The Runner (CLOSED)

With a Walt Whitman focus to rival a freshman-lit course, this retrograde American spot takes more than just its name (a poem from 1855's Leaves of Grass, in case you dozed off during class) from the storied bard. Two blocks from Whitman's erstwhile abode on Ryerson Street, Court Street Grocers vet Andrew Burman scours menus from the writer's era for this wood-fired restaurant, dressed with pressed-tin ceilings and antique serving trays. Late-19th-centurydishes include bone marrow with apple-onion jam, salt-baked trout in caper sauce and cinnamon-spiced lamb shoulder, with provisions like honey popovers and offbeat ice creams (fennel, molasses) made in house. The booze list pulls from later years: Cocktails include Prohibition-era staples (Boulevardier, Bee's Knees), while drafts stick to brew newbies like Radiant Pig and Other Half, of which Burman is a partner.