Chicago's Feld Restaurant earns Michelin star, Kasama earns second star
A farm-to-table restaurant in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood can now count itself as a Michelin star winner.
Feld, located at 2018 W. Chicago Ave., describes itself as a "relationship-to-tale" restaurant that highlights the products it uses from a "carefully sourced from our network of growers, ranchers, fishermen, and dairy farmers."
The Michelin guide notes that most of the products used by the restaurant are sourced from within a four-hour radius. The meals are prepared and plated in front of diners.
"Chicago native Chef Jacob Potashnick highlights in-season products, and the same ingredient may be highlighted in different forms, like raw asparagus with a cured lemon emulsion, tempura fried or as a juice accompanying fresh cheese, or in main dishes like poached Maine halibut with a maitake mushroom purée, maitake mushroom and thyme foam and a piece of grilled maitake mushroom," the guide said.
Even the fruit of the sour cherry trees in the backyard appears on the menu, the guide said.
Feld also won a Michelin Green Star for its dedication to sustainable practices.
Meanwhile, the Filipino bakery Kasama won its second Michelin star. The eatery, at 1022 N. Winchester Ave. in East Ukrainian Village, is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Tim Flores and Genie Kwon.
Kasama is known for its modern interpretation of Filipino cuisine. For breakfast, visitors can try a host of different pastries, and their breakfast sandwich — which some social media users call the best in the city.
For dinner, Kasama has a fine dining-inspired tasting menu.
The famous Alinea, Chef Grant Achatz's flagship restaurant at 1723 N. Halsted St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, made headlines last week for losing a Michelin star — falling from three stars to two. Achatz shared an Instagram post on Thursday of last week, before the guide even came out, expressing disappointment in learning that Alinea had been demoted.
"For 20 years, Alinea has been devoted to pushing creativity, rigor, and the pursuit of perfection in our craft," Achatz wrote on Instagram. "That commitment remains as unwavering today as it was on day one, and will continue until the back door of 1723 locks for the last time."
The latest Michelin Guide spoke highly of Alinea despite the demotion.
"Not shying away from performance and theatrics, Chef Grant Achatz's flagship restaurant continues to be one of the city's most immersive experiences," the guide read. "Combining scented vapors, hidden ingredients and tableside service, dinner is a constant mix of whimsy and surprise. Signatures like the black truffle explosion or bourbon-maple cured Arctic char are woven in with a series of small, at times diminutive, courses that involve a number of unexpected ingredients and preparations."