jpschust wrote:The reality is that Red Light and LTH cater to very different crowds.

Veering slightly off-topic, I'm not sure I understand this comment. While LTH is particularly adept at finding and favoring smaller, out of the way places, there also seem to be healthy discussions of the higher-end, even expense account-type places.

I, for one, wasn't aware that LTH was catering to any particular crowd.

nr706 wrote:

jpschust wrote:The reality is that Red Light and LTH cater to very different crowds.

Veering slightly off-topic, I'm not sure I understand this comment. While LTH is particularly adept at finding and favoring smaller, out of the way places, there also seem to be healthy discussions of the higher-end, even expense account-type places.

I, for one, wasn't aware that LTH was catering to any particular crowd.

Sorry, I should have clarified- I meant the restaurant LTH, not the board.

Sorry I mis-understood. In that context, I agree completely.

Apparently the Marche/Red Light promotion also works in reverse, because mr. 2025 and I got $100 in red light gift certificates after eating at marche on a Sunday night a few weeks ago.

That said, is there anything in particular you folks recommend, with the following caveats?

1) I'm allergic to scallops
2) Mr. 2025 hates fruit in his food, well, fruit period (I know, and I still married him. That's love!!)

n.b. Obviously, we will try the catfish...

Below are my 2 cents on Red Light. You can see my review of Marché here: http://hungrynchicago.blogspot.com/2008/09/march.html if you wish.

Like Marché, Red Light did not awe me, but I've marked it down in my annotated Zagat's as "Decent." Here is why.

Like Marché, Red Light has a large space with tall ceilings, an open kitchen, a strange, but unlike Marché, not overwhelming decor with Asian elements to complement its decent Asian fusion cuisine. The dining room is large, with balcony seating on one side and nicely placed palm-like trees to subtly separate the large space into smaller portions and to create a more intimate effect. We got a bottle from a generous wine list and ordered the Crispy Main Lobster Mango Rolls and Dtom Khaa Gai (coconut chicken soup). I could not taste the lobster in the lobster rolls and the taste combination was just too tame for this Asian inspired dish. The Dtom Khaa Gai on the other hand was delicious with a good amount of spiciness and richness to it. It was my favorite dish of the evening.

For entrees we ordered Miso Glazed Salmon garnished with Udon noodles and Surf and Turf consisting of (supposedly) skirt steak and tempura jumbo shrimp. The Salmon was overdried and while it had a nice miso glaze, the overall effect fell short. The Udon noodles had an interesting flavor but were way too oily. I advise you to either not order Surf and Turf if you go to Red Light or skip the Turf and get the Surf. While the jumbo shrimp were delicately fried in a thin and light tempura and came with a good dipping sauce, the skirt steak, which was supposed to constitute the Turf part of the dish, was an insult. The meat was so stringy that I thought it was not a skirt steak but some inferior cut. It was also overgrilled, making it rubbery and overly chewy with too much of the charcoal bitter aftertaste to make it enjoyable. A shame.

As at Marché, the portions were large and I did not have enough room for dessert. I did glimpse an interesting towering chocolate concoction, which the people at the next table seemed to enjoy.

If you were bored with this review, all I can say is that it is wholly reflective of my experience at Red Light. Oh and did I mention the place was completely overpriced? No? Well it is - which I find is often the case in non-dive kind of places here in Chicago. An outrageous scam if you ask me, but more on that in another post.

If you were bored with this review, all I can say is that it is wholly reflective of my experience at Red Light.

Can't wait until you stumble across our other hidden Eastern jewels like Dragonfly and P.F. Chang's.

I'm with jpschust. I've been to Red Light several times, and I've enjoyed it every time - food, service, ambience, etc.

amyliz wrote:I like deals, and $50 gift certificate seems like one to me.

Another deal opportunity is coming up, for those who enjoy Red Light.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, several local restaurant chains, including the Lettuce Entertain You group and Levy Restaurants, offer a deal in which, for every $100 in gift certificates you buy, you receive a lightly-restricted $25 bonus certificate. The deal offered by the KDK group (Red Light, Opera, Marche, and Gioco) is even better than those; its deal includes a $50 bonus certificate for each $100 of gift certificates purchased.

Obviously, this can change and there's no guarantee that it will be the same this year, but that's been true for the past several years running.

That said, is there anything in particular you folks recommend, with the following caveats?

1) I'm allergic to scallops
2) Mr. 2025 hates fruit in his food, well, fruit period (I know, and I still married him. That's love!!)

I don't care for Red Light particularly at dinner, its way too noisy for my taste whenever I've been there & difficult to talk, but we have on several occasions had dessert at the bar, namely Jackie Shen's signature chocolate bag filled with white chocolate mousse & various berries (probably the above mentioned chocolate concoction) with coffee or after dinner drinks.

We also like the place for lunch when its a nice option if you have the time to get out of the loop for a business meal, its quite civilized at that time of day & we also actually met Jackie Shen once, she came out to see how we liked some tapioca-spiked sorbets we had as a dessert special (they were excellent - dessert is usually the best thing on the menu there IMO).

I've eaten there several times for work related dinners and it's a bad sign that I can't remember a single entree. I do recall overly sweet sauces, no heat, and perhaps some duck -- food overpriced but I didn't resent it since I wasn't paying.

I think Giocco offers the best food out of this group's restaurants...

$25 for $50 deal at Groupon - http://www.groupon.com/deals/red-light? ... newsletter

Dave148 wrote:$25 for $50 deal at Groupon - http://www.groupon.com/deals/red-light? ... newsletter

Good deal. Also, again this year KDK is offering a $50 bonus certificate with the purchase of $100 in gift cards. In addition to Red Light, they are also good at Gioco, Opera, and Marche.

I was blown away by Red Light a few years ago....maybe a few more than a few years ago. But it was a rewarding experience, and I've been a fan of Jackie's ever since. We're getting a small group together for lunch this week. Should we put Red Light on the short list? Has anyone been there recently?

86 Jackie Shen.

crispy wrote:I was blown away by Red Light a few years ago....maybe a few more than a few years ago. But it was a rewarding experience, and I've been a fan of Jackie's ever since. We're getting a small group together for lunch this week. Should we put Red Light on the short list? Has anyone been there recently?

Jackie Shen was leaving Red Light by the end of the year. Per the Eater site, Ryan Fowler is replacing her.

I had reservations at Red Light for Saturday night (A You Swoop deal I bought was nearing expiration) but I showed up to a shuttered restaurant. There were hastily made signs on the door saying BYOB and others saying that they were sorry for the inconvenience (but not sorry enough to call those with reservations) but the restaurant was temporarily closed. Luckily there is no dearth of other places to eat in the neighborhood so I didn't go hungey, but I was wondering if anyone had heard if Red Light was closing for good or if they planned on re-opening. I wonder if KDK Restaurants are tanking - Marche closed, Opera closed, Jackie left Red Light.......

Tobermory wrote:I had reservations at Red Light for Saturday night (A You Swoop deal I bought was nearing expiration) but I showed up to a shuttered restaurant. There were hastily made signs on the door saying BYOB and others saying that they were sorry for the inconvenience (but not sorry enough to call those with reservations) but the restaurant was temporarily closed. Luckily there is no dearth of other places to eat in the neighborhood so I didn't go hungey, but I was wondering if anyone had heard if Red Light was closing for good or if they planned on re-opening. I wonder if KDK Restaurants are tanking - Marche closed, Opera closed, Jackie left Red Light.......

I believe there was an issue with their state license being suspended. Not sure what it was for or how permanent or temporary the situation is. With Jackie Shen gone, I'm not sure there's a compelling reason for Red Light to keep going in its current incarnation.

Looks bad for Red Light (and Gioco?):
http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2011/ ... k.php#more

Penny Pollack confirms that Red Light is no more.