Taxim

I recently had the pleasure of joining a few friends for dinner at Taxim. It was easy for us to get a reservation, perhaps it was because it was Wicker Park Fest and few people wanted to venture through the crowds.

For those who don’t already know, Taxim is a Greek restaurant in Wicker Park, and I wouldn’t expect to find a place like this located in Chicago’s Greektown. They seem to have put somewhat of a modern spin (including the small plate fad) on some traditional Greek food. To cut the chase, the food was good, the wine was delicious and affordable, and I would go back.

The four of us shared all of our dishes. We enjoyed the hummus, along with Taxim’s homemade pita. The pita was almost light and fluffy, but yet it worked. My favorite dish of the night was the wood-grilled octopus. The flavors really blended well together, and the octopus was tender and meaty. The fava beans with lamb and yogurt came out differently than we had expected. The lamb was essentially chopped and mixed with various beans and other vegetables with a side of yogurt There was almost too much yogurt, but I still enjoyed the dish. The other favorite for the night was the sea bass. It was beautifully prepared and tasted very fresh. We ordered a few other dishes, but the only real disappointment for the evening was the tomato salad, which the waitress forgot to bring us. After we reminded her, it came out at the end when we were already full, and the feta just seemed to overpower the dish.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the evening was the wine. It was not only affordable (which is always a pleasure after a couple of bottles), the wine fit very well with our meal.

I’m glad that I can now mark Taxim off of the list of places that I’ve eaten. I would certainly go back to Taxim, but I might wait for cooler weather when I’m in the mood to try some of their heavier courses.