Ever Restaurant — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I first learned about Ever last year after reading about new restaurant openings in Chicago, and to my gleeful surprise, saw that the culinary mastermind behind Grace would be at the helm once again for Ever. I began exploring Chicago's finest kitchens after Grace served its last plate, thus, I regretfully never got the chance to dine there. Nevertheless, my expectations were pretty high knowing Chef Curtis Duffy's reputation and 3 Michelin star status walking into Ever to celebrate my wife's birthday, and thankfully, our most amazing dining experience began at the door.

We were met by a wonderful hostess who greeted us with what I am sure was a warm smile underneath her mask, offered to check our coats, and escorted us to our table. Immediately, the minimalist decor and mood was striking, letting us know we were in for something unique. Before entering the main dining room, there were fake ingredients hanging from the ceiling, offering a brief glimpse as to what flavors and textures we could expect for our courses, without truly giving anything away.

Upon being seated, we were greeted by an equally excellent waitress who offered us the wine pairing, which we didn't plan, but ended up going with to our pleasant surprise. The infinitely knowledgeable sommelier came with our first wine, and from the get go, added another positive aspect to the experience, as he expertly provided an overview of each wine, broke down the notes, and provided additional insight as to how the wine and upcoming plate would complement each other; all his breakdowns held true throughout the night to my amazement.

Every plate was innovative, beautifully plated, and contained flavor profiles and textures that took my taste buds to whole new levels. What we especially loved were some of the more interactive plates, such as the Scallop and King Crab, which I will not give away the novelty here, as they are best enjoyed serendipitously. From a taste perspective, the standouts to me were the Mizayaki and Beet, as the wagyu beef was absolutely rich in flavor, as was the Beet dessert (never had candied beet before, but after this, I am a huge fan). My wife loved the Scallop and Beet as well, and enjoyed the wagyu also, despite not being fond of meat as much as I am. Prior to this, she also chose her own wine as opposed to going with a wine pairing for dinner, but after this, I doubt I will be able to talk her out of a wine pairing if it is ever offered.

At the very end of the night, after drinking maybe one too many glasses of wine and feeling very joyful, we were offered an additional surprise at the end before our departure, which was the perfect metaphorical cherry to top of the entire experience.

"Perfection" is the word that comes to mind when thinking back fondly on my wife's birthday dinner, and have feelings equal parts bliss and dread. Bliss, as you might tell by this review, because of how incredible the dinner was, and dread because I honestly don't know how I'm going to step my game up for next year's birthday celebration! I guess we'll just have to come back again, and see what else the brilliant mind of Chef Duffy comes up with. I'm sure it will be as jaw-dropping as it is tasteful, offering a range of new flavors and courses that will provide a completely different experience, though, will feel familiar to us, like catching up with a someone after...

Astonishing.

If I had to leave a one-word review, that would be it. From the decor and staff to the food and wine pairings, EVER hit EVERy mark.

We have been to Next (the opening Paris 1906 menu.) We have been to Alinea (February 2020.) We have been to Albert Adrià's Bodega 1900 (when we couldn't get into his brother's El Bulli.) We have had tasting menus that aren't Michelin-starred. We have eaten in Paris, NYC, London, Shanghai, Amsterdam, L.A......

And while every experience listed above is one forever notched in my mind's memories, it is the evening we experienced at EVER that tops them all.

There is something to be said about every morsel's molecule that Chef Duffy has crafted for your tongue. There is something to be said about the white ash slats of wood and textured walls that balance out the gorgeously moody atmosphere. There is something to be said about the sommeliers' precise picks and pairings. There is something to be said about every aspect - the bathrooms and readings, the music spilling out of the (hidden) speakers, the perfect table spacing. But at it's core, at the very thud of this establishment's heart, the most to be said is about the staff. The people.

For without the people - the woman who greets you by name at the door and escorts you to your specific spot, the head server's smile, welcoming and warmth, the sommelier's explanations of how the wine will play with the dish, the servers who bring and take away dishes with effortless grace - there would be no EVER.

To play on words, and a cheeky young person's game, never have I ever experienced anything like EVER. It is unpretentious. It is delicious. It is fun. It is everything you'd ever want when making plans for an event (fair to call it that) of this caliber. And it is, by far, the best meal and evening I have ever had the privilege of experiencing.

I don't want to go into the meal's details or the exquisite wine pairings. That's for you to discover on your own. But I do want to say thank you to every person at EVER who made our night one for the books. And I especially want to thank the staff for two surprises that left us in utter disbelief - your graciousness and gifts will not be forgotten.

There are restaurants with three Michelin stars (and I highly believe EVER deserves that third,) and there are restaurants with no Michelin stars that still manage to blow your mind.

And then there's EVER; a place that ticks all the boxes - even boxes that don't exist.

Thank you,...

We had a belated birthday celebration for my husband last night at Ever.

Let me just say, by the end of the meal, we had run out of superlatives. Every course better than the previous one, which was delicious to begin with.

Paulina our captain, Ryan taking the time to describe the wines, and everyone else who we spoke to as we dined, they are a huge asset to the restaurant, but the star is the food, the glorious food.

It was unbelievable, looked beautiful and tasted wonderful!

Personally my stand outs and believe me, it was next to impossible to pick just a few, but to me the scallop dish, the A5 Wagyu course, the lamb course and the Japanese milk bun with curry were exemplary!

One course deserves it’s own write up, the hamachi, it was fresh, it was refreshing, the flavors were incredible, and I hope it never ever leaves the menu, a stunning start to the meal. ( Parsnip was subbed for my vegetarian husband, what a clever option, he loved it! )

What makes a great experience extraordinary ?- when I was raving about the piping of the two sauces on the asparagus to Paulina and she went to the kitchen and found out how it was done so evenly and came back and explained how it was done, perfection!!

My husband is a vegetarian and they did some lovely substitutions during the meat/seafood courses, it did not take away from the taste of the dish and he loved them and said he had a great experience and did not feel like he was missing out.

We split the wine pairing since I do not drink reds and there was a Riesling in there which I had to have a glass of, such a lovely wine! My husband’s favorite was the utterly delectable dessert wine.

There were a lot of fun surprise elements with the dessert, the food and the coffee, which I do not want to spoil, but believe me, it will be a night to remember.

What a truly thoughtful surprise that when we left my husband was given a personalized menu for the night signed by Chef Duffy, and a E pin. ( I collect pins and early on during the dinner, I had mentioned that the pin looked beautiful! ) , there were couple other surprises in the envelope but once again no spoilers.

We were also given a tour of the kitchen, as someone who loves to cook, it was so much fun to see “behind the curtain”, where all the magic happens, talk about efficient, wow!

This is a meal, an evening, where the flavors, the taste, the incredible service and the whole experience is going to stay with us for a long...