Photo: Bob Briskey Photography

The interior of The Publican: Tuned precisely to please.

The Publican (837 W. Fulton Market, 312-733-9555). Contemporary American.

(three stars)

$$

Don’t be lulled into porky bliss by the smiley beer experts and the salty-sour-sausagey delights you’re served. Undergirding the food at Paul Kahan’s beer hall are composition and technique to rival most restaurants with whiter tablecloths (or any tablecloths).

The pig ear strips on the Little Gem Salad, for example, crunch just enough but don’t stick to your teeth, and the romaine, fennel, and buttermilk vinaigrette have been tuned precisely to please without peacocking. The farm chicken, sausage, and fries commingle as if this were the celebratory meal of a village festival 500 years ago. Desserts, maybe a touch fancier, evince top talent.

Dishes we liked: potted rillettes ($12), little gem salad ($10), farm chicken ($24), blood sausage ($17), fried broccoli ($11), pistachio pot de crème ($8), puff pastry ($7)

New restaurant reviews, updated to reflect critics’ recent visits, appear each month in Chicago magazine, in Dine, as well as on our website. Listed restaurants are rated from one to four stars, where one is good, two is very good, three is excellent, and four is superlative. Elizabeth previously was not rated. The review appears in the June issue, on newsstands now.