Chicago’s Asador Bastian, Warlord included on Esquire’s best new restaurants list

Esquire magazine has recognized two Chicago hot spots on its best new restaurants list, the magazine announced Tuesday.

Asador Bastian, a Chicago chophouse inspired by asadors of San Sebastián, Spain, is “one of the most exciting steak joints in America,” the website’s Kevin Sintumuang reported.

Of the restaurant, located in the Flair House — which was the longtime home of ad agency Flair Communications Inc. and its boss, Lee Flaherty, the founder of the Chicago Marathon — Sintumuang noted: “Stepping inside the elegant four-story townhouse that Asador Bastian is ensconced within feels like trespassing, but any impostor doubts subside once an ice-cold martini is handed to you in an oversized shot glass.”

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time

Chef and co-owner Doug Psaltis said the townhouse location of the restaurant, which marries the classic Chicago steakhouse with a Spanish asador (or grill restaurant), gives diners the intimate experience of dining at home but not at home.

“If you’re looking to dine out, you’re able to do so in a very private way,” Psaltis said. “There’s no center bar with a huge chandelier over it or a catwalk or a crazy staircase to watch somebody enter. It’s a lot more private and you’re allowed to enjoy your space with your company.”

Specializing in “boutique beef,” the restaurant works with small farmers to source beef that is more than 40 years old, which is more than double the industry standard, Psaltis said. “We’re really able to procure some legendary things that I don’t feel are often presented in the steakhouse environment,” he said.

Some of the unique offerings include Galiciana beef imported from Australia and English Holstein that is dry aged in house for 28 days.

It’s the latest restaurant from husband-and-wife team of Psaltis and Hsing Chien, who also own Andros Taverna in Logan Square. Psaltis is a Michelin-starred chef who was a partner in several Lettuce Entertain You restaurants and co-founder of the Windy City Smokeout barbecue and country music festival. Chien is an Emmy-award winning journalist and pastry chef who has led pastry programs at high-end establishments like The French Laundry and Peninsula Hotels.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

At the buzzy late-night dining destination Warlord in Avondale, which doesn’t take reservations and sees long lines on a regular basis, Chefs Emily Kraszyk, John Lupton and Trevor Fleming “go to battle every night until 1:00 a.m., even on Mondays,” Omar Mamoon wrote in his Esquire report. “It’s loud. It’s packed. It’s rocking. Sit at the counter and watch the magic that happens when fire meets meat.”

There’s no sign on the restaurant and no menu posted on the website (its mystique is part of the appeal) but Warlord’s food is “focused on preservation and live fire,” according to its website.

“Order as much as you can stomach, and definitely get the foie gras — it’s basted in butter and sugar so it achieves a candylike shell, and it’s served with slices of chewy, smoky, vinegary marinated green tomato slowly dried over the hearth,” Mamoon noted.

In a statement to the Sun-Times, Fleming said, “We are humbled by the support for our expression of the craft. We are most proud of our team who show up tirelessly dedicated, knowing that there is no finish line.”

Trevor Fleming

Esquire’s list includes 50 restaurants from across the country that the magazine’s staff “couldn’t stop dreaming about.”

Psaltis said he was “extremely delighted to be included in such a fantastic publication and alongside a lot of luminaries.

“For us, it’s really a great little nod and shows us some appreciation for the work that we’ve done and really sets the course for us to continue working hard to stay on par with other great restaurants.”

Sammy Faze