The Other Critics

Balsan Transcends Hotel Dining; Epic Lives Up to Its Name

Balsan's soft-boiled hen egg with wild mushrooms and chicken liver
Balsan’s soft-boiled hen egg with wild mushrooms and chicken liver Photo: Helen Rosner

• Martha Bayne finds her dinner at Ria to be, basically, a work of art. Literally: a dish of lobster with scallop dumplings is “a damn Kandinsky.” The superluxe dining room and the precise, pristine menu items might imply starched shirts, but there are sparks of humor and lightheartedness that keep the whole thing this side of stuffy. [Reader, first item]

• Hidden as it is on the third floor of the Elysian Hotel, Mike Sula thinks Ria’s sister restaurant Balsan deserves a local following. The hearty, uncompromising menu — testa cakes, runny eggs, stellar cracker-thin flatbreads — is head and shoulders above standard hotel fare, and the occasional misstep (or overpriced roast chicken) is easily avoidable. [Reader, second item]

• Pat Bruno likes Epic that he’s drawn to high diction: he “suffers not” from his choice of the smoked ribeye, and gives in when his server “romanced the sea bass.” From the oysters right down to the banana split, he’s totally captivated. [Sun-Times]

• Never mind that Don Diablo is temporarily closed, Bruno visited before the shutter hit and was pleased by the $2 pricetag at least as much as he was with the tacos themselves. He’s underwhelmed by the entrees, but understands that this isn’t a place you go for platters — you’re there for the pick-n-choose of a multi-taco menu. [Sun-Times]

• Anne Spiselman’s review of Cuna is more descriptive than judgmental, but overall she takes a positive tone towards the neighborhood-chic restaurant. The pork cheeks, crispy octopus, and flatbreads do well, as do the desserts, though oversalting is an occasional problem. [Reader, third item]

Balsan Transcends Hotel Dining; Epic Lives Up to Its Name