Restaurant Review: West Town Tavern

MMMM (4 out of 5)

West Town Tavern has become one of my new favorite restaurants in town. Shortly before it closed last year, I'd become a big fan of Zinfandel downtown. When the popular eatery closed (a top pick consistently in Zagat's) I was sorry I'd discovered it too late. I wasn't disappointed for long, since it turned out that the husband and wife (she's the chef!) couple behind the place had opened up another, more casual restaurant west of the loop.

Serving delicious "contemporary comfort food" in a comfortable exposed brick and hardwood floor dining room, this place has already been the setting for a few special celebratory dinners, and I have yet to be even the slightest bit disappointed. The wine list is impressive, the service very friendly and not the least bit snooty, and the food consistently tasty and beautifully presented.

Most recently I had one of the specials of the day, the herb-stuffed trout on risotto, which was very good. We started with the polenta, with ratatouille and herbed mascarpone cheese, which I'd had before and loved. I can also highly recommend the butternut squash soup with maple-glazed apples and sage, a hold-over from the previous restaurant, which I think is out-of-this-world good. For dessert I had the warm apple-raspberry crisp with caramel ice cream (which they make themselves) which was very flavorful and tart.

The one drawback on this restaurant is that it can be a bit noisy, a common problem among good restaurants it seems nowadays.

(Side note: You'll notice that I've initiated a rating system for the restaurants that I review. A friend suggested that I use "MMMMMM" as in "MMMMMM, that was good!" since I have been known on occassion to enthusiastically make this sound when I'm eating something I really enjoy.)