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Like many Chicagoans, we cried a little in 2006 when the Berghoff restaurant closed its doors after 108 years in the loop. While the Berghoff was never known for its “gourmet” cuisine, it did serve up hearty portions of German cooking and nostalgia for old Chicago. We were delighted to see that part of the Berghoff legacy would carry on “17/West at the Berghoff.”
The gruff old waiters (and heavy German food) are nowhere to be found. Instead, new dishes like applewood bacon-wrapped shrimp and pumpkin-filled ravioli sit alongside revised German favorites like wiener schnitzel and sauerbraten. The Alsatian onion and apple soup is the best and the cheapest thing on the menu – we would buy it by the quart if we could. The root beer martini is so scrumptious that we forgive them for adding an upscale cocktail menu to the one of the most famous beer halls in Chicago.
The decor hasn’t changed much, but the constant-party feel of the old Berghoff is gone in favor of a laid-back lounge atmosphere. Even when the place is full, it’s strangely quiet. The menu lacked any sense of identity, like those chain restaurants that serve you “Thai-spiced” soup with spaghetti. The sound system, rather than playing German music or even recent pop hits, continually played a loop of Johnny Cash songs. Most off-putting was seeing restaurant staff begin close-down procedures at 8:30 on a Friday night, putting chairs on tables all around the remaining diners. For a restaurant with a listed closing time of 10 p.m., this was the wrong message to send to diners.
17/West seems to be a restaurant that is still searching for a niche to fill. The food is excellent and reasonably priced – but the setting is so surreal that you might spend more time looking around in confusion than eating.
17/West at the Berghoff: 17 West Adams, 312-427-3170.
Thanks, Anthony.
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17/West is run by the same family that owned the Berghoff. The difference is that they ditched all the old unionized staff and replaced them with non-union labor.
The place is okay if you like giving money to scabs, I guess.
I love 17 West. They have great drink specials Monday - Wednesday and it's never too crowded.
Why should there be a servers union? Unions are designed to protect employees with special skills from being undercut by less skilled workers. It doesn't take much to write down someones order on an order ticket and give it to the kitchen.
Most unions should be gotten rid of but that's notmy decision to make.
dayofthedaleks wins the thread. Nail on the head.
Getreal,
Clearly you've never been in a restaurant before if you can't tell the difference between being served by a skilled waitperson vs. an unskilled one.
Is dining at a non-union restaurant therfore tantamount to undermining organized labor?
I had no idea there was such thing as a server's union. That's the most ridiculous fucking thing I've ever heard.
As it turned out, we were not aware that the restaurant was staffed by "replacement workers". Someone mentioned it to us on the street after our exit. We immediately ralphed up what we'd eaten.
Our apologies to those who were replaced. It sure takes away from the experience of being there.