Results tagged “mediterranean”

        

Taxim, the new Greek restaurant from rookie restaurateur David Schneider, takes the concept of Greek cuisine as Chicagoans know it and turns it on its head. Gone are yard stick-sized kabobs, syrupy souvlaki and middle-aged waitresses with penciled eyebrows and hoarse throats from shouting "Opa!" while setting fire to some saganaki amidst stock posters of Greek landscapes. Instead, Schneider embraces the melting pot of other Mediterranean influences, particularly Turkish, that informed pre-20th Century Greek cuisine, and does it with the deft hand of a seasoned restaurant owner.

There's no shortage of good Persian or Lebanese food in Albany park. Kedzie Avenue has Noon O' Kabob and the amazing Semiramis. Near the intersection of Kedzie and Lawrence sits Al-Khaymeih. This spacious restaurant offers the best of both dining worlds. Customers are treated to familiar Lebanese dishes served promptly by very attentive waiters who cleared out empty plates as soon as they saw them, kept the pita and hummous coming and uncorked our bottles of wine as we pulled them out (Al-Khaymeih is BYOB).

There's a new kid in the class of great restaurants available on Randolph Street. Nia recently opened its doors and its menu full of fresh ingredients is a fantastic way to try foods from a variety of Mediterranean countries. Nia offers a variety of small plates, salads, dinner entrées and a wide range of wines. We tried both the red and white sangria. The Fruit in both is left to sit in the mix for two full weeks and were excellent. The red sangria had blueberries, raspberries and peaches, while the white had the aforementioned plus pineapple.