North Pond: Not For Us (Chicago Restaurant Review 37)

Continuing a recent and regrettable trend, we found North Pond not at all up to our standards. We really wanted to like this restaurant because it has a beautiful decor and is in a lovely spot in Lincoln Park with a great view of a pond and Chicago's skyline. We were also seated in a cozy room right next to a working fireplace. But you can't eat decor, even though we wish we could have here.

We each started with a glass of Toad Hollow Cacophony Zinfandel, which not only has an intriguing name, it was clearly the best part of the meal. It had a nice flavor and was full-bodied, so it warmed us as we sat in the bar near the outside door waiting for our table.

The food concept here is organic food from small local sustainable farms. While our friend Aileen (the environmentalist) would no doubt approve, we couldn't quite choke it down. We started with an interesting amuse bouche of Arctic Char and various other ingredients. That actually tasted okay and was an interesting taste change. We had to stretch to find appetizers that we could stomach. Steve ordered the oxtail ravioli. It tasted like mediocre beef stew. Lisa had a charcuterie plate with duck pate and some sort of mousse and fruit that was unidentifiable. The somewhat sweet bread with it took the edge off the rather bitter mousse, but it really wasn't her type of food, though she generally likes pate. We both had the lettuce and carrot salad because it looked the most like a green salad. It came with an extremely light vinaigrette that Lisa found too sweet. Steve thought the porcini Madeleines that came with were the best part. Lisa found them a little oily (sort of like our waiter at Nomi -- see last review). The lettuce was limp.

The entrees were worse. In fairness, we were told that the beef was grass fed, which would result in a tougher texture. However, this cow must have been the schoolyard bully. Lisa had to practically saw the meat. The toughness would not have been too bad, though, had the taste not been so gamey. Steve's lamb was slightly better, although the portion was so small, it was hard to judge (which forced him to eat half of Lisa's muscle cow). Lisa did like the pureed sweet potato that came with her meat. Steve found it disturbing, though that was mainly because it had a toasted outside and he thought it was bread until he bit into it.

For dessert, Steve couldn't find anything that appealed to him, so he chose the cheese course. Bad move. This came with one miniscule slice of cheese that Steve didn't like and that made Lisa gag. (She said it tasted like old shoes.) There was one saving grace, a small round cheesecake type dish. The plate included some other brown thing that Steve thought might be cheese but instead it tasted like a rancid vegetable. Lisa's sorbet and ice cream was a bit better but still odd. The cinnamon ice cream scoop was all right, but not especially tasty. The apple scoop had a soapy flavor, and the caramel tasted burnt, which seemed all wrong for ice cream. Steve thought all the flavors tasted like eating a candle or the inside of one of the quaint shops in Geneva, which might be a good thing for smell, but not for taste. We did get a four-piece amuse bouche with two dark chocolate pieces Lisa really liked and two sugary things that were very light and good.

Lisa finished with some tea that allegedly had a berry flavor and was some sort of curative herb. It didn't really taste like anything. Steve wanted to feel like a nineteenth century Englishmen, so he had port, which at least Lisa liked. (Steve often thinks port sounds good, but always remembers once he tastes it that he doesn't like it.)

The bathrooms were a solid two and a half. The decor is a bit rustic, in keeping with the look of the restaurant, which unfortunately makes it seem less polished and spotless than is ideal.

The total bill at North Pond for this wonderful meal was $225 with wine by the glass. Since this was the second worst dining experience we've had since starting our blog, we obvioiusly felt this was overpriced.

Our rating for North Pond, 2610 North Canon Drive, Chicago, Illinois:

4 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes