Smyth and The Loyalist
It’s not everyday that an alumni of Clearwater High School turns out to be the owner of a Two Star Michelin Restaurant! Well, we can thank John Shields and his wife, Karen Urie Shields, who are the owners of not one restaurant but two!!
This is the story that I have gleaned from the Chicago Tribune: John was the sous-chef for two well known restaurants in Chicago while Karen was the pastry sous-chef and eventually the head pastry chef for two restaurants in Chicago. They met in 2003 at one of the restaurants and got married in 2009 and have two children. In 2008, they moved to rural Virginia where after four successful years at Town House and Riverstead Inn, John and Karen decided to return to Chicago to open Smyth + The Loyalist. Dinner is a set menu with an offering of wine pairing. The Loyalist is one floor below Smyth. They are open Tuesday thru Saturday and are located at 177 Ada Street, 773-913-3773. They earned two Michelin stars in 2017. http://www.smythandtheloyalist.com
This is what I found on the internet:
MICHELIN GUIDE:
Housed in what looks like an unremarkable industrial building, find a setting worthy of interior design magazine covers. Once inside, head up the few stairs to arrive at Smyth; then proceed into a space, which feels so comfortable that it’s easy to forget you’re in a restaurant. The service staff is hospitable, down to earth and manages to keep the ambience relaxed despite Chefs John Shields and Karen Urie’s intense craftsmanship. Beyond, the open kitchen mixes white tiles and cutting-edge equipment with a roaring hearth fire. There is a “come as you are” feeling among the crowd here, but everyone has dressed up a bit, as if in deference to the superb meal that awaits them. Original, and at times even pleasantly experimental, this kitchen’s cooking has a clear vision that is sure to meet every expectation of its versatile diners. Some dishes deliver surprises through strong and gutsy flavor combinations, like a well-aged ribeye rubbed with yeasty Marmite. Other menu items strive for subtlety, such as the dried pear “jerky.” Creativity reaches its height in the “milk chocolate” dessert, which is more of a brilliant umami-bomb than confection, served with huckleberries and shiitakes.
– MICHELIN guide inspectors
John and Karen were in one of the episodes on the FYI Channel’s series called “Love at First Bite”. https://www.fyi.tv/shows/love-at-first-bite/season-1/episode-7
So, John, I am sure your family is proud of you as well as all the other alumni of CHS! It is always nice to see someone succeed and enjoy what they do for a living! Your CHS Alumni are very proud of your accomplishments! John attended CHS from 93-95.
Photo is courtesy of ChicagoTribune!!
