Flora Fauna

"Jeff Ruby, Chicago: I’m totally in the minority on these, but I thought Flora Fauna had tons of great ideas and flavors." - Naomi Waxman

"Flora Fauna’s globally influenced menu is hit or miss, but chef Jonathan Meyer’s “ability to make unexpected connections creates memorable moments,” writes Jeff Ruby. The tropically themed restaurant “looks like Fantasy Island on an acid trip” and the food is even more confounding. A play on Thai som tam salad features shredded green papaya tossed with Sichuan spices and Costa Rican jackfruit, a “ridiculous mash-up that also happens to be inspired — equal parts refreshing and intense.” Koji-cured steaks — beef aged with fermented Japanese rice — taste “decadent and nutty” and come with yucca tots that “push the whole thing over the top.” Other dishes are head scratchers. Jerk pork shank fried rice is a “cloying, egg-mush fiasco,” while a stone bowl filled with broth and seafood turns into “wet, muddled nonsense.” Similarly, a dessert of tres leches cake with strawberry-infused coconut milk, roasted pineapple, and dried coconut “deliver[s] nothing but spongy, saccharine sadness.” And the mix-and-match cocktail program leads to 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

"Flora Fauna offers 'geographically fluid dishes' and 'fans of assertive flavors are likely to enjoy themselves immensely.'" - Jeffy Mai

"River North’s new Latin American meets Asian-inspired joint, Flora Fauna debuted its “Giant F*%$ing Banana Split” ($14). The creation is decked out with horchata ice cream, toasted banana, dulce de leche, shaved chocolate, caramel, Angostura peanuts, macerated strawberries, plus fresh blueberries, and blackberries." - Kat Odell

"The menu at Flora Fauna, a new River North restaurant opening tonight, is a unique blend of Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean cuisines. The offerings include jerk pork shank fried rice, seafood fritters with a curry inspired by Kerala in South India; and a variety of hot pots that mix Chinese, Mexican, and European ingredients. ..." - Ashok Selvam