435 N. Michigan Avenue
TT500
Chicago, IL
60611
312-222-4132
Phil Vettel
Critic
My Role
Phil Vettel has been the Chicago Tribune's restaurant critic since 1989. Video versions of Phil's reviews (without revealing his face, of course) can be seen weekly on WGN-Ch. 9 and CLTV. And he's a regular contributor to the Tribune blog The Stew (chicagotribune.com/stew).
My Biography
Phil was born in the Bronx, NY, went to high school in Florida and graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1979 with a BA in Journalism. His career began at the Tribune-owned Suburban Trib in 1979, and he was promoted to the Chicago Tribune, working in the Tempo section, in 1981.
His wife, Paula, frequently joins him on his restaurant visits, and his sons, Ed and Chris, usually have better things to do.
His wife, Paula, frequently joins him on his restaurant visits, and his sons, Ed and Chris, usually have better things to do.
My Recent Articles
Diners left adrift in a sea of choices
5/23/2013
Earth-ocean theme in need of navigation E+O, a spiffy and spacious restaurant that opened three months ago in Mount Prospect's Randhurst Village mall, has something for everyone, which is the good news and bad news.
National Restaurant Association show: Samples, swag draw thousands 5/21/2013
The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (or as convention-goers say, "No, not that NRA ...") is the yearly confab of food and hospitality professionals at McCormick Place that began Saturday and ends Tuesday. As national conventions go, this one is unimaginably vast and gobsmackingly specific.
Chefs using their noodles 5/18/2013
Not content with mere tradition, some chefs go creative with carbonara Eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper. Those are the components that go into pasta carbonara, a classic Italian dish that's a real crowd pleaser.
Phil Vettel: Two stars for Bread & Wine 5/9/2013
Daring gambles: Bread & Wine's chef cooks with heart, more To appreciate Bread & Wine, the 16-month-old restaurant in the Irving Park neighborhood, it helps to be less literal and more observant.
Significant sequels 5/2/2013
3 high-end restaurants open casual spinoffs In the last six months, three highly regarded restaurant chef/operators — Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat, Graham Elliot of his eponymous restaurant, and David Flom and Matt Moore of Chicago Cut Steakhouse — have opened sequel restaurants, each a more casual, more affordable version of their high-end originals.
Earth-ocean theme in need of navigation E+O, a spiffy and spacious restaurant that opened three months ago in Mount Prospect's Randhurst Village mall, has something for everyone, which is the good news and bad news.
National Restaurant Association show: Samples, swag draw thousands 5/21/2013
The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (or as convention-goers say, "No, not that NRA ...") is the yearly confab of food and hospitality professionals at McCormick Place that began Saturday and ends Tuesday. As national conventions go, this one is unimaginably vast and gobsmackingly specific.
Chefs using their noodles 5/18/2013
Not content with mere tradition, some chefs go creative with carbonara Eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper. Those are the components that go into pasta carbonara, a classic Italian dish that's a real crowd pleaser.
Phil Vettel: Two stars for Bread & Wine 5/9/2013
Daring gambles: Bread & Wine's chef cooks with heart, more To appreciate Bread & Wine, the 16-month-old restaurant in the Irving Park neighborhood, it helps to be less literal and more observant.
Significant sequels 5/2/2013
3 high-end restaurants open casual spinoffs In the last six months, three highly regarded restaurant chef/operators — Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat, Graham Elliot of his eponymous restaurant, and David Flom and Matt Moore of Chicago Cut Steakhouse — have opened sequel restaurants, each a more casual, more affordable version of their high-end originals.