Executive Overview
The Chicago culinary landscape has long been defined by sharp dichotomies: the hushed, white-tablecloth temples of gastronomy commanding months-long waitlists and small fortunes, contrasted against the neighborhood joints meant for quick pints and casual weeknight relief. Few chefs dare to bridge this chasm, fewer still with the pedigree required to do so authentically. Enter Chef Larry Feldmeier, former chef de cuisine at Chicago’s illustrious two-Michelin-starred Oriole, and his co-partner Noah Sandoval, Oriole’s executive chef. Their joint venture, All Well, which opened its doors this past April in the bustling West Loop, represents a radical departure from the hyper-exclusive fine dining model without sacrificing an ounce of technical rigor.
All Well is designed as a culinary chameleon. It operates simultaneously as an intimate destination for celebratory five-course prix-fixe dinners and a welcoming tavern where neighborhood locals can drop by for an ice-cold beer and an indulgent, late-night short rib sandwich at the bar. This duality is not merely a marketing gimmick; it is the foundational philosophy of a kitchen that seeks to strip away the pretentious armor of modern fine dining while retaining its soul, precision, and relentless dedication to craft.
In a recent episode of Now Open, Feldmeier and Sandoval pulled back the heavy stainless-steel doors of their kitchen, offering an unfiltered look into a day of high-stakes food preparation and seamless service. From meticulous, multi-day dry-aging processes to innovative takes on comfort food classics, All Well stands as a masterclass in modern restaurant design. This report provides an exhaustive, behind-the-scenes examination of the operational choreography, the culinary philosophy, and the intricate dish-by-dish execution that defines Chicago’s most talked-about new dining room.
Detailed Chronology: A Day in the Life at All Well
To understand the mechanical heartbeat of All Well, one must trace a single operational day from the quiet dawn prep hours through the chaotic, high-tempo rhythm of evening service. The kitchen operates on a timeline of absolute precision, where every minute dedicated to sourcing, curing, and assembly dictates the quality of the plates that eventually cross the pass.
Morning Prep: The Foundations of Fine Dining
The day at All Well begins long before the first diner steps foot through the front door. In the quiet morning hours, the culinary team focuses on foundational components that require time, patience, and meticulous temperature control.
One of the primary morning focal points is the preparation for the fourth-course stuffed quail. The process begins with the creation of a freshly ground sausage. Chicken is ground to exact tolerances, then folded together with aromatic truffle and sharp, piquant mustard. This complex filling is piped manually into quails that have already undergone a rigorous two-day dry-aging process—a technique designed to concentrate the bird’s natural flavors and yield exceptionally crisp skin upon cooking. Once stuffed, the quails are returned to a controlled environment to dry out further before evening service, ensuring the optimal moisture balance required for roasting.
Simultaneously, across the stainless-steel prep stations, another team begins the meticulous process of building the components for the bar’s signature short rib sandwich. Conceived as an elevated counter-programming to Chicago’s recent obsession with smash burgers and high-end pub grub, this sandwich is steeped in a proprietary steak-sauce glaze. It requires hours of braising and basting to achieve a texture that melts on the tongue, bridging the gap between upscale comfort food and haute cuisine.
Mid-Day Execution: Pasta, Broth, and Butter
As the afternoon sun climbs over the West Loop, the kitchen shifts its attention to the intricate pasta course. All Well’s interpretation of pasta is both classic in execution and modern in flavor pairing. The team spends hours rolling, cutting, and shaping potato-and-cheese-filled ravioli into traditional half-moon shapes known as mezzelune.
During service, these delicate parcels of dough are bathed in a luscious, glossy beurre monté sauce enriched with sweet, freshly shelled peas. However, the dish refuses to rely solely on European classicism. Served alongside the mezzelune is a deeply restorative, crystal-clear chicken brodo—a rich, intensely concentrated chicken broth designed to be poured directly over the pasta by the diner, introducing an element of interactive warmth. To anchor the dish, a slice of puffed grain toast, heavily slathered with house-made buckwheat butter, is served on the side, offering a nutty, earthy crunch that cuts through the richness of the butter and cheese.
Evening Service: Canapés and the Prix-Fixe Ballet
When the clock strikes evening service, the mood in the kitchen pivots instantly from methodical calm to synchronized choreography. The tasting menu begins long before the first fork hits a table, anchored by a series of sophisticated, bite-sized canapés designed to shock and delight the palate.
Among the early standouts of the prix-fixe menu is the savory sunchoke beignet. These deceptively simple, golden-fried doughnuts conceal a sophisticated secret: a rich truffle and sunchoke custard filling that is frozen solid before being encased in batter and dropped into the deep fryer. The result is a molten, earthy center encased in a crisp, airy shell.
Further showcasing the kitchen’s creative breadth are the foie gras mousse tartlets. Here, silky, decadent foie gras mousse is layered delicately within a traditional Dutch stroopwafel, then accented with a tart rhubarb jam and fresh strawberries. This masterful play on sweet and savory, texture and temperature, exemplifies the level of craft carried over from Oriole’s two-Michelin-star kitchen. The opening salvo of bites concludes with a pristine smoked trout tart, highlighting the kitchen’s mastery over preservation, smoke, and pastry.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Anatomy of a Modern West Loop Concept
The launch of All Well did not occur in a vacuum. It is the product of an evolving Chicago dining scene that is grappling with economic pressures, shifting consumer habits, and a cultural pivot away from stuffy, cost-prohibitive dining experiences.
The West Loop Culinary Ecosystem
Located in the city’s premier gastronomic corridor, All Well occupies a unique physical and psychological space. The West Loop is historically characterized by two extremes: massive corporate hospitality groups pumping out high-volume, high-margin concept restaurants, and ultra-exclusive tasting rooms where menus routinely crack the $200–$300 per person threshold.
By offering a dual-track model—a structured five-course tasting menu for those seeking a celebratory experience, alongside an accessible à la carte bar menu featuring substantial comfort items like the short rib sandwich—All Well effectively captures multiple demographics within a single footprint. Industry analysts note that this hybrid model acts as a financial hedge against market volatility, ensuring steady bar revenue from casual neighborhood drop-ins while maintaining the high-margin ticket sales of the dining room’s prix-fixe seatings.
The Pedigree Factor: From Oriole to All Well
To understand the technical baseline of All Well, one must examine the institutional DNA of its founders. Larry Feldmeier spent years as the chef de cuisine at Oriole, working under the visionary leadership of Noah Sandoval. Oriole is universally recognized as one of the crown jewels of American fine dining—a sanctuary of multi-sensory cooking where precision is absolute, and ingredients are sourced from the farthest reaches of the globe.
Transitioning from that level of hyper-focused gastronomy to a neighborhood concept requires a deliberate deprogramming of restaurant dogma. As Feldmeier notes, the goal was not to chase accolades or obsess over anonymous inspection reports, but to return to the visceral joy of cooking. Yet, that rejection of formal fine-dining aspirations does not mean standards have slipped. The two-day dry-aged quail, the house-ground truffle-and-mustard sausage, and the intricate freezing techniques used for the sunchoke beignets all point to a kitchen that refuses to dumb down its craft, choosing instead to apply high-end techniques to approachable, comforting formats.
Official Statements and Philosophy
In interviews surrounding the launch of Now Open and the opening months of the restaurant, the core philosophy of All Well has been articulated with refreshing candor by its leadership team.
Chef Larry Feldmeier summarized the restaurant’s core ethos during a production walkthrough:
"We wanted to build a place where there’s something for everybody. We’re not doing things for awards or things like that. As cliché as that is, we’re doing things that we want to do and take pride in."
This sentiment strikes at the heart of a broader generational shift among top-tier chefs. After years of grinding through the grueling, anxiety-inducing pursuit of Michelin stars and James Beard nominations, many culinary leaders are discovering that true creative freedom lies in removing the straitjacket of international rating systems. By focusing inward on personal satisfaction, hospitality, and community relevance, Feldmeier and Sandoval have engineered an environment where culinary ambition and neighborhood comfort coexist harmoniously.
Noah Sandoval, whose creative direction has helped shape some of Chicago’s most enduring culinary institutions, echoes this sentiment. The partnership between Sandoval and Feldmeier is built on a shared history of pushing boundaries, but at All Well, those boundaries are redrawn to enclose the guest rather than isolate them. The kitchen is designed with visual transparency in mind, breaking down the traditional psychological barrier between the back-of-house crew and the dining public.
Future Outlook: Where Goes All Well?
As All Well settles past its initial opening buzz and establishes itself as a permanent fixture of the West Loop neighborhood, the restaurant faces a landscape ripe with opportunity.
Menu Evolution and Seasonal Adaptability
Because the kitchen’s core philosophy is rooted in doing what inspires them, the menu at All Well is designed to be organic and fluid. While certain anchor items—such as the bar’s signature short rib sandwich—will likely remain fixtures due to immediate consumer demand, the tasting menu is primed for rapid, seasonal evolution. As local Midwestern agriculture transitions from spring peas and rhubarb to summer stone fruits, autumn squashes, and winter roots, Feldmeier’s kitchen will undoubtedly adapt its flavor profiles while maintaining the foundational French techniques that govern their prep sheets.
The Future of Casual Fine Dining
All Well serves as a valuable case study for the future of American dining. As inflation, labor shortages, and rising supply chain costs continue to squeeze traditional fine dining establishments, the hybrid model championed by Feldmeier and Sandoval may well become the industry standard. By refusing to alienate the casual diner while still providing a sandbox for world-class culinary talent, All Well proves that sophistication and approachability are not mutually exclusive.
For diners weary of the rigid protocols of traditional tasting menus, and for food lovers seeking uncompromising technical execution without the stiff posture, All Well offers a refreshing sanctuary. It is a place where a five-course meal of dry-aged quail and handmade mezzelune can comfortably share roof space with a cold beer and a late-night short rib sandwich—and where every plate, regardless of price point or complexity, is executed with genuine pride.