John's Food And Wine

John’s Food And Wine feels like a neighborhood bistro had a child with a fast-casual wine bar. And the resulting new breed of “Super Cute Reasonably Priced Restaurant To Catch Up With A Few Friends” is a great addition to Lincoln Park. Instead of steak frites or escargot, you’ll eat seasonal American food like beets with yuzu pistachio vinaigrette and pork chops with quince and black walnuts—all of which you order at the counter before being shown to a table. If you want a second glass of wine, though, you can stay in your seat and order through a QR code. This part counter-service, part-virtual tab set-up is an unexpected service model for a place with $44 (fantastic but small) bowls of lumache with shaved truffles. But we’re willing to endure a little confusion for well-made plates of “elevated” fish sticks—fried branzino gussied up with kimchi ketchup and celery root slaw—and ramekins full of not-too-sweet butterscotch pudding.