Restaurant 22 Bar Moderne
www.22restaurant.com
22 E Hubbard St. , Chicago
Telephone 312.527.4900
ITLC’s Overall Rating: A-
Cuisine: A- Ambiance: A Service: A-

Husband-and-wife proprietors Edyta Brys and Samir Youkhanna have combined their several years’ restaurant experience to create this sleek new casual-chic dining and meeting spot in the River North community. The ultra-clean lines and warm earth tones, accented teakwood and Brazilian walnut floors, and the spacious granite-topped bar area, bespeak the welcoming atmosphere as you walk into the place. The elegant look is a welcome respite from the kitschy trend in lesser restaurant design.

Executive Chef Joseph Rossi (formerly at one sixtyblue and Pluton) holds up his end of the deal, as well. After some preliminary experimentation, he’s getting his groove with the contemporary American menu, which changes seasonally. Expect the focus to continue sharpening and things to get even better. Following the current, and welcome, trend, the menu is divided into three courses, from lighter to heartier fare, encouraging diners to pick and choose for their palate’s satisfaction. First courses (“raw, cured and vegetable,” $8-12), offer a luscious shaved Redundo Serrano ham with deviled eggs and XVO. This is a dish that needs no re-conceiving—it’s perfect. The sashimi grade tuna tartare in the “fish and chips,” lacks the zip of a little acid, wasabi or soy sauce. Red tail venison tataki (grilled on the surface and then chopped), as well as the pequillo pepper and eggplant caviar, promise more flavor.

In the second course section of the menu (“warm sexy savories and salads,” $8-18), you’ll find the ultimate preparation of foie gras, with crème brulée French toast, poached Anjou pear and ruby port. This preparation is worth a visit in its own right. The menu description of the duck confit conjures images rather different from the preparation. While it yields a preponderance of delicious duck confit, there is obscure or absent tastes of promised celeriac, pear and Valencia orange. Other tempting items include a “super slow braised pork belly,” as well as a spectacular beet salad.

Third courses (“main course fish, meat, game and forest,” $20-28) offer a bevy items. Olive oil poached sturgeon and braised oxtail, as well as New Zealand red snapper and roasted sea scallops, reveal devotion and expertise in conception and preparation. Other combinations promise seductive layering of flavors. For example the duck (breast) magret and foie gras with fennel, napa cabbage and port jus; the coconut poached veal cheek and perfect lemon-glazed sweetbreads with kohlrabi, bok choy and black trumpet mushrooms. Of course there’s roasted organic chicken, braised prime short ribs and more.

Front wait staff are knowledgeable and cordial. Back wait staff have shown improvement on subsequent visits. The mixed-bottle wine program deserves mention. For $60 diners may choose three wines from a high-end list of seven whites and six reds and receive a 250 ml beaker of each. Full bottles and many choices by the glass are also available. Four desserts ($7) round out the menu.