Home > Chicago Restaurants > Editorial Review > First Look: Paramount Room

Fall is here. Well, unofficially at least. It's still warm outside, but trust us, soon your stomach will growl for a bit more substance than citrus salads and ceviches. When it does, Paramount Room (click for hours, maps, etc) , a new River West gastropub from the team that created Roscoe Village wine bar and restaurant Volo, will be ready.

It's offering a lineup of no-fuss comfort food classics with upscale flourish, in a downscale, laid-back setting. In other words, if you like your wagyu burger with a side of rock 'n' roll, this place is for you.

With a palette of royal blue on the walls and slick black on the oversized tufted-vinyl banquettes, this smallish space has a bit of gritty edge to it. The music, leaning toward '80s punk, was turned up just a bit too loud, helping the effect. There's also seating downstairs along with a pool table and flat-screen TVs, tuned to a Rolling Stones concert DVD when we went.

Paramount sort of reminds us of the original Milwaukee Avenue version of Iggy's (which, by the way, just launched version 3.0 at Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street). In the restaurant-bar equation, this space feels more like a drinking destination than a restaurant; people will be just as comfortable gathering around the bar as they will crowding into a booth.

There is a reasonable by-the-glass wine program ($7-$11), and a good-sized list of house-made martinis and cocktails ($10-$12), but beer is the main attraction. Paramount offers nearly two dozen international selections, from a $5 Spaten lager to Belgian favorite Delirium Tremens ($8) to a $22 750-milliliter bottle of Allagash Curieux. Can't decide? Ask for the $7 beer flight of the day, a trio of drafts, or an 8-ounce "shorty draft." While the menu descriptions of the beer were a tad vague, we found our server well-versed and able to help us navigate -- at least some of the more obscure choices.

When it came to food, however, we were a more or less on our own. On opening weekend, our server still seemed to be learning it herself. But that was OK--these dishes weren't meant to be complicated. The chef, co-owner Stephen Dunne, favors high-end ingredients executed with rustic familiarity. The Paramount Burger ($16), the more high-end of two burgers on Paramount's menu, touts a grass-fed Argentine pedigree--and if you like, they'll throw in a free slice of foie gras on top (apparently, giving it away gets around the City Council ban on selling the controversial delicacy).

Paramount's more prosaic house burger ($10) uses fancy ground wagyu beef. Served on a thick, sesame-seed topped bun, it's as craveable as any in town. Top it with a fried egg ($1), which we did, and while it's not foie, it's still a must-have. Just be warned: Fries aren't included with the burgers, and at $6 bucks a side, things can really start to add up.

Even folks who think the best bar food comes deep fried won't be disappointed. Dunne serves a deep-fried Scotch egg ($9); a plate of deep-fried, beer-battered pickle spears ($7), served with an irresistible buttermilk-garlic dipping sauce; and tempura-battered fried green beans with a sweet-spicy sauce of brown sugar and Sriracha ($8).

There is plenty of shellfish on the menu, too, including ale-steamed mussels ($12) and a light-flaky fish and chips platter served with malt vinegar ($12). Other main dishes include duck confit ($18), one of the best dishes I had when it was served at Volo, and a Berkshire pork shank ($17).

Stick around for dessert: Paramount offers a black-and-tan float ($8) filled with craft root beer and house-made Guinness ice cream--not terribly creamy, but you can taste that yummy Guinness goodness.

It's enough to make you long for a hot summer's day.

[Chris LaMorte is the Metromix dining producer. ] clamorte@metromix.com

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