Uptown's Intimate Tasting Room
Brass Heart in Uptown has built one of Chicago's quietest and most-respected Michelin-starred operations. A small dining room, a single tasting menu format, and Chef Matt Kerney's parallel omnivore-and-vegetarian tasting — the same number of courses, the same level of technique, the diner choosing which path to take.
The cooking is contemporary American with restraint: careful sourcing, considered seasonal courses, the discipline of a kitchen that has decided what it wants to do and refuses to expand its remit.
What to Expect
Order the tasting — choose your path between omnivore and vegetarian. Expect ten or so courses moving across raw fish, vegetable showpieces, slow-cooked proteins, and the closing dessert sequence. Wine pairings are short and considered.
The Vegetarian Path
The vegetarian tasting is a serious commitment from the kitchen, not an afterthought. Vegetable courses receive the same level of technique as the meat-and-fish courses, and the result is one of the more thoughtful plant-forward tasting programmes in the city.
Best Occasion: Anniversary
An anniversary at Brass Heart is one of Chicago's quieter celebration moves. The intimacy of the room, the multi-course pacing, the wine programme — combine into the kind of evening anniversary dinners are built around. The omnivore-or-vegetarian format gives both diners agency over the meal.