Fountainhead Finally Serving Food Worthy Of Its Drinks

Fountainhead's beer and whiskey menu has always been superb. Its food, however, was only serviceable.

But since Cleetus Friedman took over the kitchen, the Ravenswood tavern's dinner plates are finally receiving the attention they deserve.

Friedman closed his beloved deli, City Provisions, earlier this year. The deli was mere blocks from Fountainhead, and his regulars will be pleased to find a handful of City Provisions classics on the new Fountainhead menu, with more on the way.

Snack on Friedman's smoked hummus ($7), made from garbanzos that linger over smoldering wood, or his Cleetus Heatus tomato salsa and parsnip guacamole with house-made tortilla chips ($8). His hefty latkes are there ($4 for 2), as are excellent fried chicken wings ($9) draped in a sauce made from clarified butter and Bill Kim's Belly Fire.

In a nod to his Baltimore origins, fries ($6) are dusted with Old Bay. City Provisions-style chicken salad–made with dried cranberries, jicama and house-made mayonnaise–is already in rotation on the restaurant's truncated roof-deck menu.

Limited-edition-brew junkies will be pleased to hear that kegs of Friedman's beer collaborations have made the move too.

We love an edible (and drinkable) silver lining.