Won Fun Fails to Excite Sula; Income Tax Excels; More

Won Fun does some things right, but Mike Sula thinks diners are better off with the "less simulated Sichuanese food just a few miles to the south in Chinatown." The new West Loop restaurant, which could "replicate a Hong Kong whorehouse," is an uneven experience "depending on what you order." Mapo tofu is "respectful of its elders"—silky bean curds in an "oily lava flow of chiles and fermented bean paste"—and a dish dubbed "mouthwatering rabbit" yields shredded meat in a "fragrant and stinging chile oil." But other items "won’t scratch the itch," like dan dan noodles with "lack of adhesive properties" and fire fish that’s "lacking much of the [ideal] heady spice." Finally, cost is also an issue as even basic fried rice is "priced at a level commensurate with the rents this neighborhood commands, while offering little in terms of execution or quality of product to recommend them over anything you can find in Chinatown." [Reader]

Anthony Todd calls Income Tax the "neighborhood restaurant that everyone wants four doors down from their house." The menu is "reasonably-priced and delicious" and manages to "please both the comfort eaters and the food geeks at the same time." Salade beaucaire is a dish that makes Todd "rethink all the possibilities of winter veggies," while the coq au vin is his favorite winter dish of 2017 thanks to "awesomely-tender chicken." Even fried spinach dumplings turn out to be "delightful, a savory explosion of cheese and spinach." The affordable wine selection is available by the glass, bottle or half bottle, which makes for some "amazing values." It’s a flawless meal from start to finish and Todd thinks the restaurant is "definitely worth the trip." [Chicagoist]

Roanoke is a ho-hum hotel restaurant that fails to move the Loop’s culinary needle, writes Graham Meyer. The food plays it "safe, culling the broadest-appeal bits from bygone trends." The prime burger is a fine specimen with the standard accoutrements and prime rib dip is another "satisfyingly" good option. But at other times, the "food feels unloved." Fried chicken "lack[s] inner moisture and outer seasoning," Brussels sprouts need "a lot more time in the oven," and macaroni and cheese is more like "macaroni and crunch" without "any salient gooey or sharp [cheeses]." The restaurant will suffice for those who work close by, but "better lies toward the horizon." [Crain’s]