Shallots

Laura Frankel, who's cooked at a lot of Chicago hotels, has opened her own place, Shallots, in Lincoln Park. The food is American contemporary leaning toward Mediterranean, and very sophisticated.

We had a tuna tartare appetizer and porcini-dusted veal and a cumin-rubbed sea bass entrees that were excellent.  The desserts were also delightful.  I especially liked a citrus trio of orange sorbet, candied kumquats and a layered orange cake.  A contemporary baked Alaska made with mango sorbet was yummy too. There's a small but select wine list.

Entree prices are in the $20 to $30 range , a little high, but not excessively so considering the neighborhood and the quality of the food and cooking. It's comparable to, say, MK.

Except that Shallots is also glatt kosher, which makes it stunningly good.  Unless you happened to ask for butter for your bread (they serve olive oil) or notice that the coffee is served with nondairy creamer, there's nothing about the food that brands it as kosher.  (The number of diners in yarmulkas is another matter.)

I'd recommend Shallots to anyone, but if you need to entertain someone who keeps kosher, nowhere else in Chicagoland comes close.   They're open for dinner Sundays through Thursdays, with a lighter late-night menu served Saturday nights; closed Fridays.

Leah Zeldes