Flora & Fauna Imports

Flora Fauna in River North Gives a Critic Memorable Moments | Eater Chicago

"With a tropically themed dining room that "looks like Fantasy Island on an acid trip," Flora Fauna's globally influenced menu is hit-or-miss: chef Jonathan Meyer’s "ability to make unexpected connections creates memorable moments," producing inspired dishes like a play on Thai som tam—shredded green papaya tossed with Sichuan spices and Costa Rican jackfruit—that is a "ridiculous mash-up that also happens to be inspired — equal parts refreshing and intense." Koji-cured steaks taste "decadent and nutty" and arrive with yucca tots that "push the whole thing over the top." But several plates disappoint: jerk pork shank fried rice is a "cloying, egg-mush fiasco," a stone bowl of broth and seafood becomes "wet, muddled nonsense," and a tres leches cake with strawberry-infused coconut milk, roasted pineapple, and dried coconut delivers "nothing but spongy, saccharine sadness." The mix-and-match cocktail program also yields oddities that sound "more like a threat than a drink," such as a whiskey sour with tangerine-grapefruit Campari; despite these shortcomings, Ruby thinks Meyer’s ideas come from a place of respect for the cuisines rather than being a lazy pastiche." - Jeffy Mai