuzu curd, topped with meringue, and sitting atop black pepper shortbread. This was served with a large shot glass of black raspberry-verbena soda. Simply put: fantastic. The bars themselves were fantastic, with the slight peppery taste in the shortbread working so well with the tart Yuzu curd. The soda was so refreshing and flavorful and a great paring for the Yuzu.

If the Yuzu was 1A, the Tahitian Vanilla Bean & Buttermilk Panna Cotta topped with blueberry gelee served with miniature cinnamon cake donuts was 1B. Great flavors -- every spoon of the creamy panna cotta mixed with so well with the slightly chunky blueberry gelee. Perhaps the panna cotta was a bit too dense, but I'm hardly complaining. The miniature donuts were an excellent match, adding a little crunch to the dish and I always like the addition of a little cinnamon flavor to blueberries.

Spring started with an amuse and ended with one (of sorts) -- a shot glass-sized portion of a rich hot chocolate. We had not ordered any chocolate desserts so this was the perfect finish, and the chocolate flavor was so rich and not too sweet.

All in all, a wonderful meal with outstanding service in a conversation-friendly dining room. And on this evening, it rivaled many if not most of the higher-end places in town. If you're looking for a seafood-leaning menu with creative presentations, I doubt you could do better in Chicago.

I don't know that I care to dissect the "27" score in Zagat simply because I think choosing the right restaurant, the right cuisine and the right atmosphere cannot be reduced to a simple number (there are plenty of restaurants mentioned in this forum -- Honey 1 comes to mind -- that on the right evening will be more suitable to my tastes than a 27 or 28-Zagat rated restaurant). I also think that included in the Zagat number for the food itself is a "presentation" factor that really should be scored separately from the taste of the food. I love Zagat -- it's great when I travel -- but I think it's just one of many helpful resources out there, no one of which should be used by itself.

Last night the finacee and I ended up at Spring because it's close to us and I wanted to get her a nice bottle of wine to celebrate her first day of work on her new job.

I have to say, this is one of the best dining experiences we've had since we've lived in Chicago.

I started with the short rib dumplings which were insanely rich, moist, tender and with a hit of aisan style flare of a spicey soy sauce. She started with the corn, lobster and mushroom soup with was wonderfully sweet, and complex.

For dinner we both had seared sea scallops. OK I know it's boring but that's what I needed after the day I had and she loves scallops. Perfectly seasoned, tender as the day is long and served over oxtail which was a wonderful pairing.

Bravo to Spring for their wonderful service and a great meal. We'll be back.

Spring
2039 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
773-395-7100

Yes, we love Spring as well. They are doing a crab salad now that is just heavenly.

Visited Spring for dinner on Friday 7-25-08. After meeting a former employee, she insisted we go and sold my girlfriend on the idea. We made our reservation for 7:00pm and we when we arrived the restaurant was strangely quiet and empty; there was one family dining when we were seated. This changed as the night progressed and the room began to fill. However, even when the room was full, conversation was easy and not straining. The decor and general atmosphere were great. Additionally, it should be noted that the service was excellent.



Some poor pictures of the decor and interior where we were seated.


For starters we shared the barbequed eel (right) and kimchi, crispy somen noodles, avocado emulsion, and pork belly (on left) with toasted sesame. At first bite, we couldn't believe how good this dish tasted. My girlfriend does not care for "fishy" tasting seafood and eel can certainly fall into this category. However, the glaze on the eel and the matching with the kimchi, noodles, and avocado created a wonderful harmony. The pork belly was delicious as well. Everything about this dish was spot on: aroma, taste, presentation, and texture. There were a lot of other great looking hot and cold appetizers on the menu and I was nearly tempted to simply eat my way through them and bypass an entree.


My girlfriend ordered this Hawaiian hearts of palm salad with smoked shrimp, papaya, mizuna, and spiced mango dressing. The shrimp had a true and fantastic smoke flavor. The dressing was light and refreshing and blended well with the salad itself. This was one of the best salads that I could remember.


For my entree, I got the spiced cobia with Maine lobster dumplings, grilled oyster mushrooms, and lemongrass-Thai basil bouillon. The cobia was fresh (I think I can confidently make this distinction since being born, raised, and still living in Florida, I have had the privilege of being onboard the boat when the cobia was caught and subsequently eaten that night.) and cooked perfectly - just the right flakiness. The lobster dumplings were morsels of greatness. I used our bread to soak up the remaining flavorful broth.


A better view of the lobster dumpling insides.


My girlfriend went straight to the Maine sea scallops, wild mushrooms, and sweet soy over braised oxtail. She was enjoying her scallops so much that she hadn't even touched the bottom portion of her dish. I stopped, looked, and said "Isn't there some oxtail under there?" It was like a kid on Christmas finding one more gift behind the tree. Great dish.


View of the braised oxtail.


For dessert we chose a Valrhona chocolate torte that was made with a tasty crust. It came with the chocolate streak and crushed nuts on top. The egg shaped item was a chocolate and chili paste/powder ice cream. The idea behind the dish is that the spicy ice cream will balance with the sweet torte. They're right, it was perfect. We both noted the ice cream was even good by itself and left you "feeling" the aftertaste. After showing the dessert picture to a friend, he wisely noted that the whole egg shaped ice cream and chocolate streak has jumped the shark, and while I agree, it didn't stop this dessert from being good.


After dessert and with the bill, we were given warm cleansing towels and a shot of hot chocolate with like a chai tea like finish. The shot was great.

Overall, Spring was an excellent, excellent experience. We both enjoyed the meal and we would certainly recommend the restaurant to anyone. But I think I would rate it as being just a notch below the truly outstanding, world-class restaurants which is a testament to those restaurants and not a knock on Spring.

Verdigo wrote:Overall, Spring was an excellent, excellent experience. We both enjoyed the meal and we would certainly recommend the restaurant to anyone. But I think I would rate it as being just a notch below the truly outstanding, world-class restaurants which is a testament to those restaurants and not a knock on Spring.

How does it compare in price?

Here is a link to their menu - http://www.springrestaurant.net/menu.html . I'm not sure what you'd like to compare it to.

I'm a big fan of Spring and have had great meals there. It's just that I can't get over the fact that a seafood restaurant of such obvious commitment and high quality fails to have a good Muscadet Sur Lie on its wine list.

Perhaps I'm being a little obsessive about this, but it's a missed detail that I find really irritating.

Sam Harmon wrote:I'm a big fan of Spring and have had great meals there. It's just that I can't get over the fact that a seafood restaurant of such obvious commitment and high quality fails to have a good Muscadet Sur Lie on its wine list.

Perhaps I'm being a little obsessive about this, but it's a missed detail that I find really irritating.

Have you talked to the sommelier?

eatchicago wrote:

Sam Harmon wrote:I'm a big fan of Spring and have had great meals there. It's just that I can't get over the fact that a seafood restaurant of such obvious commitment and high quality fails to have a good Muscadet Sur Lie on its wine list.

Perhaps I'm being a little obsessive about this, but it's a missed detail that I find really irritating.

Have you talked to the sommelier?

My understanding is that the Spring restaurants don't have a sommelier. One of the owners makes all the decisions. I did bring it up with the manager on a recent visit as to why there wasn't any Muscadet to go with our great oysters, and was rather arrogantly dismissed. The new manager seemed somewhat pretentious and not at all in line with the vibe that I've always gotten from Spring and Custom House. Hopefully, ownership will get him in line with the program or get him out the door.

Sam Harmon wrote:My understanding is that the Spring restaurants don't have a sommelier. One of the owners makes all the decisions.

Disappointing. This was not always the case.

A little research and I discovered that it appears that there used to be one wine director for the restaurant group, Doug Marello. He now shows up as the assistant-sommelier at L2O. I wonder if Spring Restaurant Group has replaced him. Of all McClain's restaurants, I would think Spring is the one that should have an on-site sommelier.

Best,
Michael

Sue Kim-Drohomyrecky hand-picks Spring's wonderful array of fine wines, sakes and aperitifs.

This is what appears on the top of the wine list on their website. I believe that she is one of the three partners in the restaurants. Perhaps, the gentleman you referenced left because he was never given true control of the wine program. Having an owner take primary responsibility/credit for the program, doesn't seem to be a situation that is going to keep talented sommeliers on staff for very long.

Also, I agree that the restaurant (Custom House too) needs a full time wine professional on the floor. The manager that I dealt with a couple of weeks ago was far from helpful.

They do not have sommelier as I recently inquired about corkage fees and I do agree it is needed. However, I do have to give them very high praise. I had a special occasion dinner there a few weeks ago and wanted to serve a bottle of D'Yquem with dessert for my guests. They were very accomodating, not charging a corkage fee (although we did purchase various wines from their list), I brought the bottle in a day before, they put it in their cellar and served it pefectly right before our desserts arrived. Very high marks for their wine services on this occasion.

LAZ wrote:

Verdigo wrote:Overall, Spring was an excellent, excellent experience. We both enjoyed the meal and we would certainly recommend the restaurant to anyone. But I think I would rate it as being just a notch below the truly outstanding, world-class restaurants which is a testament to those restaurants and not a knock on Spring.

How does it compare in price?

The meal was $160 which was the dinner for two as shown and cocktails. That price does not include gratuity, however, as I left that in cash.

Obviously, this is significantly less than what you would pay at an Alinea, Trotter's, Tru, and L20 and what I would consider in line with restaurants of Spring's caliber.

It's been about a year since we've had an updated review (unless there's one someplace else). If anyone is planning to go to Spring soon, Groupon is offering a $75 gift certificate for $35 today (Aug 13) only! http://www.groupon.com/

Spring was a bit of a mixed bag last night, some good and some not so good. My favorite item of the night was the prime beef tartare with pho spices. The quality of the beef - a small dice - was outstanding and the pho flavoring and spicy and sweet was great. Definitely one of the best beef tartare dishes I've ever tasted. Pacific Hamachi sashimi was not as successful an appetizer. The quality and temperature of the fish was quite good, but the mustard green salad and sweet potato bouillon accompanying the sashimi didn't do much for the fish in my opinion. Slightly annoying was that although the dish was served in a bowl, a spoon was not delivered and it took me a long time to flag anyone down . . . by that time, the broth had cooled considerably.

The mixed bag continued into entrees. The Barramundi with potato gnocchi featured a perfectly cooked and delicious fish, but the Spanish influenced Bouillabaisse missed slightly. Two problems with the Bouillabaisse: 1) a couple of the bites of little neck clams were gritty, indicating poor cleaning, and 2) the broth was extremely salty (luckily there was very little broth). On the plus side, the fish in the Bouillabaisse was just beautifully cooked and the flavors (other than over-salting in the broth) were excellent. As for the Spanish influence, there was an addition of a little chorizo and the bread/rouille was replaced by a pan con tomate.

We were also served a couple of amuse. To start, a small cup of soup (sweet potato, coconut, some type of nuts and maybe lime?), which was decent, and to finish a small cup of an intense cocoa which seemed to be flavored with both cinnamon and cayenne. Bread service consisted of some boring flatbread crackers served with a white bean puree which was a little overdone with sesame.

Overall, I'd say it was a decent meal with very nice presentations. Service was generally adequate but not really memorable. Given the decor and the couple of amuse, I don't know that I would say that Spring is overpriced. However, for the prices they are charging I would hope that the quality of the food delivered is more consistent, as it was on my last visit (described above).

so i just read that one of my favorite restaurants, spring, is on the market. i'm devastated. for my money, spring does fish as well as or better than any restaurant in the city. it might be worth noting that i've not been to L2O, so i can't compare to it. to boot, i love everything else about spring, too. with spring gone, i'm going to be seeking out a restaurant that focuses on fish, does it as well as spring does, and offers an overall great dining experience. any suggestions (city only) are welcome.

This does not surprise me. In fact, I've been anticipating this news. I live very nearby, and walk past it often. I have never seen it even moderatly crowded.

Shawn McClain is completely leaving the Chicago market; I actually read about this a few days ago in a column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, penned by former Sun-Times TV columnist Doug Elfman. Most of the column is about unrelated oil-spill-related matters, so here's McClain-related content:

"...One of those foodie tourists just moved here. Chef Shawn McClain of Aria's Sage came to Vegas from Chicago, where he and business partners are selling a restaurant.

He's feeding a new base of eaters here. When he talks to diners, seven of 10 say they're from Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego, and they never visit Chicago, he said.

So despite closing a restaurant in Chicago, and regardless of the oil spill, moving to Vegas has made him more optimistic, he said.

"I love our clientele and the teams I have back there" in Chicago, he said.

"But when you come out here," he said, "people are having fun. And there's some energy."

That's what we long-term Las Vegans call "a happier place to live." Welcome, McClain. Embrace the shallow. It will serve you well, as long as you serve us well."

Here's another published report about the news, from Steve Dolinksy . . .

After nearly 18 months of back-and-forth negotiations, the co-owners of Spring have decided to sell their critically-acclaimed, seafood-focused restaurant in Bucktown.

“We’d been trying to figure out how to distribute three assets, split two ways,” said Peter Drohomyrecky, a co-owner of not only Spring, but also Green Zebra and Custom House Tavern with his wife Sue and chef Shawn McClain. “There was a contention about what was fair.”

Spring for sale: The popular Bucktown restaurant hits the market

=R=

foo d wrote:with spring gone, i'm going to be seeking out a restaurant that focuses on fish, does it as well as spring does, and offers an overall great dining experience. any suggestions (city only) are welcome.

If you'd consider going to Evanston, I recommend Oceanique, which offers everything you're looking for.

Has anyone been to Spring since it was put on the market? If so, did you notice any decline/change in quality?

I haven't, but some friends just went Thursday this past week and said the food was very tasty. They also enjoyed the atmosphere and service.