In an area filled with Vietnamese restaurants, the Mandarin SILVER SEAFOOD is something different. The focus here is on fresh seafood; they’ll steam a red snapper or sea bass (or whatever else is swimming in the tank) to order, then delicately top it with wonderfully aromatic herbs and a drizzle of soy sauce. Skip the pot stickers and egg rolls on the English-language menu and ask for the Chinese menu instead, which has English translations and offerings like fried crab claws, braised cuttlefish, and boneless duck web. Main courses are offered in a few familiar categories–seafood, chicken, beef–and then venture into the unusual. Some dishes, like shark fin soup, must be ordered 24 hours in advance (at $78 an order, it’s no wonder). Abalone, which doesn’t often appear on local menus, is done nicely here, sliced paper thin and set atop an ample bed of steamed pea pod greens. A simple roast pigeon is masterfully cooked to render the fat and leave the skin crisp and mahogany and the meat ultratender. Servers are professional, welcoming, and willing to make suggestions. Prices are reasonable and it’s still BYO. Silver Seafood is at 4829 N. Broadway, 773-784-0668.
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The 40-seat FOX AND OBEL CAFE is an extension of the 22,000-square-foot high-end market, which sells such finds as house-cured salmon, dry-aged prime beef, and over 350 cheeses from around the world in addition to a lineup of prepared dishes (“home meal replacement,” as they call it in the biz). CIA-trained chef Peter Repak, who paid his dues at Charlie Trotter’s, oversees the kitchen, preparing up to 75 dishes daily, several of which are featured in the cafe. They might include marinated flank steak with chimichurri sauce, Thai-style tofu-vegetable stir-fry, couscous salad with an apricot curry vinaigrette, or a spice-rubbed New York strip loin sandwich with caramelized onions and blue Brie. Pastry chef Pamela Fitzpatrick of LA’s acclaimed LaBrea Bakery runs the bakeshop, where she whips up treats like plum sabayon trifle and lime poppy seed cookies plus an array of artisanal breads (olive ciabatta, rosemary peasant sourdough, and lemon rye, to name a few). The cafe has a separate entrance to allow for longer hours than the market, and it doubles as a cooking demonstration area for visiting chefs and cookbook authors. Ninety minutes of free parking in the lot across the street makes it convenient even in this overcrowded neighborhood; there’s also a valet. Fox and Obel Cafe is at 401 E. Illinois, 312-410-7301.
