Exposure Tapas Supper Club: An Interesting Addition to Our Neighborhood (Chicago Area Restaurant Review 22)

It is one of life's ironies that two people like us, who love food, happen to live in Chicago's South Loop, a neighborhood that, if described as a culinary wasteland, would be giving it too much credit. We were walking to a fine example of that (see our post about Room 21) when we passed this restaurant, which we only noticed because a woman stood in front of the door telling passers-by that the place had just opened. Since we liked her style, and like tapas, we made a point to return soon.

While there were some early opening glitches, we are hopeful that Exposure will be one of the top restaurants in the area (although that wouldn't be too difficult). For a tapas place, the menu seemed kind of limited to us. There were 7 or 8 cold tapas choices (including salads), about the same number of hot small plates, and three full-size entrees. But what it lacked in quantity, the menu basically made up for in quality. We started with a lobster martini, which, according to the menu, included ginger vegetables, olives, and creme fraiche. This was not one of our favorite dishes. Lisa liked the lobster, but wished there was more creme fraiche (she didn't see any), and Steve really didn't care for the lobster. However, we definitely liked the tempura shrimp cocktail, served with very fresh, soft mozzarella and tomatoes. The taste combination was wonderful, although Steve found the tomatoes a bit tough. Even so, this was an innovative and flavorful dish we plan to order when we visit Exposure again. The Atlantic salmon was cured with Grey Goose vodka sauce and came with hard boiled egg and brioche. The salmon lacked some taste and the sauce was a bit salty. But Steve loved the brioche, which tasted like French Toast. And the bread in general tasted fresh-baked.

For hot tapas, we ordered beef teriaki on sticks, which while good, was not memorable. We loved the potato au gratin with garlic cheddar topping. It was very rich and very good. Lisa enjoyed her crab cake. The crab was tasty, and the breading only had a slight amount of spice, which is how she prefers it. Steve liked his lamb tapas, which consisted of part leg of lamb and part lamb slices. The meat was cooked perfectly and tasted like top-notch lamb.

For dessert, we split a peach and berry cobbler. It was served hot. The peaches tasted very fresh and the cobbler overall was just tart enough. Steve thought it could have used more crust, but Lisa thought it was perfect, which says a lot, given that she usually only eats chocolate desserts.

The total bill at Exposure Tappas Supper Club, with wine by the glass (a good but not inspired Zinfandel), was about $110.

The service was attentive and a little uneven, but better than we expected given that we were the only small party among three large parties. The courses came almost too quickly and on plates that struck us as too big for the table. We assume the spacing of the courses will improve over time.

The bathrooms had an Asian look, with stone tile with bronze undertones. The stalls were more like small rooms with doors that looked like Asian screens. The sinks were interesting. The basins were actually bowls set on a counter. Lisa found them pretty, but both she and Steve found it somewhat difficult to rinse their hands due to the angle of the faucet. Both restrooms were very clean and had hands free towel dispensers. There was a little dry toilet paper on the floor of one of the Women's bathroom stalls, however.

Our ratings for Exposure Tapas Supper Club, 1315 S. Wabash, Chicago, Illinois:

7 of 10 Steak Knives (or small plates, in this case); 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes