Review: Greek Unorthodox - Taxim in Wicker Park

November 1, 10:45 AMChicago Restaurant ExaminerLaura Hansen

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Our foodie group sauntered into Taxim last Wednesday to check out the scene. The visual is that of a European long hallway type of structure with many archways. These archways add to the look of expansiveness, even though the restaurant it self is fairly narrow.

Byzantine style chandeliers add charm and soft lighting. A grouping of copper plates hangs on one side of the eatery.

The narrowness leads to seating at long tables - there was a little "Medieval Times" feel to the long tables.. These tables tend to challenge the wait staff a bit - weaving in and out. Our server seemed to be scattered. He was clearly not focused on our party enough to see when drinks were empty, for example. There was a significant gap between ordering our first plates and the delivery. I would expect that he would come over to us and explain the wait or let us know when we might expect the food to be delivered. When he did not, I softly suggested to him that it was best to pay attention to our party…and we would be grateful. He did and we were.

But there's so much more to the experience. Although the cuisine has acquired the label of Greek - it's much more expansive than that. And, of course, here in Chicago, we have an ingrained idea of what Greek is and that involves white washed walls and flaming cheese and big beef spits of garlic infused gyro meat. This is light years away from that.

Owner David Schneider (29 years young) graduated from Northwestern University with a civil engineering degree. He migrated to the front of the house at Green Zebra and started to witness what it's like to run a restaurant. He then traveled extensively throughout Greece, Istanbul, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan studying cuisine. He spent quality time with his grandmother and aunts and infused these recipes into his psyche. Then he hired Stephanie Izard's sous chef from Scylla, Jan Rickerl to execute the menu. Schneider's a smart man - combining history, study, relatives and a good chef to build this empire.

Taxim serves cold and hot plates or mezethes. What I found was that, in my opinion, the menu described a dish that I could not put together in my little brain and say "oh, that sounds great, let's try that." My brain was saying "really?" So, I could only pick about three things I wanted to try from the description. We ordered pretty much everything - which was a great strategy when you can't put it together and shared it all.

I loved the psiti volvi - oven roasted sunchoke bulbs in a red wine vinaigrette - the texture and smokiness was so satisfying. Another favorite for me was the Prassopita - wild leek, fresh dill, goat feta in house-made phyllo. Score! The tartness of the feta with the comfort of the phyllo was so satisfying. One more, the Melitzanosalata - wood fire roasted graffiti eggplants, sesame paste, pine nuts and pita. These dishes are "grounded" - there's a meatiness to the veggies like the eggplant. The wood fire oven infuses the smoky flavor and then my teeth become happy to feel those crunchy pine nuts.

Almost everyone ordered the duck gyro as the main entrée: duck rubbed with pastourma spices served with a mint yogurt sauce, and a pomegranate reduction, with a saliva producing cucumber salad on the side. The duck spices were the key. They were smoky again (like fire roasted cumin) that wasn't just applied to the duck - it penetrated the meat. The light smoothness of the yogurt mint sauce made me want to take it home and take a bath in it!

I tasted the rack of lamb and it was also cooked to perfection and rubbed with a spice that I would use every day if I could. In face, if I were David, I would consider having a small retail presence to sell the spices and or cook books that have regional cuisine recipes.

If Taxim might fall a bit short - it could be on the dessert options. Choices include orchid root ice cream, mastiha - or pastry with pistachios, walnuts and Cretan clotted cream to name a few. My favorite was the Boughatsa - custard and phyllo pastry, lemon and powdered sugar. This was more savory - and I think I liked the texture of the pastry best.

David Schneider is now on my "people who make a difference in Chicago's cuisine list" and if you are looking for flavor carried over from several countries like grandma used to make take the trip to Taxim's.

Taxim
1558 N. Milwaukee Ave.,
773-252-1558
http://www.taximchicago.com/