Eats
Looking for Restaurant Exclusives? Get Your Cheeky Card!Five golden rings. Five Spice Girls. Five Great Lakes. Apparently, good things come in fives.
Hence the idea behind Dine & Drink, Inc.’s fifth restaurant installment, wittily named The Fifth. It is the successor to Volo Restaurant and Wine Bar, the Paramount Room, Kitsch’n River North and Kitsch’n Roscoe.
Jon Young, President of Dine & Drink, Inc., says about his fifth love: “When designing The Fifth, we wanted to create a sophisticated lunch destination that offered an upscale but inexpensive alternative in the neighborhood. But we also wanted to create a chic and cozy nightspot that would be equally as comfortable for cocktails and enjoying good food and wine.”
Okay, so the layout of The Fifth is a little bit odd. Dine & Drink seemingly split Kitsch’n River North into two: the kitschy diner that it always was and this new hotspot/nightspot/hangout that it is now. The Fifth still maintains retro kitsch-iness with its orange vinyl booths and swinging kitchen door, but it also (and quite disjointedly) amped up the 70’s vibe with 21st century sexy lighting and a chic bar.
Although the décor fell a little short (or a little dated), the food was more five-star. The Steak Tartare was a great starter. Although the Pumpkin and Shrimp Beignets tasted more like dessert than an app, it didn’t matter to me. They exploded in my mouth and only got me more excited for the Wagu Burger (Kobe beef, beefsteak tomato, romaine, red onion, kosher dill and special sauce) and Potato Ravioli (with garlic scented spinach and parmesan). Seemingly, looks can be deceiving because the food was as contemporary and not old-school as any urbanite would want.
Speaking of not old-school, the cocktail list is quite the opposite; even a little new-school. The female mixologist from The Fifth definitely poured love, if nothing else, into her cocktails. In the Cuidate, she combined her amore with Veev, Cava, lime, agave syrup and pomm seeds; in the Zen Julep, she combined it with ginger-infused vodka, sake, cucumber, mint, lime and soda; and in the Belix Press, she combined her xoxo with One Barrel rum, Leopold Bros. coffee liqueur, lemon juice and orange zest.
In keeping with the theme of The Fifth, always remember – it’s five o’clock somewhere. And that’s never a bad thing at this new River North old-new-hot-spot.
