Featured Review

December 2009

Special Gluten-Free/Allergen-Free Dinner at Chicago's BOKA Restaurant

Welcome to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com! Each month we choose an especially useful dining/travel review from all the submissions we receive from the prior month and showcase it as our Featured Review of the Month. The winning reviewer receives four of Triumph Dining's Restaurant Dining Cards (one each for American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisines).  Be sure to also check out our past Featured Reviews found in our Archives.

This month, we’re showcasing a restaurant where the chef eliminated over 30 allergens (YES, 30!) in order to host a special "Safe & Sound" event for Chicago's allergenistas! If you live in or are traveling to the Chicago area, you'll be in good hands dining at BOKA Restaurant under the care of Chef Tentori and his team. Thanks to our reviewer, Lisa, for sharing her experience...

5.0 Palms	BOKA Restaurant
Review Type:	Restaurant
Location:	1729 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614
Phone:	(312) 337-6070 Ask to speak with Alex
Website:	http://www.bokachicago.com
Meal Type:	Adults meal
Date Dined:	November 2, 2009
Review Posted:	November 5, 2009

Dining Gluten-Free (and Allergen-Free) Is Easy at Chicago's BOKA Restaurant, Where the Style is Simple and Clean, Yet Sophisticated.

Chicago's allergenistas were treated to a remarkable feast on November 2nd. BOKA's red-hot chef--Giuseppe Tentori--was on top of his game, offering an ambitious, allergen-free creation that left the group's members dazzled and inspired.

How does he do it? Over the summer, I had the good fortune to work with Chef Tentori at the Museum of Science and Industry and later spent an evening in his kitchen--listening, watching and learning.

Chef Tentori's protocol to reduce the risk of cross-contamination goes above and beyond those of other restaurant kitchens I've observed. Indeed, his staff's attention to detail is what makes BOKA so exceptional.

When an allergen-free meal is ordered, a booming announcement is made to the kitchen to prepare for a customized dish. Almost immediately, one chef assumes full responsibility for that particular plate and oversees its evolution from start to finish.

The menu that evening was free of the "big eight" allergens, gluten, and 23 additional allergens:

· Crispy White Polenta with grilled eggplant petals, ceci, pickled celery and dehydrated picholine olives
· Fennel-dusted chicken thigh served with a quinoa cream and watermelon radish fennel salad with tomatillo sauce
· Angus tenderloin with braised short ribs, napa cabbage and bacon roll with smoked white runner beans.

I highly recommend this restaurant!

For more reviews of Chicago area restaurants -- and others throughout Illinois, visit our Illinois review page.