Accanto [closed]

I'm surprised that I couldn't find a dedicated thread for Accanto. I ate there with friends last week and it was fantastic, but we were the only people in the restaurant so I'm really hoping it will find some support.

The restaurant had just received its liquor license, but was still allowing BYOB.

We started by sharing the strawberry risotto and loved it. I continued the risotto trend with the short rib ravioli. It was very hearty and flavorful. My friends had the cornish hen and shrimp linguini and gave positive reviews.

I highly recommend giving it a try.

Accanto
2171 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60647
773-227-2727

In an era when every pig-serving pub has five pages of LTHForum posts, a dozen candidates running for mayor of its dining room, and four tweets from Steve Dolinsky assuring us that he won't comment on how much he loves the pig face because the place is too new and that wouldn't be right, it's amazing how little has been written about this restaurant. Accanto is in a hot neighborhood, has a Michelin-starred chef running the kitchen, and is serving a menu unlike anything else in town. And no one cares.

On one hand, I understand it. As Heather Shouse wrote in one of the few reviews that have been written about Accanto, the chef "seems pretty disconnected from what’s been happening in American dining the last few years." True enough, as the February menu features prominently such out-of-season ingredients as sweet corn, strawberries and fresh tomatoes. There's no whole-animal butchery happening in the back, and the only charcuterie you'll find on the menu is imported. Accanto is consummately and unapologetically a "fusion" restaurant. It would have fit better with the openings in 1991 than it does in 2011.

On the other hand, maybe there's something to be said for a place that bucks the trend of hiring cooks, sometimes with limited experience and questionable expertise, to fry up ears or experiment with charcuterie books they got for Christmas, all with the assumption that they'll profit anyway with a good social media strategy and an invitation for the dude at Eater or the girl at Feast to snap pictures at a pre-opening bash with free food that doesn't resemble what will be served to regular customers. I find appeal in the fact that a restaurateur would hire an experienced and worldly industry veteran, then try to work slowly to build a loyal customer base who appreciate the food at least as much as the scene.

So I was confused and conflicted going into Accanto, and after dinner I felt the same way. Every dish was interesting, flawlessly executed, and delicious, but the icebox tomatoes in one were even worse than I thought they'd be, the sweet corn element in another had no flavor at all, and some of the garnishes felt like the dated ideas of a fancy hotel restaurant going for presentation over taste and texture.

We started with a tian of guacamole. I don't know what made this uncooked dish a tian besides the fact that the ingredients were stacked on top of each other the way one might in the French casserole after which I assume the dish is named. The avocado puree was smooth and well seasoned, the crab on top was fresh and well-picked-over, and the roasted lime dressing added a very nice bitter/acid component. Unfortunately, this was the dish with those icebox tomatoes making up one of the stacked layers, and they were bad enough to ruin the whole thing until I just messed up the pretty presentation and removed them from the stack.

The kitchen was kind enough to split every dish for us, including the lobster risotto we had next. This dish advertised a creamed corn element that was completely undetectable, which was fine because I was happy to not have it distract from the fantastic flavors and textures of the risotto, which contained the most perfectly tender, succulent pieces of lobster I've had in a long time along with excellent lobster flavor that had penetrated the very rich, creamy rice. Bizarrely, the dish was garnished with blood orange sorbet that sat atop a fried wonton that had been placed in the center. The sorbet was excellent and would have been a nice mid-course palate cleanser, but the wonton was ridiculous and who wants icy sorbet rapidly chilling a hot, creamy bowl of risotto?

Our two entrees each had perfectly cooked fish filets and interesting accompaniments. One was simply seasoned branzino - pan seared with a light flour coating and served with a tasty celery root/ potato mash and a rich, smooth and delicious sauce based on lobster stock, butter and what I think was brandy. The other was turbot encrusted in pistacchio and served with a phenomenal foie gras jus that worked fantastically. The turbot also had tender artichokes with some acidity that balanced the dish well, and an unfortunate high pile of fried 4 inch shards of leek that were impossible to chew and felt sharp enough to pierce tonsils.

Everything was very generously portioned, and aside from the tian it was all very rich. We were too full for dessert, but well-poured cups of espresso rounded out the meal nicely.

Despite some lousy, out of season ingredients and distracting elements of presentation, I enjoyed my meal at Accanto a lot. The foie gras jus with pistacchio crusted turbot was brilliant, the lobster sauce with the branzino was remarkable, and the lobster in the risotto was memorable. I'd be happy to taste more of what's coming out of this kitchen.

Accanto is closed, it is now Blue Sprout, Thai and Asian Cuisine.