Hotel 71 recently revamped its restaurant. The hotel made over the space with warm browns, cozy oversized beige booths and mod ivory leather barstools. The eatery brought in chef Gabriel Kolofon from Telluride, Colo., and created a new menu filled with modern American tavern fare and, voila, 71 East Café is now Hoyt's.
The first thing you'll want to order once you settle into one of those comfy booths at Hoyt's is a cocktail. The place specializes in Prohibition-era libations, and executes them quite nicely. I really enjoyed the Midwestern Farmer Fizz—a mix of vodka, St. Germain, fresh sour and herbs, topped off with club soda. I don't know what's particularly "Midwestern" or "Farmer" about that drink, but I liked it. If you want something a bit more adventurous, try The River Street (a nod, perhaps, to the restaurant's bird's-eye view of the Chicago River). It's made with Pierre Ferrand cognac, port, egg and simple syrup.
Among the starters, you'll find gussied-up deviled eggs, fancy mac 'n cheese and high-end sliders—you know, all of the upscale comfort food every other "modern American tavern" is serving these days. If you're going to do the same thing as several other restaurants within walking distance of your own, you need to do it better than your competitors—and Hoyt's, in my opinion, does not.
Don't get me wrong: I ate every bite of the mac 'n cheese, which is made with Wisconsin cheese truffle sauce, crispy onions and prosciutto. It was very good, but not enough of a reason to bring me back. The crispy shrimp appetizer is cleverly served on skewers piled into a stainless steel cup. The ancho aioli was delish, but the shrimp skewers were more skewer than shrimp.
The wine list is nothing spectacular, but does the trick. In addition to a handful of affordable whites, reds and sparklings by the glass, you can also get bottles priced from $35 to $100.
For my main dish, I ordered the Nantucket sea scallops. The scallops themselves were juicy and seared to perfection. But the butternut squash puree and cauliflower foam they were served atop both had the consistency (and flavor) of baby food. The chicken, however, was quite good. It's a large breast smothered in a surprisingly delicious onion and grape sauce and served with truffle potato puree and roasted cumin carrots. I think Hoyt's chicken would make a perfectly lovely meal for any weary traveler staying at Hotel 71, but it's not the kind of things that would impress a local foodie.
Hoyt's desserts are inventive, to be sure. There's a scrumptious Vosges chocolate pudding, served in a mason jar (natch) and topped with berries, nuts and fresh whipped cream. The ice-cream lollipops are nothing more than vanilla ice cream with a hard chocolate shell on a stick. They are billed as being served with a "crispy surprise." Turns out pop rocks add absolutely nothing to plain vanilla ice cream. In addition, the Hill Farm apple crumble had about as much flavor as the cast-iron pan in which it was served.
Hoyt's plans to open a street-side patio this spring. Between the convenient Loop location and the priceless river view, I think it will be a great place to unwind over drinks and fancy mac 'n cheese after a long day at the office. But, for my money, I'll be heading somewhere else for dinner after I down a couple of those $12 cocktails.
Hoyt's is located at 71 E. Wacker; call 312-346-9870 or visit www.hoytschicago.com .
Do you need some more Sugar & Spice in your life? Follow me on Twitter: @SugarAndSpiceMS—for inside scoop and commentary on Chicago's dining scene.
