Photo: Courtesy: Benchmark
With its chic modern design and retractable roof garden, vast bar-restaurant Benchmark is either a new standard-bearer for yuppie bars in Old Town, or the site of some sort of retro-futuristic Cold War summit. The menu is purely 2010 bar fare, but there’s one particularly interesting item: Korean-style tacos. Not to get all David Brooks here, but it’s pretty remarkable that an ethnic food item has gone this quickly from street food to chic restaurant fare. If you make it through the line, past the doorman, and your appetite’s still not up for kogi, here are your other dining options:
Appetizers
Mini-Wiches — 3 for $8 or 6 for $14
Cheese Burgers
Grilled sliders with Merkt’s Cheddar Cheese
Turkey Burger
Mini turkey burger in a pita with cucumber, tomato, feta and tzatziki relish
Pulled Pork
Braised Berkshire pork with napa cabbage slaw
Hot Soft Pretzels $9
Boneless & Bone-In Chicken Wings $9
Hummus & Baba Ganoush $9
Chips & Salsa $6
Soups, Salads or Wraps
House salad $8
Southwest salad $12
Cowboy Steak Salad $14
Chicken Tortilla Soup $5
Pizza $11
Spanish
Cured chorizo, Manchego cheese, piquillo peppers & fresh basil
Wild Mushroom & Asparagus
Seasonal mushrooms and asparagus, topped with fresh spinach and truffled Pecorino cheese
Meatball Pomodoro
Homemade meatballs, cherry tomatoes, onions, white sauce and Mozzarella cheese, finished with basil and cracked black pepper
Pepperoni or Sausage
Rustic tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese and your choice of pepperoni or sausage
Sandwiches & More
Benchmark Cheeseburger $10
Merkt’s Bacon Cheeseburger $11
Turkey Burger $10
Parisian Steak $11
Chipotle Gouda Chicken $9
Korean Steak Tacos $9
Fish Tacos $10
Sides $4
House French fries, Tater tots, Sweet Potato fries, Jasmine rice, Monterey bean salad
Dessert
The Skillet Cookie $9
Benchmark; 1510 N. Wells St., nr. North Ave.; 312-649-9640
