Last week, I went out for a late dinner with my sister, her fiancé, and his sister. Wood, in Boystown, is probably the best restaurant I have eaten ate in a long time—and possibly my ultimate favorite.
Inside, it’s trendy, dark, and sleek….nevermind incredibly loud when the place is packed. The waiters are absolute gems, ready to give their stories and personal recommendations—ours even gave Kari the recipe for the cocktail she was drinking. It’s just a classy establishment and I felt about 10x cooler being there at 10 o’clock at night, sharing a plates of this casual-but-gourmet food.
There is a reason Wood is a Michelin Bib Gourmand winning restaurant—everything that executive chef Ashlee Aubin (who also worked at Alinea) serves out is absolutely delicious. Each plate is made from local ingredients, and although this has become more and more common within eateries as of late, the ingredients are combined and executed to their full potential, with a wide variety of textures and flavor profiles. I’d call Wood a take on some classic American meals/almost family style.
Since it is a small/large plate restaurant, we shared everything, choosing plates as the night went on. We had a constant stream of food coming to our table, but it was never overwhelming.
So, because we are all uncontrollable eaters, here is what we ordered:
Scallops (out of this world. Since there were four of us and two scallops, we only each got half of one, but it was the most to-die-for bite)
‘Hazard Free Farm” Polenta
Catalpa Grove Pork (with the best fritters imaginable) My sister’s fiancé hates pork, but he absolutely loved this dish and couldn’t stop talking about it, which should tell you something about the restaurant.
(there might have been one or two more, but, it was a week ago…)
It’s been a week, and I’m still thinking about this meal. The depth of flavors was insane, and there was not one element I didn’t like—and I’m a picky eater. I even tried this foie gras crème…which was a great feat for me.
My only regret was forgetting to Instagram each plate as it came out. I only remembered after the final plate, when the table was just filled with empty plates. Sigh.
Our waiter (I think he might have been a manager?) are working on opening another Wood, but this time in the west loop, next to Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat. Which is great placement. (and another restaurant I have to go to asap, with my sister of course).
I’m also stoked to see the restaurant featured on the new season of Check, Please! and hopefully one night I’ll be able to venture out to Backwoods, where they serve up fries. Fries. Stop.
