Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Rootstock is hands down the best wine bar in Chicago, but after 10 years of going there almost once a month, last Friday was our last day. The wine list is very innovative and changing constantly. The food menu, while small, it is outstanding. I have no clue why that chef stays in a place on Augusta and California instead of chasing Michelin stars downtown, but that in my books commands even more appreciation for the place. The atmosphere is also great. This is the neighborhood bar that offers next to PBR the most obscure viticulture gem from Puglia. Most importantly though, this place had soul. Unlike most establishments where one can find a good wine around town, it was untouched by corporate lifelessness. There was a reason we preferred to go here rather than any restaurant in Fulton Market. Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore. We went on Friday, full knowing that it will be hard to get a table, but prepared to wait. Two of us got there and had a glass of wine. After some time waiting, the hostess told us that table was ready. The third in the party was late, he was in the uber 10 minutes away. We asked to be seated, but she was adamant that the "restaurant policy" is to only sit full parties. A little annoying, since this is not a place one orders everything at the same time and most often than not, we would slowly work our way through the entire menu plus about a bottle of wine per person, so 10 minutes would be completely negligible and we are not the type of people to sit with water while waiting. That being said, acceptable. After the third one showed up, a mere 5 minute after, we were told that we got pushed back to the bottom of the list. Again, annoying, but we were prepared to wait. Eventually we got seated at the bar, we squeeze in and started looking at the menu. Before we were about to order, the same hostess shows up telling me I am the "culprit" for taking too much space at the bar and we should squeeze some more. I would simply ignore this treatment at Boqueria (sorry Yann), but for Rootstock, well, that was the proverbial straw with the proverbial camel. We got up and left, promised each other we would never step foot in this...

We came here because of the rave reviews online and I always like to research restaurants that are allergy friendly for my wife. To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. Not only did the wait staff seem uninterested in our table, but they were also genuinely not able to accomplish the simple decency of getting back to my wife about a food allergy that she asked about at the beginning of the meal. To top it off, a burger at any restaurant should be easy task to heat to the appropriate temperature. It took the chefs three times to cook a medium burger and the first two times it came out rare, which is ridiculous because it also took them 25 minutes for each attempt. I never like to write a poor review, but the fact that they did not do the bare minimum to make sure my wife’s allergy was appropriate and messed up the cook temperature is enough to warn others be cautious when eating here. They did not even acknowledge or apologize for the inconvenience. The full price for the burger that we paid, and the 1 hr 15 min to get it right without confirming it was safe for consumption, is why I am so disappointed in writing...

The food is very limited, description on their QR code is equally limited and underwhelming. No idea size of portion if your a first time patron. IF your eating outside me prepared to have rude smokers , smoke and eat/ drink next to you. Waiters are casually dresses so, no idea or indication if they work there or not. Oh...and if your a non drinker, come here bc they won't tend to you the same if you overspend on drinking. The hamburger was raw though we ordered it medium. The lamb loin was rare too, and no inquiry on cooking preference. Lets just say my stomach overnight did not enjoy eating rare.

We were approached twice for a drink menu but didn't get any refills on our water or coke. Our waiter disappeared after getting our order and we had to flag down a different person for our bill, which took 15 mins to return.

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