Bar Marta is a new restaurant located in Humboldt Park that aims to provide diners with an escape from the outside world through thick curtains on the windows. The chef, Jeff Pikus, previously worked at several Hogsalt Hospitality restaurants and focuses on sophisticated yet comforting global cuisine made with local ingredients. Dishes include smoked eggplant spread, a salad with farro and lentils, and a half chicken roasted with paprika and served with bread soaked in pan drippings. The desserts and cocktails complement the meals without disconnecting between savory and sweet.

1. PHOTOSBYALLANPERALES
Bar Marta
2700 W. Chicago Ave.,
773.697.4489,
barmarta.com
Open for dinner Tue.-Sat.
ORANGE (WINE) IS
THE NEW BLACK
In addition to an interesting
global wine list, Bar Marta
also features a handful
of hard-to-find orange
wines—a white wine whose
hue is courtesy of contact
time with the grapes’
skins—including 2008
La Stoppa, Malvasia di
Candia Ageno ($17 by the
glass, $68 by the botttle).
SALAD DAYS
Bar Marta’s Iceberg
& Grains salad gets
topped with a creamy
avocado dressing and
fresh herbs.
96 | | Spring 2016
It’s not like the owners of Bar Marta intentionally
set out to make their new Humboldt Park
restaurant mysterious. Or, for that matter, have
people drive by thinking it’s closed. Rather, those
thick curtains covering the windows are there to
help create an oasis of sorts. “We want diners to
not have to know or think about what’s going on
outside for an hour or so,” says chef Jeff Pikus,
who, along with Austin Baker, both alums of
Hogsalt Hospitality (Au Cheval, Bavette’s,
Maude’s Liquor Bar, etc.), is behind Bar Marta.
It all makes perfect sense once you’re inside.
The dimly lit room with a marble-topped bar on
one side and a smattering of tables on the other
(there’s a second dining room downstairs) feels
cozy, and it’s a perfect match for the sophisticated
yet deeply comforting food of Pikus, which does
some globe-trotting without losing its soul.
There’s a terrific
smoked eggplant ($12)
that gets its earthy
flavor from Middle
Eastern spices and time
spent in the wood-
burning grill. Spread the
creamy mixture on the
housemade crackers, dab
on some of the refreshing
yogurt and tahini sauce
and repeat until the plate
is clean. It won’t take long. The steak knife that
comes with the Iceberg & Grains salad ($10)
seems like a mistake—until you start to eat the
salad. The wedge of crunchy lettuce benefits from
a sharp utensil, which can also be used to scrape
up the bits of tasty farro and sprouted lentils.
Heartier dishes are found farther down on
the menu, including a wonderful half-roasted
chicken ($19), which is seasoned with smoked
paprika and Espelette before it’s finished on the
wood-burning grill. Those thick slices of bread on
the plate take a bath in the bird’s pan drippings
followed by a quick sear on the grill. In the future,
I want all my bread to come like this. There are a
few pastas as well, including a housemade cacio e
pepe ($12) that’s rich without being cloying.
Desserts don’t skimp on the comfort level
either. And since Pikus is in charge of those too,
there isn’t a disconnect between the savory and
sweet dishes that can sometimes happen. You
can’t go wrong with the chocolate tart with
salted caramel sauce and whipped cream.
Or, skip dessert and have one of Bar
Marta’s perfectly made cocktails. The Martinez
is a bracing-in-a-good-way mix of gin and
vermouth, while the Champagne in the French
75 gives the drink a celebratory vibe, which,
come to think of it, was exactly the mood my
dinner companion and I found ourselves in,
having discovered Bar Marta.
There Goes the
Neighborhood
Humboldt Park’s dining scene gets a major upgrade
with the opening of Bar Marta.
| By Lisa Shames |
HOT POT
One of Bar Marta’s
larger plates includes
mussels and clams in a
shellfish-pork broth.
THE SPOTFOOD & DRINK