The Other Critics

Nagrant Digs into Mac and Min’s; Bruno Lauds NoMi as “Magical”

Mac and Min's
Mac and Min’s Photo: Nick Kindelsperger

Michael Nagrant ponders Pistol Pete Maravich and the New Orleans Jazz, before jumping into the new creole sandwich shop Mac and Min’s in the West Loop. He thinks the roast beef should reside in the “mama-style comfort-food hall of fame,” and the root beer glazed ham po’boy, which is a “pink plank of brown sugar and sweet spiced oinker,” was his “favorite offering (so far).” [New City Resto]

Pat Bruno gives out a rare four star review to NoMi, which he calls “magical” and “what a four-star dining experience is all about.” The service was so good he referred to the waiters as “table concierges.” The food had a “high level of polish without pretension,” including “one of the best risotti I have had anywhere (including quite a few in Italy).” [Sun-Times]

Though the Gaztro-Wagon doesn’t yet have the proposed food truck, Kate Schmidt believes the food “deserves a citywide airing.” She enjoyed the “slow-roasted lamb with ‘gyro fixins,’” and loved the roasted chicken thigh with mushrooms brie, which was “among the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever tasted—succulent, deeply flavored, and redolent of fresh thyme.” [Chicago Reader, first item]

Mike Sula thinks it’s “all about location” for Cumin in Wicker Park. Though it doesn’t differ too much from the “Indo-Pak standard” on Devon Ave, it offers a “staggering list of serviceable dishes” that is perfect for neighborhood. Still, he finds the most luck in the Nepalese side of the menu, which is why he suspects “that maybe the heart of Nepalese chef Min Thapa remains with his homeland.” [Chicago Reader, second item]

Nagrant Digs into Mac and Min’s; Bruno Lauds NoMi as “Magical”