More Chicago: Tavern at the Park

While Bossman and I were in Chicago for our conference, we set out one night in search of a nice dinner. Our first choice, Gage, was insanely packed, so we left and wandered up Michigan Avenue to see what we could find. Unfortunately, what we found was driving sleet, so we dashed into the first welcoming restaurant we could find: Tavern at the Park.

There was a lengthy wait here, too, but we hovered by the bar and grabbed two bar seats relatively quickly. Two drinks-- a beer for Bossman; a glass of Valpolicella for me (yum)-- and we were set. Then the food arrived.

Bossman went with a chopped steak cheeseburger with American cheese and a side of delicious, delicious fries. This burger was huge and was pronounced delicious.

Burger dwarfs bun

An extra side of garlic parmesan broccoli was unimaginably rich-- swimming in a bath of melted something (garlic butter?) and covered in cheese, this was broccoli at its most sinful.

Looks virtuous, but...

My choice was the goat cheese and beet salad. I'd say this was ah-kay; it was an enormous portion, but the beets were a tiny bit overcooked and over-coated with dressing. The candied walnuts were delicious, though.

Bigger than it appears

And such was our dinner. We both left stuffed and headed back to the hotel for some sleep before another full day of conferencing. Overall, Tavern at the Park was one of Chicago's entrants in the three Offset Spatula market: decent food, a comfortable ambiance-- it gets the job done.

Tavern at the Park
130 E. Randolph Street, Chicago
312-552-0070