Home Bistro

Last month you found my Dad and I ate a well known highly regarded Chicago restaurant which was fantastic, but what we try to normally do is find little diamonds in the Chicago rough. This month, we chose a cozy little French bistro, appropriately called Home Bistro or HB for short. This little bistro can be found in the heart of Boy's Town (2404 N. Halsted).

When you walk in, you are greeted by a local Chicago artist who's lovely food photography is featured on 2 of the 4 small walls of the restaurant. We were seated next to this fantastic picture of an artichoke. I literally wanted to take it with me in a doggy bag.

Before ordering, I talked to our "very kind" waiter about my gluten intolerance and he insured me that only a few entrees included flour (12 hour Beef Brisket, Spiced Lamb Pie in Phillo to name a few). I decided to order the Braised Rabbit Risotto for an appetizer (green apple, roasted fennel, parmesan). I wouldn't say the risotto itself was anything to write home about, but the big tender pieces of rabbit were...so good. For my entree I had the "Amsterdam Style" Mussels (beer broth, anise, dried basil, truffle fries). The truffle fries served with aioli were without a doubt my favorite thing that I ate the entire night...salty, crunch, garlicky, delish.

The strangest thing about this tiny restaurant was not just the fact that you had a French bistro with a Dutch chef... but the fact that it's BYOB and they don't charge corkage fee. Instead they tell you to just "be sure to help out your waiter." For this meal, my Dad and I stopped again at The Poison Cup beforehand (our new fav spot) for a bottle of Pinot Noir. My dad chose a 2007 Edna Valley Claiborne & Churchill Pinot. It was unbelievable. Really. Wow.

So, all in all our January monthly dinner was a complete success...we both plan to return for another meal in the future.