The Newly Reimagined Proxi Brings Coastal Asian Flair to the West Loop
It has been almost eight years since Proxi opened in the bustling West Loop, but recently, chef Andrew Zimmerman decided it was time for an evolution. Last month, without shutting down for even a day, Proxi redid its globally-inspired menu. The new focus: Asian coastal cuisine.
Dishes like pan-seared barramundi and banana leaf-wrapped coconut sticky rice draw inspiration from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Vietnam. There’s a focus on raw seafood preparations, umami-rich flavors, and open fire cooking (sit at the chef’s counter to see the blaze in all its glory).
Keeping a restaurant open for eight years is no small feat, and evolving is a way to keep Proxi relevant as the city and its dining habits change. Zimmerman says honing in on Asian coastal cuisine helps better define the restaurant, too. “It was a little hard to categorize us,” Zimmerman says. “This seemed like a good time … to redefine exactly what we’re offering in a way that’s clearer and more concise.”
Here’s what you need to know about the next phase of Proxi.
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This is seafood like you’ve never had in Chicago.
Proxi is a sister restaurant to the neighboring Michelin-starred Sepia, and you can taste those star-studded genes in each dish. Take the Murder Point oysters, for instance. Zimmerman chose the East Coast varietal grown off the Alabama coast for its size and flavor. It’s topped with a house-made ginger nước chấm, a Vietnamese dipping sauce that Proxi makes using fish sauce, red chiles, lime juice, and sugar. It creates a perfectly balanced bite, with the lime mellowing out the spice from the chile.
Consider, also, the uni shooter. It uses fresh sea urchin from Maine and comes swimming in a liquid of house-made ponzu, sake, and mirin, and gets topped with a quail egg yolk, smoked trout roe, bachelor button flower petals, and chives. The whole gorgeous shebang is meant to be slurped up in one gulp.
The new menu is, in a way, an ode to Zimmerman’s life experiences — the chef has traveled extensively in Asia, as have his cohorts. Managing partner Emmanuel Nony lived and worked in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea; and chef de cuisine Jennifer Kim has Korean American roots.
Don’t miss the mainstays.
Even though Proxi revamped its menu, it kept several popular items. “Some of this wasn’t broken,” Zimmerman says. You’ll quickly understand why the mainstays got to, well, stay. Try the foie gras steamed buns, made with pan-seared foie gras, Szechuan pickled cucumbers, and apple hoisin on steamed buns made in house using a little bonus duck fat. Other holdovers include the coal-roasted scallops in housemade Thai yellow curry and herb salad; the twice baked potato with miso hollandaise; and the Wagyu beef cheek.
Speaking of beef, there’s a steakhouse experience lurking here, too.
Chicago is undeniably a steakhouse town, and Zimmerman found a way to nod to that at Proxi. There’s a wood-fired steak section on the menu, with Wagyu options, a classic New York strip, a 32-ounce prime-cured porterhouse, and a 20-ounce koji-cured bone-in ribeye.
The signature sauces bring in more Asian coastal influence, with options like Thai jumbo lump crab “Oscar,” soy-black garlic jus, and Sichuan salsa verde. Traditional steakhouse side dishes are swapped out for items like charred asparagus with crispy fried shallots and smoked mushrooms with sweet soy and scallions, to name a few.
Do get a cocktail (and some sake).
Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., giving you a taste of the updated wine list and cocktail program. You can also try some of the snacks — like the aforementioned uni shooter or the tempura elote, a holdover from the previous menu.
Linger past happy hour and watch the restaurant fill up as evening sets in. It’s time to turn your attention to the full cocktail menu. There are spins on classics, like the Oribu No Eda, Proxi’s version of a dirty martini. It uses a sake vermouth made in the French vermouth style, and sings with the raw seafood. Sixth in Bangkok is a tropical take on a Manhattan, with Thai banana-infused bourbon, cherries, and coconut water.
The whole list is just downright fun. Path of the Firewalker — made with Aquavit and passionfruit liqueur — comes in a blowfish-shaped glass. The Warbler & the Honey Bee is made with beeswax-washed goro shochu, Suntory Toki and hibiscus liqueur.
Next, order a glass of sake. The glass comes in a little wooden box, which catches the extra sake the server intentionally pours in.
Save room for dessert.
Here, the green curry banana split is deserving of special attention. The kitchen slices bananas in half, tops them with sugar, then brûlées them with a blowtorch. They come alongside green curry ice cream, topped with candied peanuts, whipped coconut cream, and — wait for it — fish sauce caramel. The fish sauce delivers a funkiness that rounds out the salty-sweet combo. “You’ve got to think of it just as salted caramel,” says Zimmerman. The sundae is topped off with a fried lotus flower cookie, adding a lovely little crunch, and a cherry. It’s not one you’ll soon forget.
Ally Marotti is an award-winning journalist covering food and restaurants. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, and other publications. Follow Resy for more great stories.
