September 2002

Dining -
Chicago's Fresh Catch

Kim Colwyn

Chicago may not be known as a haven for fresh seafood, but thanks to a few new standouts and some great old standbys, our windy city is doing swimmingly.

For 89 years, Joe's Seafood in Miami has served hundreds of thousands of seafood lovers during stone crab season, now Chicago is getting a taste of its legendary stone crab claws thanks to Lettuce Entertain You's recent opening of Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, 60 E. Grand (They added steaks at this location for fear of protest over the menu's lack of red meat). The meaty stone crab claws are available in a variety of sizes, served cracked and with a side of their mustard mayo dip. A great start is the shrimp or scallop ceviche, but if you're up for the investment you can get it in the "2nd mortgage." The appetizer serves the ceviche along side medium stone crab, jumbo shrimp, and Florida lobster. Don't miss the famous key lime pie.

If you're feeling a little amphibian, I mean ambitious, you can check out the frog legs at Hugo's Frog Bar, 1024 N. Rush Street, otherwise just stick with the classic seafood. To get the freshest fare seafood is flown in twice daily and the menu changes to reflect the best of the catch. Our favorites have been the mesquite grilled Chilean sea bass, the blackened swordfish served with pico-de- gallo and the Dover soul served with almond butter. The crab cakes with hot pink mayo are great in any season.

You'll get the standards at the Raw Bar, 3720 N. Clark, like great shrimp scampi (Italian risotto, Persian dill rice, Portobello mushrooms and potatoes in a scampi garlic sauce with blackened jumbo shrimp), and a 1½ pound main lobster steamed with Jamaican spices, but you'll also get the exotic. On a given night you may be offered sautéed alligator with a wild mushroom tarragon sauce or asked if you'd like your ostrich blackened, grilled or sautéed. Dishes like this have made the north side restaurant's popularity extend way beyond the Wrigleyville locals and it's a seafood standout worth the trip.

For 18 years Shaw's Crab House, 21 E. Hubbard, has been serving up top-quality seafood in the city and the suburbs. The main dining room offers more than forty varieties of fresh seafood (the adjacent Blue Crab Lounge & Oyster Bar has a more casual menu). And although the menu changes daily the mainstays like grilled wild king salmon and oysters on the half shell are great any day. Since it is a "Crab House" go for the crab combo, a huge entrée combining a Shaw's crab cake, a ½ pound of Alaskan "red" king crab legs and depending on the season, either soft shell, dungeness or stone crab.

A creation of Chicago's own Phil Stefani, Riva, 700 E. Grand Avenue (on Navy Pier), gets you in the mood for seafood with its nautically inspired dining room and its views of Lake Michigan (luckily their daily fresh catch isn't caught off Navy Pier). Don't miss the "Filet Mignon" of tuna (Hawaiian tuna cut like a filet, grilled and served rare over horseradish potatoes) and if you're lucky to dine in season, you can try one of our favorites, the Tasmanian crab claws. Steamed and served with drawn butter these claws are the size of a large hand and can range from three to eight pounds! Riva gets bonus points for the convenient sinks in the center of the dining room to wash butter covered sticky fingers.

The much-anticipated Bob Chinn's, 315 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago has finally opened in River North and by the time the renovations are done, 800 of Chicago's lucky seafood lovers will be able to dine there every night. Chinn's Wheeling location made the extensive menu legendary and now city dwellers can dine on signature dishes like the crab vermicelli (stir-fried cellophane noodles with crab meat, bacon, onions, egg, oyster sauce and cilantro) and the seven way fish of the day (the chef's selected fish that can be broiled, char grilled, blackened, stir fried, tempura, sautéed, Grecian or our favorite, Bob's version which is a soy ginger sauce). Start with the seafood gumbo cooked up Louisiana style and don't miss Bob's signature Mai Tai it's his secret recipe. For all you boaters out there, next season you'll be able to dock up and dine in.