Hackknife Northeast: Oriole

While on a recent family trip to Chicago, Mrs. Hackknife and I had what was our best meal of 2017 so far at two Michelin-starred Oriole, a newer establishment (opened in 2016) that's an exciting addition to the national fine dining scene. Chef Noah Sandoval and his tight crew are turning out incredible cuisine in a spare and elegant space on a scruffy backstreet in the city's River North neighborhood (661 W. Walnut Street). Patrons have to pass through a freight elevator (which is transformed every evening into a tiny hostess lounge before resuming its day job after closing) to enter the restaurant, giving it something of a speakeasy feel.

Both food and service were exemplary, so much so that I'm bending my recent rule of avoiding blow-by-blow tasting menu descriptions just for this posting. Sommelier Aaron McManus presented wonderful drink pairings for the Japanese-inflected meal that included not only French and Italian wines, but also sake and even a sweet Norman cider. I'm lacking photos of two courses that I liked just as much as the others: an ethereal bone broth (normally I scoff at that description as most broths are bone-based; however, I wasn't scoffing when I tasted it) studded with Vietnamese coriander, cinnamon, and lemongrass and a petite croissant stuffed with a powerhouse combo of Spring Brook Farm Ashbrook cheese and rosemary apple butter (I didn't think it was possible to amp the flavor of an already-rich croissant, but here we are). If you're considering a visit to Oriole for dinner, I urge you to book now before reservation backlogs reach Alinea-type levels...