One Sixty Blue: Underappreciated Gem (Chicago-Area Restaurant Review 6)

Everyone knows the Charlie Trotters and Trus of the world (or of Chicago), but not everyone is familiar with One Sixty Blue. Nonetheless, for our money, this is one of the top Chicago dining experiences. Every time we've been to One Sixty Blue, the overall experience is excellent, with at least a few truly inspired items. This time was no exception. One thing that makes this restaurant so good is the cheese appetizer menu. You can either choose one of the popular groupings, or order one-ounce portions of various sheep, goat, and cow's milk cheeses separately. We chose the latter route, and ordered one blue cheese, one cow's/sheep blend camembert, and one herb-encrusted goat's milk cheese. All tasted great, as did the pear slices and cinamon raisin bread that came with the cheese.

For the next course, Steve ordered an endive salad, which he really liked. Lisa ordered the ahi tuna tartare, which came with a crunchy topping and was amazingly fresh and flavorful. (Steve ate some, too, because he is gaining the weight Lisa is losing. She has one pound to go.) For the main course, Steve, continuing his gorge fest, had the steak delmonico, medium rare, smothered with onions. Lisa ordered beef tenderloin, also medium rare. Though she usually prefers filet mignon, the beef tenderloin was cooked perfectly and very tender. Steve did not leave a single morsel of the steak on the plate. Obviously, he thought it was quite good, though he was too busy eating to say.

For dessert, One Sixty Blue offers some amazing choices. Steve had the special Creme Caramel, which consisted of three layers of caramel, creme brulee, and chocolate mousse, with chocolate cakey-cookies on the side. He literally scraped the bottom of the bowl. The bowl also was interesting, as it was a very short mason jar, complete with attached lid. Lisa had the chocolate pear cheesecake. The chocolate sauce had a little expresso flavor, which is not her thing, but was very interesting. The cheesecake was the perfect blend of cheese and sugar, with whole skinned pear on top. Rather unusual in a good way.

We finished with complimentary tiny lemon sandwich cookies and Madeleines (packaged in One Sixty Blue cellophane). They were a delicious ending.

The wine we ordered was St. Francis Red Zinfandel. A little tart for Zinfandel, but it turned out to be a good complement to the excellent food. The total bill, with one bottle of wine, was $330. Without wine, it would have been about $220, which is not unreasonable for this high caliber experience.

For once, Lisa and Steve agreed on the restaurant's bathroom rating, making all aspects of our review positive. Both restrooms were very clean and attractive, with high quality disposable towels, pleasant scent, and ambient (bluish) lighting. Steve's only complaint was that the faucets were not hands free, and exiting required touching the door handle rather than pushing it open. (There's that germ-phobic thing again.)

Overall, our rating for One Sixty Blue, 1400 W. Randolph, Chicago, Illinois, is just short of perfect:

9.5 of 10 Steak Knives and 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes