NXXT Restaurant & Bar

Photo: Jeremy Bolen

“Is that a strip club?” “What’s with the sign at that new place on Chicago Avenue?” “Have you seen that new bar?” Within the first week NXXT was open, I was pelted with questions about it from readers and friends alike. In short, no, it’s not a strip club; yes, the blinking electronic sign out front is strange and tacky; and yes, I have seen the new “bar,” which is the category I’m now putting this place into after two disastrous meals.

The fact that it earned two stars instead of one rests heavily on the owners’ decisions to stock the bar with damn near every alcohol known to man, amass a beer list that’s quite impressive, and employ design elements (swooping birch ceiling beams, comfy bar stools, a nearly hidden staircase leading to a chill basement lounge) that stand out on a rather bleak stretch of Chicago Avenue. Good news: It’s actually quite a comfortable place to hang out and have a drink. Bad news: No one in the kitchen knows what they’re doing.

Lamb chops came from a rack that was apparently oven-roasted then sliced and pan-seared on one side, so that half of each chop was well-done and the other half was raw; monkfish was undercooked jelly; the burger was dry; canned peaches were blanketed in doughy, flavorless crust to attempt cobbler… I could go on, but you get the idea. It’s just a shame that though so much attention apparently went into many elements of this place, the food certainly wasn’t one of them.