Sepia
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Opening hype can strain any restaurant, but Emmanuel Nony’s month-old Sepia, just around the corner from Blackbird, is holding up quite well. Creative chef Kendal Duque (Everest, Tru, NoMi) is running the kitchen, and out front savvy servers seem happy to be there. The total redo of an 1890 print shop–in shades of black and sepia with sage and burgundy accents–gives vintage furnishings new life, among them reupholstered Knoll chairs by Bill Stephens and ornate chandeliers encircled by sheets of Mylar. Semiprivate seating areas with a different design scheme help make the space visually interesting. Two of the ten appetizers ($8-$13) suggest the chef’s range: nuggets of moist rabbit paired with delicate ricotta dumplings in a Riesling reduction are minimalism made edible, while ultratender charred octopus piled on a toasted baguette slice in tomato sauce is as robust and rustic as the cast-iron pot it comes in. The succulent slow-baked veal breast on wide, lightly minted noodles ($23) has become a signature entree not simply by default (what other trendy restaurants serve veal breast?) but because it’s delicious. I also liked the thick Berkshire pork chop complemented by crunchy pickled wild onions ($25). Flatbreads, which head the menu, should be a natural with cocktails, but I didn’t have much luck: the little one topped with applewood-smoked bacon and falling-off diced peaches didn’t go at all with the Sepia Mule, which features house-made ginger-infused vodka. Dry flourless chocolate cake without the promised mint ganache was the other disappointment. Sage-lemon bread pudding, on the other hand, was like the best French toast ever, and I loved the melting sweet corn and blackberry jam ice cream. The eclectic, affordable wine list ($30-$80 bottles, $8-$12 by the glass) rounded out an enjoyable experience. –Anne Spiselman
Shikago
951 W. Fulton
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