New Culinary Refinement in Old Town
Something refreshing and new beckons in Old Town. The Refinery is a cozy culinary haven specializing in refined renditions of familiar soulful fare, from arancini and deviled eggs to poutine and steak. Cheffed by Lawrence Letrero and pastry chef Hetty Arts, The Refinery is a wholesome re-interpretation of American and international comforts.
The Refinery has the feel and look of a European wine cave, speckled with rustic brick walls, arched ceiling fixtures, and tranquil lighting. It sets the ideal framework for Letrero and Arts’ novel interpretation of modern American dishes with a touch of global flavor. This is particularly evident in dishes like oxtail arancini, a nod to Letrero’s Filipino heritage, succulent meat-and-rice fritters flecked with saffron and bok choy over a zesty blanket of coconut-peanut sauce. The grilled baby octopus is not only a masterful take on the notoriously finicky and potentially rubbery cephalopod, but a feat in surf & turf ingenuity. Letrero cooks the octopus just enough to render it meltingly tender and luscious, while still retaining a bit of smoky chew. Adjoined by grilled pork belly, each morsel sporting a delicate crunchy patina, the dish is an invigorating refinement of familiar flavors. He even hones in on steak and potatoes with an ambrosial hanger steak dish with spinach-potato pave. A splash of piquant hazelnut romesco adds some richness and spice to the medley of buttery meat and toothsome potato slivers.
For dessert, Arts wows with haute updates on some of the most classic American sweets. Her hot chocolate is lifeblood for the winter like the one we’ve been having, infused with peppermint and bedecked with white chocolate cream and malted marshmallows. The accompanying salted butter shortbread cookies are warm, soft, and right at home swimming in cocoa. Arts’ Mandarin orange creamsicle may very well be the quintessential dessert of the season, bursting with vibrant citrus and tangy crème fraîche, with a bit of crunch from dehydrated slices of poppy seed cake. Another stunner is her assortment of handmade candies, each one a gourmet riff on an Americana staple. Toasted maple marshmallows adorn a crumbly graham bar for a potent take on s’mores, tiny caramel apples find themselves enrobed in caramelized white chocolate, and chocolate-covered coconut with gold-dusted almonds make for a nifty reinvention of an Almond Joy.
The Refinery
1209 N. Wells Street, Chicago
(312) 854-2970
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