Cru Cafe & Wine Bar
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Outfitted with fancy chandeliers, cozy fireplaces, and lots of dark, pretty wood, Debra Sharpe’s reincarnated Cru Cafe & Wine Bar exudes all the elegance and luxury you’d expect of the Gold Coast–and at a commensurate price. Not surprisingly, the wine list is the centerpiece, with as many as 50 wines, ports, brandies, grappas, and sakes available by the glass or in flights of three, plus 30 half-bottle options and another 300-odd bottles in the cellar. The menu–revamped by pinch hitter Dale Levitski (La Tache, Trio Atelier), who stepped in when chef Patrick Crane broke his ankle in the 11th hour–offers a range of well-executed if predictable nibbles, from charcuterie and cheese plates to rich seared scallops wrapped in bacon, and some substantial sandwiches and entrees, including an intriguing “surf and turf” club of lobster and beef tenderloin with avocado and smoked chile mayo and a pretty perfect steak frites dressed up with caramelized onions and tangy cabernet jam. Taken as a whole the scene at this expanded new space (next door to the old one, now occupied by Sharpe’s gourmet take-out shop the Goddess and Grocer) screams class, and it passes a critical test with flying colors: the warm hospitality the smooth staff showed this couple of scuzzy-looking night owls on a recent frigid evening was downright gratifying. –Martha Bayne
Kansaku
Chalkboard, 4343 N. Lincoln, 773-477-7144
