Lobby at the Peninsula Chicago - Chicago
The Michelin-starred Lobby at the Peninsu
la Chicago serves contemporary American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner -- plus traditional tea service. The high ceilings and classic decor make any meal of the day seem special.
Even the breakfasts at Lobby at the Peninsula reflect a cosmopolitan attitude, and you see that in the first-of-the-day meals like aloe chole (tea-poached chickpeas with curried potatoes), shakshuka and short rib hash.
For lunch and dinner, there are finely crafted plates of high-quality ingredients. Starting with simple sandwiches like the Peninsula Club and Chicken Karaage (the super crunchy Japanese fried chicken), the menu reflects the higher reaches of culinary art in Chicago. Big Glory Bay Salmon is served with warm fregola crab salad, asparagus, vermouth, clam, beurre blanc and salmon roe; Braised Lamb Shanks are laid onto a bed of cream polenta with roasted seasonal vegetables, dappled with braising jus; and the 20oz Black Angus Bone-in Ribeye looks gorgeous with truffled mashed potatoes, port wine jus, and cherry tomatoes on vine (you can't eat the vine, of course, but all this looks just great on a plate).
The Naturally Peninsula menu features locally sourced, organic ingredients like Wild Rice and Potato Soup (local wild rice, smoked paprika, Midwestern potatoes, and bell pepper) and Saag and Tofu Chickpea Bread (seasonal power greens, turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, and griddled organic chickpea bread).
Of course, for food this good, the surroundings must match, and they do. Giving The Lobby at the Peninsula a three-star review, Chicago Tribune food critic Phil Vettel wrote that "One could hardly ask for a better setting. The sun-drenched space features huge picture windows, impossibly tall white walls with gold accents and a crane-your-neck ceiling outfitted with chandeliers and gold-embossed domes. At ground level, you tread on thick carpet to reach your oversized table, clad in custom-fitted, earth-toned cloth covers."
