Six restaurants helmed by Trotter alums

graham elliot Just how much you’ll love Graham Elliot’s eponymous restaurant depends on your tolerance for quirky. Want Whoppers with your peanut-butter brownie and Nilla wafers on peach cobbler? You’ll be happy here. Still, even doubters should be silenced with straightforward flavors such as bison skirt steak with baked beans, a root beer–based barbecue sauce and onion rings. Expect frequent menu changes to keep things interesting on the plate and the chef’s rock-star friends to keep it interesting in the dining room. 217 W Huron St (312-624-9975). El: Brown, Purple (rush hrs) to Chicago. Bus: 66, 156. Dinner. Average main course: $35.

GT Fish & Oyster Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz—the restaurateurs behind Girl & the Goat—created GT Fish at least in part to raise the profile of chef Giuseppe Tentori. Whether that will happen is unclear (the Trotter alum doesn’t have the TV presence of, say, Stephanie Izard), but one thing is for sure: The food coming out from GT would make any cook a star. Sunfish ceviche sparkles with acidity but is never drowned by it, barbecued eel is geniusly paired with a potato-and-octopus salad, and pastas (squid-ink gnocchi; tortellini with crawfish) are nothing short of masterful. Yes, the desserts here are a major fail. And yet as a whole, the place remains a huge success. 531 N Wells St (312-929-3501). El: Red to Grand; Brown, Purple (rush hrs) to Merchandise Mart. Bus: 11, 33, 65, 125. Lunch (Mon–Fri), dinner. Average share plate: $14.

Moto Chef Homaro Cantu has become known through the TV show Future Food for wacky-sounding ideas like ending world hunger with edible paper. But what’s going on in the mad scientist’s restaurant? It’s anybody’s guess what the night’s tasting menu holds, but past trickery included a play on egg-drop soup in which frozen egg- and microgreen-pellets were dropped tableside into steaming soup, and triple-seared beef was paired with “caramelaserized wine.” And yes, a laser was involved in a wine pairing. 945 W Fulton Mkt (312-491-0058). El: Blue to Grand. Bus: 8, 65. Dinner (Tue–Sat). Average degustation: $135.

one sixtyblue Chef Michael McDonald took over the reins at Michael Jordan’s restaurant after a stint running Charlie Trotter’s spot in Las Vegas. McDonald shows occasional glimpses of greatness, including pillow-soft leek gnocchi, house-cured salmon and a fantastic pork chop teeming with salty-sweet juices. Don’t skip dessert—Hillary Blanchard-Rikower’s seasonal menu ranges from simple ice-cream sandwiches to plated riffs on childhood faves like funnel cakes. 1400 W Randolph St (312-850-0303). El: Green, Pink to Ashland. Bus: 9, 20, 65. Average main course: $25.

Real Kitchen The chefs at this carryout spot come from some of the best restaurants in the world (Charlie Trotter’s, El Bulli), and in most of the food it shows. Not that this is necessarily fancy stuff. Perfect strands of housemade pasta are paired with savory bites of braised lamb; salads are concocted out of juicy shreds of roasted chicken and cornbread croutons; and one of the spot’s signature desserts—a slice of oatmeal-chocolate cake—is as homey as it is comforting. 1433 W Montrose Ave (773-281-2888). El: Brown to Montrose. Bus: 22, 78. 10:30am–8:30pm (closed Sun). Average main course: $8.

Urbanbelly You’d think a dish called the “Urbanbelly Ramen” would be the stand-out item at Bill Kim’s (Charlie Trotter’s, Le Lan) noodle shop. But as satisfying as that bowl of clove-kissed broth and pork belly is, the best dish here is the rice cakes. The chewy mini Frisbees are topped with a juicy, perfectly fried chicken breast and bits of mango, which help cool the fiery, chili-spiked broth. Like the rich lamb-and-brandy dumplings, it’s the kind of dish you’ll want to take your time with. But the crowds vying for your seat dictate that you eat your food fast and jet, so savor the food quickly or get it to go. 3053 N California Ave (773-583-0500). El: Blue to Belmont. Bus: 52, 77, 82. Lunch, dinner (closed Mon). Average main course: $12.