Review: Chef Jonathon Sawyer strikes back with Kindling in the Willis Tower

Seated on the ground floor of what was once the tallest building on earth, I gazed upon a pastrami short rib. Cured and smoked in-house, the meat wore a dark-brown crust nearly chocolate in color. Besides a showering of crushed coriander and black pepper, almost no effort had been made to gussy it up. Chef Jonathon Sawyer simply plunked a confrontationally large slab of smoked beef on the plate, with some rye toast, mustard and pickles placed on either side.

But when I forked the meat, it easily pulled into long luscious shreds, revealing a pink interior. Each bite hit with savory and salty force, while a stirring aroma of smoke swirled around my head, luring me back in. If you’re looking for some of the finest pastrami in Chicago, make sure to stop here.

If I sound surprised, it’s because, by all typical measures, Kindling really shouldn’t work. First, there’s the location inside the Willis Tower, one of Chicago’s busiest attractions. Not that you can’t have a good restaurant near an area cramped with tourists, but it’s especially hard when it has 17,000 square feet of space spread over two floors. The equally sprawling menu includes both chicken wings, and spaghetti with lobster and a cognac cream sauce.

Second, it pains me to say, is the chef. Jonathon Sawyer has a decorated résumé — he’s a James Beard award winner for Best Chef in the Great Lakes region — but his first work in Chicago left me puzzled. After his Beard-winning Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland shut down in the first months of 2020, Sawyer joined Adorn, the recently renovated concept inside the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and his rustic Midwest style seemed to openly, gleefully clash with the high-end atmosphere.

That mismatch was especially evident during an early course at Adorn, when foie gras wrapped in edible silver leaf was apparently meant to honor Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate, but instead looked like a manhandled Hershey’s Kiss. Sawyer moved on a few months later.

Fortunately, Sawyer fits right in with the more casual Kindling, a project from The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, co-owned by Scott Weiner and Greg Mohr. As the name hints, the restaurant features a massive wood-fired grill, and Sawyer apparently took that as a dare to use it as much as possible. “The older I get, the less I want to do anything but wood-fire grilling,” Sawyer said.

Take that as a cue to order anything that spends time near the fire. While you could slurp raw oysters, what you really want are wood-fired ones, presented on smoldering wood chips for added aroma. Sawyer offers three versions, but I’d start with the NOLA style, a play on oysters Rockefeller, where you’ll get a plump and briny bivalve topped with salty Parmesan and creamed spinach spiked with anise-flavored Herbsaint. I also enjoyed the HillBilly Riveria style, which adds smashed saltines, butter and lots of Crystal hot sauce.

Kindling isn’t exactly cheap, but for its location, it feels approachable. The sizable steak section includes costly prime cuts, but you can also go with the steak frites for a more moderate $28. The steak’s bold beefiness nicely plays off the acidic salsa verde spooned on top. On the side, you’ll find some skinny blonde fries, impeccably crisp and piping hot, like McDonald’s in a fantasy world.

Sawyer’s affinity for potatoes is on full display. My personal favorite is the beef fat-glazed hasselback potato, an entire spud cut into thin slices vertically most of the way down, leaving just enough at the bottom to keep them connected. These layers crisp up during the cooking process, before Sawyer drenches the whole thing in a creamy charred onion ranch dressing. My Midwestern heart might have audibly swooned after the first bite. “It’s beef and potatoes in all the right ways,” Sawyer said.

I initially wanted to skip the pasta section, but the noodles are made in-house and come out with just the right amount of bite. They also show how Sawyer knows when to let a few components shine. The satisfying bucatini della nonna features a bright tomato sauce with basil butter, breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan.

Some dishes do seem like they made the cut because Sawyer was trying to appeal to as many people as possible. There’s a salmon dish, plenty of chicken and, of course, a burger. To make money at this location, Kindling needs something for everyone.

But The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group did a good job of dividing up the space, so you can choose the experience to best suit you. The first floor features a bustling dining room, meant for long meals or business lunches, while a long bar offers a great place to grab a cocktail after work. Befitting its location in the Willis Tower, the ceiling soars over you, letting natural light flood in.

If you’re looking for a more casual evening, head upstairs, where there is a second bar complete with enormous flat-screen TVs, along with multiple areas for private parties. The restaurant also has one of the largest outdoor patios I’ve ever laid eyes on (not open yet as of this review), along with a jaw-dropping view of the side of the Willis Tower.

Lunch is a fine time to try Sawyer’s take on the Italian beef sandwich. He starts with excellent beef from Châtel Farms, a family-owned operation in Georgia, which he slow-roasts with a little liquid and then slices thin. He crisps up the bread in beef fat, and he even adds my favorite giardiniera from J.P. Graziano. But Sawyer really makes his mark with the optional raclette cheese sauce. Though nearly sacrilegious to some, cheese has become a more popular Italian beef option. Still, I’ve never seen a cheese as overtly funky as raclette used. It’s not even a little subtle but adds a wild and mysterious tang to each bite.

Kindling also makes a big play for the afterwork crowd with its happy hour menu. Sure, you’ll find chicken wings, but the menu declares these confit chicken wings “world famous.” Sawyer has honed them since his time in Cleveland. “This is a version of a recipe I’ve had for 15 years now,” Sawyer said. The wings are cured, cooked slowly in fat, and then fried quickly to order. This results in chicken meat that’s almost as luscious as duck, with a ridiculously crunchy exterior.

Unlike other food sections, the dessert options are kept to a strict four options. But I did enjoy the s’mores cake bar, which features a fluffy Italian meringue marshmallow paired with chocolate and graham cracker.

Sawyer certainly sounds happy about Kindling, especially since it allows him to stay in the kitchen. “I wasn’t doing what I loved,” Sawyer said of running a restaurant group in Cleveland with more than 200 employees. “Now I have kids in high school, so this is where I’m going to be for a while. We are pretty proud of what we have put together.”

By catering to everyone’s tastes, Kindling might lack the edge of Sawyer’s earlier restaurants, and it probably won’t snag him any future James Beard awards. But it does show there might be a sweet spot where a chef can showcase his vision on a grand scale without dumbing down the food.

Kindling

202 S. Franklin St., inside Willis Tower

312-789-5992

kindlingchicago.com

Tribune rating: Between excellent and very good, 2½ stars

Eat. Watch. Do.

Weekly

---

What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now.

By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

>

Open: Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday

Prices: Starters, $11-$19; main courses, $18-$66

Noise: Conversation-friendly

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible, with elevator access to second floor

Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.