Chicago - April 08, 2009

Over the Noon

Lunch at The Grocery Bistro

Pricey lunches have lost their allure. (Your last Whole Foods salad weighed more than a preemie.)

Go out — without going all out — at The Grocery Bistro, a new West Loop BYOB now serving midday fare.

Though André Christopher (Pops for Champagne, Japonais) mans the kitchen, don’t expect anything hoity-toity. Plop down at a communal table and chow a la carte or on Christopher’s approachable, $15 three-course lunch: soup/salad, sandwich, dessert/cheese/charcuterie, and a drink. (Seriously.)

On the menu: white miso onion soup, roasted golden beets (ricotta, cucumber honey vinaigrette), chopped BLT salad with a poached egg, smoked salmon club, roasted rib eye (Philly style), homemade frites and onion rings, artisan meats and cheeses, and sweets.

Neighbor-cum-sommelier Craig Perman (Perman Wines) does Grocery’s beer and wine pairings.

Come and get it, baby.

The Grocery Bistro, 804 West Washington Boulevard, at Academy Place (312-850-9291 or thegrocerybistro.com); $15 lunch special, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.