Proxi - Anyone Been?

Have Thursday res with a girl I really like - The tempura elotes and coal roasted oysters look like a must order.

Any experiences/recommendations?

565 W Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 466-1950

I had a very enjoyable dinner there a few months back. It was a larger party so we got to try quite a bit of the menu.

The menu has changed quite a bit since then, but of what is currently offered I know we tried and enjoyed the roasted eggplant, lamb ribs, and wagyu short rib. The black pepper pork was not offered, however the equivalent (another pork shoulder lettuce wrap dish) was probably the best thing we ate that night.

If I were going today, I'd order the fried fish collars in a nanosecond.

Thank you! The fish collars look great!

Hi I was there on Thursday - overall was good. Service was on point but food came out very slowly. Enjoyed the ElOtay. Did not care for Don't Chouette It. Wine (Cabernet Franc) was a bit too "earthy" for my taste.

Top Dishes:
Fried fish collars - perfectly cooked with an aggressive Thai garlic sauce

Black Pepper Pork

Wagyu Beef Short Rib

Tempura Elotes - had 3 orders for 3 of us haha

Just ok:
Pork Jerky

Skip:
Bhel Puri (in fairness, I am Indian and have had some top versions)

Lamb Ribs

Octopus

The Semifreddo was amazing. Pot de Creme just ok.

Did not try the coal roasted oysters.

Have a great time!

zoid - did you end up going? How was it ?

Enjoyed it but will not likely return. The hits were really on though not enough to call me back.

Hits:
Elotes
Short rib in Curry
Roasted Baby Potato Carbonara
Merguez Sausage

Just OK:
Baby Octopus - not bad but really nothing special

Misses:
Buratta - definitely skip, $14 of boring that the leek ash did nothing to rescue.
The room - unbelievably loud, like yelling at you partner 3 feet away loud, an unpleasant experience.

I didn't actively dislike the place but for what I spent I can think of several other places nearby I'd rather be.

Well put - feel the same way

Interesting. Our experience was a little different.

We arrived before the dining room opened on a Thursday night, so the noise level was non-existent to start, though it was pretty loud by the time we left, around 730. I agree that the Tempura Elote is the star of the show, but I also found the Bhel Puri to be bright and pleasant. Authentic? Not so much, so maybe that is the difference in impressions.

The fish collars were very meaty and quite nice. but the way they were prepared - lightly battered and deep fried - combined with the meatiness of the way they were cut made them more into simple fried fish than collars. Quite tasty with a good sauce, though. Short ribs with curry and rice were solid, roast pork good but sort of boring. We had the carbonara potatoes with the meats and they were probably the best of the three dishes. Desserts were interesting, but not as good as the rest of the meal. Cocktails were okay but overpriced at $14 each, IMO, particularly when compared with the glorious, Loire, wine list, available by the glass, half carafe, or bottle. We started with an Anjou Vin Gris, then moved on to a couple of cab francs, half carafe of each, all delicious and quite reasonable.

Food arrived pretty quickly, but service was a little disjointed, unpolished. Nothing objectionable, just seemed like they need some practice.

We were all pleasantly surprised by how low the bill was at the end given the variety, quality and volume of food - about $65 each all in, excluding the cocktails at the bar (which I would skip the next time anyway).

Bright, bold flavors that harmonized well, every dish tasty and of good quality, very good technique, reasonable price given the quality and location, we would definitely go back though not at a noisy, peak time. Too bad (if not surprising) about the noise, because the room is attractive, the various spaces (bar, lounge, restaurant) pleasant and comfortable. The three spaces are separated by metal, mesh curtains that shimmer a bit like mirrors, but see through. Nice effect, if of no help in deadening noise.

I was there last week with a larger group and overall really enjoyed our experience. We shared a good portion of the menu. The Elotes and the Oysters were amazingly delicious. I also really loved the lamb ribs and the fish collars. Both fish dishes we ordered (cobia and bass) were really tasty, as were the radishes and the grilled chicken. The only real miss was the Pork Porterhouse, it didn't have a ton of flavor and was rather chewy. Desserts were good too, we had the avocado mousse and the semifreddo. We all agreed that we would go back.

I love Sepia. But having tried some of Andrew Zimmerman's more casual Asian food at a few food events over the years, I knew Proxi would appeal to me even more than Sepia. Sure enough, I really loved Proxi on my first visit.

First, let me mention the striking decor. They really did a terrific job, with a large and impressive bar space, high ceilings, just really impressive.

As for the food, tempura elotes were fantastic. Crispy yet creamy, great corn flavor, unique.






Perhaps my favorite dish of the night was the salad with sugar snap peas and carrots with yuzu kosho, sesame, and miso brulee. The salad was bright and acidic, and packed some really nice (and somewhat surprising) spicy heat. This was the spiciest item we had all night. Also, pretty in the bowl.






The Thai beef salad was their take on nam tok. It featured wagyu sirloin and the usual herbs and toasted rice powder. The addition of quality meat really elevated the salad. I would have liked a little more heat (at least to the level of the snap pea and carrot salad), but I also understand that they're trying to appeal to a broader audience.






Taking a turn towards New England, crispy stone bass served atop leeks, potatoes, clams and also clam chowder. I didn't want to order this dish -- I really wanted to try some of the more Asian dishes on the menu -- but my friend really wanted this. Well, it was fantastic. The bass was cooked perfectly and the clam chowder was delicious and not the cream-heavy (flavor obscuring) abomination so many restaurants push on their patrons.






I also loved the roasted monkfish with clams, piperade and Spanish chorizo. The fish was cooked perfectly, the chorizo was really fantastic and the broth in the dish perfumed beautifully by clams and chorizo.






The only dish that did not wow me was the wagyu shortrib with Malaysian curry. The shortrib itself was beautifully cooked, tender and falling apart. But I found the curry to be lacking any real funk. There were some nice, hot peppers in the dish, and the curry was flavorful enough, but it really needed a little funk to elevate the dish from good to great.






Overall though, I loved Proxi (enjoyed a couple of really nice cocktails too) and look forward to returning soon.

We've had a couple of work dinners here. Definitely my favorite among a number of noteworthy new openings. Also, the Proxi/Sepia guys are really good at private dining. Some of the nicest spaces and service around. Agree with most of what's been said here. The bone in ribeye with banga cauda is the best steak I've tasted in a long time. Definitely not just an afterthought thrown in for the old unadventurous guy who only eats red meat.

We went for our anniversary. Considering our typical bias against restaurants in this class we were quite enamored with our meal.

Everything we had was good to excellent which included: nahm prik, potatoes carbonara, chorizo and clam monkfish entree, cobia curry and the black pepper pork. Only the latter was kind of disappointing as the menu did not make it clear to me that we were getting ground pork lettuce wraps. The cobia curry is also I think fairly simple but delicious and strongly aromatic, but you should be warned if you were looking for something funky or laden with spice.

Anyways highly recommended.

Went last night before "Nell Gwynn" at Shakespeare Theater. We'd booked an early dinner, not sure how slow it would be, but a 5:15 table gets a lot of the kitchen's attention -- we were out of there by around 6.

For drinks, SueF had a Red Zin, I had one of their non-alcoholic drinks (watermelon, mint, lime, tonic). Refreshing, not too sweet. (Only real gaffe of the evening came from their putting a half-bottle of the wine on the check instead of the glass)

We started with the elotes tempura and the smoked pumpkin, pomegranite and walnut. I enjoyed the elotes a lot, but I didn't really get "elotes" out of it. The smoked pumpkin puree was a fantastic flavor (next time I fire up the smoker, I'm going to have a butternut squash around).

The duck dumplings in pho broth were very tasty, but I wouldn't have called it pho except for the presence of star anise -- much spicier than pho is (which is part of why I liked it). The dumplings may need a little fine tuning: the filling was a bit dry and the wrappers a little al dente. It's hard to say skip this dish since the flavors are so good, but perhaps there are stronger choices.

The crispy Vietnamese crepe with shrimp and pork belly was really, really good: lots of both the main ingredients, good textures and flavors (although I'd have liked more of a toothsome chunk of pork belly than the crisp bacon-slice-like pieces).

Northern Thai sausage with nahm prik was another winner. The sausage was a pretty coil, served with herbs, lettuce to wrap, a green nahm prik, a big piece of chicharone and a cabbage slaw. Lots of texture and flavor (although Aroy's sai ua is still the gold standard).

The smoked pumpkin puree was a very Ottolenghi sort of dish, and I got a bit of that vibe off the whole meal: bright flavors mixing familiar ingredients with those a little less so. I feel like the dishes weren't dumbed down; the flavors were complex but were perhaps a little safe: there was no funk to the nahm prik at all, more of a salsa with lemon grass and galangal. I certainly want to explore more of the menu (preferably with a few other people that would want to share the fish dishes).

[later notes] Two of the dishes not recommended above were being pushed by the server as her favorites: black pepper pork, and the wagyu massaman curry. I didn't find the room too loud, but by the time we left it was approaching "boisterous."

Went last night with a client, shared 4 items:

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad w/sesame yogurt, chilies, citrus, cashew dukkah. This was enjoyable.

Miang Khum (a special this night) - betal nut leafs with shallot, dried shrimp, chilies, coconut, peanut, lime pieces. Proxi's version falls FAR short of the delicious version at Tub Tim Thai in Skokie, if this had been my first time trying this, I would never order again. Proxi's version is heavy heavy on peanuts and lacks the lime and dried shrimp

Black Pepper Pork w/butter lettuce, peanuts, apple, mint. Just so mediocre, black pepper pork tasted like it had been sitting around for a long time, was not freshly made (& if it was, was seriously overcooked).

JoelF wrote:The crispy Vietnamese crepe with shrimp and pork belly was really, really good: lots of both the main ingredients, good textures and flavors (although I'd have liked more of a toothsome chunk of pork belly than the crisp bacon-slice-like pieces).

This was the last item we had and it was enjoyable but no Nước Chấm sauce served with it, such a let down.

There are still some items that I'd like to try but this restaurant was a serious let down.

Sweet Willie wrote:...but this restaurant was a serious let down.

Boy. Amen to that.

Pros: our server knew the menu, listened to us, and was helpful as we tried to round out our order. Promised she would watch the pacing of the dishes so that everything arrived appropriately. A couple of real knockout dishes.
Cons: once the order was in, the server was gone, reappearing once in the entire time we were there. The “pacing” was just plain bad. Two dishes, long pause, one dish. Pause. Two dishes. Several dishes were just barely mediocre.


the room


the kitchen

Friday evening at 5:30. It’s about 95 outside and humid, so it was a pleasure to be inside, though the aesthetic was a little spartan for us. We were seated immediately in the middle of a series of two-tops that recall nothing so much as the tight spacing at Next. Considering that there were still a few four tops open when we left, we would have appreciated more space. It’s always such a joy to squeeze between tables to go to the bathroom or leave the restaurant—not to mention getting to listen to other conversations in stereo. I get the economics. When are owners going to get that a pleasurable experience means more than just great food? Being crammed into that extra two-top doesn’t thrill me or make it a pleasant time.

Our server started out great. We were pleased at how attentive and helpful she was. Only to have her disappear after the order was in. The first of our small plates—the smoked pumpkin came almost immediately, followed very quickly by the tempura elotes.


smoked pumpkin


tempura “elotes”

The smoked pumpkin “spread” with paratha was terrific. The smoke was front and center but the combination (with walnuts and pomegranate) overall was absolutely dead on. We both loved it. The tempura elotes, on the other hand, tasted like nothing except ordinary corn fritters. Very good corn fritters but their “elote-ness” was entirely missing and, indeed, needed salt (at the least) and something—anything—to make it stand out. Absolutely ordinary and nearly bland. We saw the mayo (and I think we saw the cheese) because the color stood it; there was no taste of it whatsoever.


burrata with sunchoke conserva

The burrata was also very disappointing—it comes with a “sunchoke conserva” but in our case, at least, we’re talking about ½ teaspoon of conserva with next to no apparent taste. So the course ends up being completely neutral-tasting burrata on sourdough. (The menu also notes “leek ash.” I’d be surprised if that is supposed to taste like much; in our case, anyway, it certainly didn’t.) To top it off, look at the bread in this picture--it was so charred as to be mostly inedible.

I don’t understand how this happens. Everyone is apparently so busy that no one cares. When our server actually made an appearance ten or fifteen minutes later, I explain to her what happened; she very plainly doesn’t care. Oh, her mouth says the right things but her face and attitude and tone speak volumes.

In the event, it took an astonishingly long time as I looked everywhere, trying to find someone to bring me some unburnt bread. I would have settled for anyone, a server, a runner, a manager. It took an unconscionably long time to flag someone down. Eventually, someone took pity on me and another five minutes later we got some new bread.


scallops

Our two “larger” dishes: the scallops and the lamb “kabob.” The scallops were very good, enjoyable, and overpriced at $18 for two one-inch scallops. The lamb was among the best lamb I’ve ever had and a dish that lives up to Zimmerman’s high-end street food concept. With the labneh and tomato, it was like a high-end gyro. I thought that, if anything, though, the lamb was overseasoned: simply way too much going on. That said, it just oozed flavor and juiciness and tenderness. Not a kabob—more like two narrow slices of lamb pie, but superb lamb.


lamb “kabob”

I would be remiss not to note that they have a tiny menu of non-alcoholic drinks. Three, to be precise. We had two of them and both of them were absolutely excellent. Among the best we’ve had in Chicago, anywhere. It’s so nice to see them, we just wish there had been more. They should really be showcased. When it’s 95 degrees, I don’t feel like alcohol, and it was wonderful to discover a place that has clearly given serious attention and thought to non-alcoholic drinks.

All things reconsidered, we don’t see a return trip. Just too many negatives involving both service and food.