It’s truly a bittersweet tale.
Esquire has come out with its annual list of the “Best New Restaurants in America,” and three Chicago eateries have made the grade: Dolo Restaurant and Bar, the Duck Inn, and Momotaro.
Sadly, the list comes just months after the untimely death of Esquire food critic-at-large Josh Ozersky, who passed away on May 4 while in Chicago to cover the James Beard Awards.
On its website, Esquire introduced the list with a tribute to Ozersky, which read in part:
Josh Ozersky was hungry. He looked like a man who could put it away. And put it away he did, for his own satisfaction, sure. But also for yours. Because Josh Ozersky lived to chow and tell. He was hungry for whiskey and argument (always a good pairing); hungry for validation of his work, which he received but probably distrusted (writers are like that); hungry for camaraderie and song. And, of course, just plain hungry, for the new-school and the old, the salty and fatty, the crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle—especially if it once possessed four hooves and a tail. But deeper than his need to ingest great cooking was his hunger to share his discoveries and to soak in the pleasure of affirmation from his audience. In that sense, Josh possessed a drive like that of great chefs, equal parts generosity and need for applause—not just for praise but also for surety that the rest of us tasted his discoveries and understood. Josh chose most of the restaurants herein and devoured as many of their delights as he could, just in time to exhaust the Best New Restaurants travel budget, but not in time, sadly, to write the stories. … So a team of Esquire pros and great new voices from all over the country, including Beard Award winners John Birdsall and John DeVore, picked up the fork and finished the job.
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Here’s how Esquire sings the praises of each Chicago establishment:
Momotaro,820 W. Lake: “One story evokes a midcentury Japanese workspace, while the basement gives off the glow of the Yokohama entertainment district. Chef Mark Hellyar’s talent has wrought a tartare from the dehydrated and rehydrated tomatoes that’s a ringer for beef, and rollmops of binchotan-grilled wagyu beef and foie gras.”
The Duck Inn, 2701 S. Eleanor, “Chef Kevin Hickey grew up nearby and traveled the world before buying and renaming the Gem-Bar Lounge. The back patio is where you want to be, with the rotisserie duck for two, heaped on a platter with duck-fat potatoes.”
Dolo Restaurant and Bar, 2222 S. Archer: “A flamboyant Cantonese take on food and decor more reminiscent of a scene in ‘Cocktail’ doesn’t prepare you for the unique seafood menu. Dungeness crabs are plucked from a tank within eyeshot and arrive minutes later. The short ribs are served flambé with brandy at the table.”
