Restaurant Review – Chop Shop

Sometimes, you just need to feel a little fancy! So, this week took me to Chop Shop, located at 2033 W. North Ave. The restaurant is located inside a 100-year old former auto body shop and is Chicago’s only sustainable butcher, deli, restaurant, and bar. It also houses a 6,000 square foot event space and concert venue. The menu rotates seasonally and is sourced from local farms and the in-house butcher. We were first seated on the rooftop patio, which is just adorable. There’s a number of upscale picnic tables with big umbrellas and string lights, making it feel warm and inviting. Unfortunately, it started to rain soon after we were seated, so we had to move inside. There were a number of specials on the menu. Select wine bottles were half-off, they served $1 oysters from 5-7 pm, and a $14 fried chicken dinner. Of course, we ordered a dozen oysters. They were absolutely delicious! I love fresh oysters and these certainly did not disappoint. We decided to start with the Signature Butcher’s Board: chef’s choice of house-made meats, local cheese, house pickles, and jams, served with grilled bread. This was delicious. There was an incredible blue cheese and I loved the chorizo as well. The menu was full of wonderful sounding entrees, which made it super difficult to decide. I finally decided on the Sriracha Chicken Burger: a half pound patty topped with pickled red onion, arugula, provolone, Sriracha aioli, on a brioche bun served with French fries. I wanted to eat a bit lighter, so I took the bun off and ordered the burger without the aioli. I also subbed a house salad with balsamic vinaigrette for the French fries. The chicken patty was very tasty! The Sriracha gave it a really nice bite and the pickled onions were perfectly tangy. My friend ordered the Butcher’s Burger: a brioche bun with a half pound of prime butcher’s blend, grilled balsamic red onion, bacon, aged cheddar, and a house sauce; served with fries. This was a very solid burger! The aged cheddar was sharp and delicious and I really loved the balsamic red onions.

Chop Shop’s kitchen is open Sundays from 11 am to 9 pm, closed on Tuesdays, open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11 am to 10 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to midnight. The deli/butcher is open Wednesday through Mondays from 11 am to 7 pm and closed on Tuesdays. For more information, check out their website.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO