West Town Tavern's Never Changing Menu

I have been to West Town Tavern many, many times, especially when I lived down the street from the lovingly restored 1880's building on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Throop Street. For the most part, I have nothing but good things to say about the not-really-a-"tavern" West Town Tavern. The food is quite good, without the high price, and there is a wine list that forgoes the obvious and brings in varietals and regions that you don't see at every other restaurant in Chicago.

My only real qualm with West Town Tavern is that for the two years that I have been dining there the menu has not changed. There is an unwritten rule that a restaurant should change up their offerings from time to time, usually coinciding with the seasons. I am not sure if West Town Tavern chooses to keep the same menu as a principle, or if it is just laziness, but frankly, this static menu situation is something that keeps me from going there more often. There is just so many times that I can have their duck confit or the tenderloin.

Now for the good news. West Town Tavern does offer some very inventive and delicious weekly specials that I am more than happy to order when I visit. Again though, the selections offered can be limited, and if you don't like the main component, you are left with the menu choices, which is not a bad thing per se, but the menu is somewhat limited and nothing on it is what you would call crave-able.

The entrees are somewhat safe and affordable (all cost around $20). A pot roast, tilapia which seems to be on every menu lately, chicken and pork are not anything too risky or unique. I do recommend the duck, and the trout. The tenderloin is always a good choice, too, unless they run out of asparagus and substitute broccoli, which happened one night to my dining companion who happens to hate broccoli. No word from the server on the substitution, which also caused problems with the gnocchi appetizer with asparagus. And yeah, my date ordered that, too.

West Town Tavern is a smaller restaurant, seating seventy in the dining room with extra seats at the bar. The bar is the first thing you see upon entering the corner building, and it is a massive affair in dark wood, rather classy in a masculine sort of way. The layout of West Town Tavern is open and airy, with high ceilings, exposed brick, pale wood floors and a large mirror on the back wall which lends the illusion of depth. Tables line both sides of the room, mostly small tables for two, with tables for four filling out the rest of the space. Windows allow ample light, and pseudo-windows are built into the solid west wall to again give the room a feeling of more space that what is actually there.

On a busy night, West Town Tavern can become quite noisy. One time, I actually had to move away from a man that did not understand the term, "inside voice." The brick and wood can cause some acoustical issues, but usually not enough to become bothersome, though that does depend on who happens to be at the next table, and how much they have had to drink.

In the summer, West Town does offer outdoor seating along the Throop Street side of the restaurant, and two tables on Chicago Avenue. Throop is a quiet one way street, and West Town sits across Chicago Avenue from a park, so the outside tables are pleasantly away from say, a parking lot or a obnoxiously noisy bar.

There is a nice selection of beer and wines, and a full bar that seems to always be offering something that I don't normally see everywhere else. Last time I was there, I just had to try a vodka from Oregon. The beers are of the microbrew variety, and the wines are usually from smaller vineyards in the New World or regions in the Old World that don't get the attention they should.

All in all, West Town Tavern is a touch of dining class in a neighborhood that is undergoing some changes of the "gentrified" kind. Moving out are the small Mexican taquerias, and coming in are places like Green Zebra and West Town Tavern. I welcome the change, and would welcome another change, that being West Town Tavern's menu. It is not that the menu is not good, but really, there are eight entrees, and once you have them once, a second time is not necessary.

Make sure to check out the West Town Tavern website for their weekly specials, as these can be either very exciting or just ho-hum, depending on what you may be in the mood for. Parking in the area is easy and safe. You can also get there by the Chicago Avenue CTA bus, or the Blue Line stop at Chicago with a short walk west.

Summation: good food that never changes, but it won't cost you a fortune in the end.