Sula: Bar Marta is a Quiet Surprise; Monteverde's Pastas Excel; More

Bar Marta is showing a lot of promise after quietly opening in Humboldt Park, according to Mike Sula. The restaurant, led by former Hogsalt vet Austin Baker, offers "good drinking food," starting with fries that "achieve an almost angelically light crispiness and ethereally creamy interior" and a side of Chinese broccoli leaves are "dense and fleshy enough in their own way to satisfy the most bloodthirsty carnivore." A Caesar salad is "further powered" by bonito flakes that provide an "umami explosion in the mouth" while "buoyant yet hearty" meatballs are like "sturdy, resilient sponges," able to soak up the "powerfully glutamic" red sauce. For dessert, a hazelnut chocolate tart with Nutella ganache leaves a "dense, rich footnote" to the meal. [Reader]

Monteverde hits the mark with an array of affordable, well-rounded dishes. Sam Faye describes the pastas as "pure and silky smooth as [Steph Curry’s] three ball," with options like a tasty cannelloini saltimbocca unlike any you’ve ever had before and duck egg corzetti with a "great flavor combination." Tortelloni di zucca is the "perfect pasta," filled with winter squash and covered in a cream parm fonduta sauce while a "surprisingly delicious" skate wing schnitzel is also worth ordering. Larger entrees such as the ragu alla Napoletana—a giant dish of fusilli, cacciatore sausage, soppressata meatballs and braised pork shank—are an "exclamation point on the whole experience." [The Infatuation]

After 30 years in business, Everest still manages to remain "as memorable and gratifying as any restaurant in Chicago," writes Jeffy Ruby. The famous roasted Maine lobster in a mix of Gewurztraminer butter and ginger will go down as "one of the great dishes in Chicago history," while the "superb" sole meunière is also a crowd-pleaser. Newer dishes are just as "sublime," including crusted Berkshire pork cheeks with poached veal tongue and a foie gras creation that "captures decadent magic." A few misses—undercooked carnaroli risotto— stand out but a fromage blanc apple soufflé "attains the snowy ideal of soufflé textures" and is the perfect finish to an exquisite experience. [Chicago]