“Most people in the midwest don’t know this, but aronia berries grow in the midwest.” That was the word from chef C.J. Jacobson one evening at Intro, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant that will rotate in a new notable chef and new menu every three months or so, even if the space itself—formerly home to L2O—doesn’t change much.
That’s why he could get away with bits of creamy avocado and radish among bites of glistening fresh fluke, all bathing in an intensely green liquid infused with Douglas fir needles and dotted with droplets of Korean chile paste that somehow tasted as if they weren’t there at all. It was a delicate dish that couldn’t have been more at odds with the hunks of crusty bread at the center of the table. Still, the only way to access the liquid on the flat plate was to smear the bread through it, something I found myself doing more than once throughout dinner.
But in no way is Intro a ponderous, stomach-bloating ordeal in the way many extravagant-tasting menus can be. Nor is it even extravagant—if you’re willing to eat early or late, tickets can be had for as low as $65 (through Nick Kokonas’s Tock ticketing system).
2300 N. Lincoln Park West 773-868-0002 introchicago.com
