Chicago: Bandera

For a friend's birthday, a bunch of us got together for dinner at Bandera on Magnificent Mile. Located across the street from Nordstrom and directly adjacent to La Perla, Bandera lives up to its image of swanky dining, complete with live jazz band, diners in business suits, and prices to match.

We started off with the jalapeno cornbread:



Personally, I'm not a big fan of cornbread. So while the jalapeno was a nice touch (not spicy at all though), I wasn't incredibly impressed. There's just something about cornbread that's never won me over. It always tastes dry to me...

After much deliberation, I finally decided to splurge a little and get the prime rib French dip sandwich with hand-cut fries:



There was certainly plenty of meat in the sandwich. The prime rib was juicy and rare (exactly how prime rib should be) and horseradish sauce is always a plus. The fries weren't anything too special. I was getting a bit annoyed by how thin they were, but that's probably just me being my usual difficult self.

Overall, it was a good meal. Loved the jazz band, loved the meat. But for $18 a sandwich, I think I could have been just as satisfied somewhere else for less.


Bandera
535 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 644-3524