The Stained Glass Bistro in Evanston - Good Things Come In Small Packages (Chicago Area Restaurant Review 46)

On yet another freezing cold night in this endless Chicago winter we decided to try The Stained Glass Bistro because when we went there previously it seemed like a cozy winter place. While it actually wasn't that cozy, we really liked the dining experience. Initially, while we rarely have anything bad to say about the maitre'd, this time we were unimpressed. She seated us at a table right by the door, and when we asked to move, she grudgingly moved us to a table only a few feet away even though the restaurant was not crowded and a much warmer table away from the door was empty (and remained empty all night). But we got over it.

We started with a bottle of Burton Merlot. This was a good pick for a cold night. It was warming, with a nice fruity aftertaste. We started dinner with a smoked salmon terrine appetizer. This came in the form of a mound and the salmon was fresh and tasted wonderful. We both really loved it.

For salads, Lisa had the apple and watercress. This consisted of a baked apple with the salad part where the core would have been. It was chilled and very tasty, with a good combination of sweet and tart flavors. Steve had the beet carpaccio. It would have been better were it beef carpaccio but for beets it was ok. There were also some nice colors in the mix so Steve found it aesthetially pleasing. He also liked the goat cheese which was why he ordered something with beets in the first place.

We had partaken of Lisa's wonderful chocalate fondue (she could be a four star chef if she cooked more) in the afternoon, so neither of us was particularly hungry (if you can believe it - no Steve really doesn't look like Hurley on Lost), which was reflected in our entree choices. Lisa had what is normally just a hot appetizer, the sauteed crab cakes. These were three small cakes, which Lisa thought had good flavor, if a little spicy. Steve had the salmon, which again looked very pretty and tasted great as well (Lisa had a bite and also thought so).

Dessert was different, and a definite highlight. We ordered the cheese course. This included four different types of cheeses, all of which were in large portions, and all of which tasted superb. Even though we were full, we couldn't help but finish almost all the cheese. Particularly worthy of note were a blue cheese that Steve really liked and a goat cheese that Lisa favored.

The rest rooms were nice, with warm water coming out of the automatic faucets, which often doesn't happen. The rooms were small but clean and well-decorated.

Dinner for two, with a bottle of wine (half-priced on Sundays) was $160 and would have been about $130 with wine by the glass.

Compared to many of the restaurants we go to, which are well over $200 for two, this was a great price, particularly given the top notch quality of all the food. We highly recommend this place, but either reserve a table away from the door or plan to wear your coat during dinner if you go in the winter.

Our ratings for The Stained Glass Bistro, 1735 Benson, Evanston, Illinois
8 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes.

Brasserie Ruhlman in Chicago: On ne Mange pas le Decor (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 45)

In other words, you can't eat the decor, which is too bad, because that was the one good part of this dining experience. Brasserie Ruhlman is a new "trendy" steak/bistro restaurant near West Town (in the old Montgomery Ward building for those who are as old as Steve). The decor is beautiful, with dark red and rose tones, and soft lighting. Though the room is giant and has many tables arranged very close together (New York spacing), the dining experience still feels intimate and pleasant, at least until the food arrives.

We did really like the wine (so the decor is not the only good thing), which was a bottle of Grange Pomerol blend with Cabernet and Merlot. It initially had a tangy taste that seemed a bit tart to Lisa, but like most Pomerol it got better with every sip. We also really liked one of our appetizers, the steak tartare. It looked like what it is, raw ground beef, but tasted exquisite, especially with the pomme frites which accompanied it. The cheese course, however, was disappointing. It consisted of three unidentified cow's milk cheeses. None had any real flavor. The only part Steve liked was the honey that came with the cheese, which he'd have been better off eating plain. Lisa thought the dried fruit was the best part, which says a lot.

Our salads were no better and were possibly worse. We both had the Belgian endive salad. It had limp leaves, non-descript vinaigrette dressing, and was generally a waste of calories (which is somewhat hard to do with a salad). Sad to say, the meal went downhill from there. We ordered Chateaubriand for two, which should be very good since it consists of slices of filet with potatoes and, usually, vegetables. This version had no vegetables and the filet part, while cooked a perfect medium rare, was essentially flavorless. There was not much of it, but we still didn't come close to finishing it. The potatoes were good, very thinly sliced and drenched in oil, so Lisa ate quite a few of those.

Dessert was a bit better. Lisa had profiteroles. They did not have enough chocolate sauce and the ice cream was melted when they were served, but, overall, it was better than the main course. Steve's pot de creme was custardy and actually had sufficient caramel, so he liked it overall. We also were served a dessert amuse bouche of heart shaped strawberry macaroons, which were a bit too sweet for Lisa.

The bathrooms were both very nice. Both were clean, opulent, and had plenty of almost cloth quality towels. However, both had one fatal flaw. The automatic water from the faucets was ice cold. We could almost feel the icicles forming on our fingers. This a problem when trying to clean one's hands.

The total bill, with a bottle of wine, was a ridiculously over-priced $330 (and would have been about $260 with wine by the glass). If you are a poseur, this might be the place for you, but have dinner first.

Our ratings for Brasserie Ruhlman, 500 West Superior, Chicago, Illinois:

4 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 (Cold) Bathroom Brushes

Smith & Wollensky in Chicago: Solid Steakhouse Experience (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 44)

It was another in the seemingly endless series of miserably cold Chicago winter days we've had of late, so we decided to go someplace close to home. We hadn't had a chance to rate Smith & Wollensky and we felt like steak, so that seemed an obvious choice. Though we don't usually focus on decor, just walking in the front door of Smith & Wollensky feels like a real Chicago experience, which is ironic because it originated in New York. But the polished dark wood bar, hardwood floors, and clubby furniture are quintessential Chicago.

Fortunately, we got a table away from the window, so it was at least tolerably warm, though Lisa still felt chilled. We started with wine by the glass. Lisa had a Ferrari Merlot, which was medium-bodied and very pleasant on a cold evening. Steve ordered a Syrah, which he found unexceptional. For appetizers, Steve had the lobster cocktail. Lisa also tried it. Both of us thought the lobster was excellent, meaty and flavorful. And there was lots of it -- almost a whole lobster. Lisa had the shrimp bisque, which she really enjoyed. It had good flavor and many pieces of shrimp. Our salads were pedestrian. Steve's wedge was okay, but the lettuce wasn't particularly crispy and the dressing was too tangy. Lisa's mixed green salad had red wine vinaigrette dressing that she didn't much care for.

We had a divergence of experience with the steak. Steve really liked his bone-in Kansas City strip steak. This is a sirloin cut, which Steve usually doesn't like, but Smith & Wollensky's version was charcoaled perfectly and had just the type of flavor Steve prefers in steak. Lisa's filet was cooked a perfect medium rare and tasted good at the very center, but was otherwise just okay.

For dessert, Lisa had the three-flavor chocolate cake. It was an exremely large piece, enough to feed a family of four, and was fairly good, though not quite dark chocolate enough for her. Steve had an uninspired apple crisp with a sad dollop of some sort of unidentified ice cream. Also, while caramel was supposed to be part of the equation, much to Steve's chagrin, this element was clearly missing.

We both wished we could have eaten in the bathrooms because they were the only part of the restaurant that was warm. Both bathrooms were very clean, though nothing particurly fancy.

Our total bill, with wine by the glass, was $180. We thought this was a very solid dining experience with good service and a nice atmosphere. The rating was affected by the average nature of some of the courses, but this is still a place we would highly recommend, and we plan to return in the summer and sit by the windows, which offer a very nice view of the Chicago River. (Or outside, if Steve convinces himself yet again that bugs don't exist by rivers.)

Our ratings for Smith & Wollensky, 318 N. State, Chicago, Illinois:

7.5 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Cafe Des Architectes in Chicago: Sophisticated Food Poorly Served (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 43)

In the fall, we attended a fundraiser for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. One of the silent auction prizes was dinner for two at Cafe Des Architectes, located in the Sofitel hotel in the Magnificant Mile area. We are glad we won the prize because not only did we donate to a good cause, but we discovered a very good restaurant that we otherwise probably would not have visited.

We started with a bottle of Easton Zinfandel. This was not our favorite. It almost tasted fizzy and it lacked the fruit undertones we usually like in Zinfandel. It was Superbowl Sunday, so there was basically no one in the restaurant. The first food course, a wonderful amuse bouche of scallop tartare, came at 7. We followed that with another excellent course of a cheese appetizer. There were six cheeses (bleu, goat, brie, Canadian cheddar, machengo, and camembert). Every one of these cheeses tasted great and the only problem was that they were so good, we ate them all, so we were immediately full, as the portions were quite large.

"Fortunately," the wait staff seemed to anticipate that we might need some time to digest the cheese. The next course, a rather mundane mixed green salad, came about an hour and fifteen minutes later. The entrees were mixed. Lisa loved hers -- the lobster trilogy. The lobster tartare was the best tasting lobster she's had and rivaled the lobster martini from the place in Michigan we tried last spring. The poached lobster was also very flavorful. The lobster risotto was less good, as the risotto was a bit too salty. Steve had the duck, which, like our president, was a lame one. This is particularly surprising for a French restaurant, which should specialize in duck. Especially problematic was the fact that the duck was not crisp at all, but instead was very chewy and had a gamey flavor.

For dessert, Lisa ordered the chocolate trio, which she thoroughly enjoyed. All items -- including chocolate foam, frozen dark chocolate pave, and chocolate streusel -- were very dark chocolate, and she wished she could eat all of each one, but was still full from the cheese and lobster. Steve was less enthused with his sugar pumpkin custard. But it was interesting, albeit too sweet for his taste.

We both thought the bathrooms were nearly top-notch, although Steve decried the long walk, which Lisa partially obviated by taking the elevator on the way there. Both bathrooms had good decor and were very clean, though not quite fancy enough to get our top rating.

We did not have to pay, other than for the wine, but it would have been about $200 with a bottle of wine, and about $175 with wine by the glass. This is a rather low profile restaurant, but one well worth trying, especially if you're a cheese fan. However, if you have someplace to go after dinner, go to the restaurant early because, even with hardly anyone there, dinner took a full three hours (we do enjoy each other's company, but three hours is too long for any place other than, perhaps, Tru).

Our ratings for Cafe Des Architectes, 20 E. Chestnut, Chicago, IL:

7.5 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes