Trenchermen Restaurant Excites | Chicago

Brothers Mike and Pat Sheerin have joined forces after years in different kitchens.

With stylish design and cocktails to match, Trenchermen is a knockout. Below, our game plan for a stellar night at one of the city's most exciting new restaurants.

Drink: The "Most Refreshing Drink of the Summer" award goes to beverage director Tona Palomino's Green Hornet ($10), a verdant concoction of celery juice, celery bitters, gin and Fever Tree tonic.

Appetizers: Fried pickles and tater tots unite in pickle tots ($10), crisped cubes served with slices of cured, smoked chicken and dehydrated-onion yogurt. Sepia noodles ($12) are superb, the thin cuttlefish ribbons twirled with garlic chips and watermelon that's partially dehydrated, then compressed with its own juice and pickled with lime.

Main Course: After a week of air-drying, duck ($24) is cooked sous vide, pan-roasted until crisp-skinned, and placed in the midst of a salty-sweet melee of salt-cured rhubarb, red bean paste, peppery nasturtium leaves and fried rice balls.

Dessert: Stay sweet with coffee cake, chai tofu ice cream, and shards of fried chocolate crisps ($9), or skew gently savory with cumin-scented churros ($9).

Be warned: You'll likely want to repeat.

Trenchermen, 2034 W. North Ave.; 773-661-1540 or trenchermen.com