Chicago Eats - West Town Tavern

West Town. Not really that great of a neighborhood. But it has more and more good restaurants popping up (such as the excellent Ruxbin) so it's definitely worth getting out there eventually. After hearing some good things about West Town Tavern, my eating crew and I decided to check it out. The restaurant serves up "contemporary comfort food"; the chef has her own plays on classics like fried chicken and pot roast. This isn't a small plates place, it serves up full plates of food. Still shareable though.

Overall Verdict: I have to say that I enjoyed West Town Tavern and appreciated that most dishes were cooked to the right temperatures, but nothing really blew me away. I think it's solid food that's better than your typical restaurant at fairly reasonable prices. It definitely fits my definition of what contemporary comfort food is, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Monday Special: Fried Chicken with garlicky mashed potatoes, sauteed chard, buttermilk biscuit, and mushroom gravy - I was looking forward to the fried chicken the most, but I ended up being the most disappointed with this dish. I LOVE good fried chicken, especially when its juicy, cooked just right, with a flavorful and crispy skin/crust. This really didn't deliver on any of those fronts. The white meat was dry, and the batter really didn't have much going for it. The mashed potatoes were good but standard fare; the biscuit was a bit dry, and there wasn't enough gravy.

Pan-seared Diver Sea Scallops with mushroom-leek risotto -  Perfectly cooked scallops and risotto. The risotto had a lot of flavor and was my favorite side of the night. Not much else to say, great dish.

Zinfandel-Braised Short Rib "Pot Roast" with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and Pennsylvania Dutch black vinegar sauce - Great short rib! Melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the brussel sprouts weren't half bad either. Mashed taters were more of the same ol' same ol'.

Potato-crusted Tilapia with jasmine rice pilaf - another perfectly cooked dish. The potato crusting was light but let its presence be known. The tilapia was moist and the rice pilaf was flavorful, just not as flavorful as the risotto.

Bourbon Pecan Pie with caramel sauce and thick cream - pretty good pecan pie, can't say it's the best I've had. Dunno what was up with the thick cream, I wasn't expecting it to be just...cream.

Chef's Whim Ice Cream Sandwich with fudge brownie and berry ice cream - my favorite dessert! The brownie wasn't super soft, but that's probably on purpose to be more ice cream sandwichy. Delicious ice cream too as it was thick and creamy and the berries really went well with the brownie. I couldn't stop eating it even though I was pretty full.

Gala Apple Turnover with caramel ice cream and caramel sauce - really good ice cream on this one as well. The filling wasn't really too flavorful, and the pastry was too thin, flimsy, and lacked flavor. If the filling was a bit more robust, it would have worked well with the pastry.