The Verdict
BIG STAR is Paul Kahan's Wicker Park Damen Avenue taco stand and honky-tonk bar whose pork belly al pastor — the specific preparation whose marinated pork belly communicates genuine knowledge of what the al pastor tradition requires applied through Kahan's specific culinary intelligence — communicates what happens when one of Chicago's most accomplished available fine dining chefs applies himself to making the most seriously flavourful available cheap taco. The whisky programme whose specific American spirits selections communicate genuine knowledge of the honky-tonk drinking culture; the outdoor patio whose summer Chicago outdoor energy communicates the most seasonally atmospheric available taco experience in the city; and the Damen Avenue Wicker Park setting whose creative neighbourhood character creates the most culturally enthusiastic available audience.
The taco and bar programme at Big Star reflects Kahan's culinary intelligence applied through the democratic taco format: the al pastor and taco programme whose quality communicates genuine knowledge of what the taco tradition requires applied through Kahan's accumulated fine dining culinary intelligence; the whisky bar programme whose selections communicate genuine knowledge of the American spirits culture; and the outdoor patio whose summer Chicago energy creates the most joyfully democratic available fine-chef-applied taco experience.
Why It Works for Solo Dining
A solo Big Star pork belly al pastor on the outdoor patio — the Paul Kahan culinary intelligence applied to the $5 taco, the Wicker Park honky-tonk energy, the summer Chicago outdoor culture — is Chicago solo taco culture at the level of the most seriously chef-applied available democratic taco experience.
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