Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights: A Little Disappointing (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 64)

In preparation for our upcoming trip to, among other places, Paris (Steve has never gone before), we decided to try a French restaurant in the suburbs that had gotten very good reviews, called Le Titi de Paris. While the room was certainly beautiful, we can't quite say that the experience matched the high price.

We started with a bottle of Chateau d'Evangeline Pomerol. The quality of this wine fit with Steve's theory about the correlation between expensive and good wines. We liked it very much, particularly its tart, smooth flavor. Before ordering, we were served a salmon amuse bouche, which we both liked (the salmon tasted particularly fresh).

One of the things we've both acquired a taste for, at least every once in a while, is caviar. In fact, we have always loved it when we have ordered it. Here, however, the caviar left something to be desired. Incongruously, in a continental restaurant, the caviar was American, and American caviar simply is not as good as European caviar. Also, this dish was supposed to come with whole wheat blinis and came with raisin bread instead (the blinis were not brought out until we were almost finished, but they were quite good). There was also not much creme fraiche. We then decided to go out of order and substitute a cheese course for salads. Again, we almost always love cheese at top level restaurants, but these cheeses, while good, were nothing special. They also had very few accompaniments compared to other cheese plates we've enjoyed.

For entrees, Lisa had the salmon. She thought it was too well done and a little tough. Steve's lamb shank was also a bit tough, which is particularly surprising because a good lamb shank falls off the bone. For dessert, Steve ordered sticky toffee pudding. Steve usually likes pudding, but here the accompaniments (caramel sauce and some sort of meringue) were far better than the pudding. LIsa had the ambrosia chocolate cake, with almond ice cream. She liked the dish overall but found the chocolate cake a bit too sweet. We also were served an amuse bouche dessert plate filled with petit fours, which we thought were quite good, and we wished we hadn't eaten so much of the other courses so we could have eaten all of these instead.

A review of this place would not be complete without a discussion of the service. Both of us would characterize the service as quite interesting. Most of the captains and servers spoke with a distinct French accent and were friendly, but it was difficult to tell who was doing what, since almost every server had some contact with us during the evening. Also, the main server seemed somewhat harried given that he had to take care of almost the whole room.

The bathrooms were both very clean and well decorated, but they were very small and not really fancy. Also, the Women's Room was a bit chilly.

Dinner for two, with a bottle of (expensive) wine, was $515 and would have been about $315 with wine by the glass. This is a very expensive evening and we believe other places in this range that we've reviewed, such as Avenues and Everest, offer a better value and experience.

Our ratings for Le Titi de Paris, 1015 W. Dundee Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois:

6.5 of 10 Steak Knives, 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

1492 Tapas Bar in Chicago: Worth a Try (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 63)

It was an uncharacteristically nice night for May (this year) in Chicago, so we wanted to dine outside. After walking almost two miles, we discovered our first choice, Room 21, was closed, so we wandered in search of a cab, finally found one, and took it to 1492 Tapas Bar on Superior and Wabash. We had walked past this restaurant before and looked at the menu, finding it interesting. (All the prices of the items end in ".92", plus the food looked good.) The seating is pretty much right on the sidewalk, with no dividing railings or planters. We sat under a tree but we didn't have too much of a problem with our little buggy friends, at least in the beginning, which is reason enough to try 1492 again.

We started with a bottle of Ramon Bilbao Rioja, which tasted just as advertised, with hints of caramel and berries. We both really liked it, though it was a little dry. Our first courses were cold tapas. We had the patatas alioli (garlic mayonaise potatoes). While Steve thought these were not quite as good as the garlic potatoes at La Tasca, Lisa really loved them, and we both agreed we will order them again on our next visit. The cold salmon disappointed. It was not that cold, was slightly fishy, and did not come with enough creme fraiche. The Spanish cheeses were good, but not great, particulary the very strong bleu cheese.

Next, we ordered two hot tapas dishes. The goat cheese croquettes with honey were too sweet for LIsa, but Steve, who is like Winnie the Pooh with honey, loved them. Neither of us were particularly enthralled with the beef tenderloin over garlic toast, as the tenderloin was a bit tough, although Steve did like the charcoal flavor (and Lisa did not). We were going to order additional hot tapas but, by this time, the bug sentinels had told their friends dinner was served, so we decided to shorten the festivities. We did very much like dessert, however. Steve's flan was described as coming covered with caramel and, for a change, that was not an understatement. Lisa's chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream was excellent, with the chocolate almost like an Oreo cookie flavor. (A small bug that came along later also enjoyed it and entertained us with its antics.)

The bathrooms were both small and very clean albeit nothing spectacular. The women's smelled a little of bleach, not a bad smell to find in a bathroom.

Dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, was $120 and would have been more like $110 (the wine was inexpensive) with wine by the glass. This was a pleasant way to eat tapas and enjoy outdoor dining, and we plan to return and try a few different dishes. Service was friendly and not rushed.

Our ratings for 1492 Tapas Bar, 42 E. Superior, Chicago, Illinois:

6.5 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes, 2 of 5 Bug Zappers (with 0 meaning the fewest bugs and 5 the most)

J. Alexander's in Chicago: Suburban Dining in the City (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 62)

Lisa needed a new TV. The closest place where we thought we could get good service was a Tweeter's store in Lincoln Park. (By the way, the one in 900 North Michigan is closed, which we learned when we got there.) We went at night and didn't finish until after seven, so we decided to go someplace in the area for dinner. J. Alexander was about half a mile away and Steve had always thought it looked interesting.

The place is schizophrenic. The bar area was cutting edge and sleek, while the dining area, which is upstairs, resembled a coffee shop. Unfortunately, the food was more in keeping with the latter (though not as disappointing as the restaurant we called a coffee shop in a bar -- see our very first review, which was of Millrose in Barrington).

We started with wines by the glass. We both ordered an A to Z Pinot Noir. It tasted somewhat sour with a vinegar undertaste. Since it was late, we skipped appeitzers and went right to the salad. Lisa's ceasar salad was all right. Steve's mixed green had a lot of things in it but was ultimately unsatisfying because none of the ingredients had substantial flavor. The only part of the meal that was really any good was Steve's prime rib. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and was tasty even though it was not on the bone, which is a difficult trick for prime rib. Lisa tasted it and also thought it was the best thing there. The blue cheese crusted filet and baked potato that Lisa had were visually odd and did not taste much better. The blue cheese, rather than covering the filet, was stacked on top of it and tasted too strong for her. The meat did not have a whole lot of flavor on its own, but it was okay. The potato similarly had tons of sour cream, cheese, chives and bacon piled on. Those toppings were the best part of Lisa's dinner, and were quickly gone. But the steak was not.

We knew dessert would not be particularly special when the waiter, in keeping with his inimitable style, mumbled that there was no dessert menu becuase there were only three choices. Lisa had the chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The cake was a bit too sweet for her. Steve had the key lime pie, which was ordinary in the extreme.

We were even considering skipping rating the bathrooms, but at the last minue, decided to do so. Steve was very glad because, in a first, this bathroom had a TV in it. The bathroom itself was clean and Steve would have rather spent time there than eating the food. The women's bathroom did not have a TV, but it was very nice, with separate small rooms for stalls, and some type of natural stone tile. It was slightly chilly, though, which is the only thing that kept Lisa from agreeing to a 3 rating.

Dinner for two with wine by the glass (and no appetizer) was $135, which we believe is ridiculously overpriced for this caliber of food. Our advice if you go there is to have a drink at the trendy bar, order only the prime rib for dinner (at the bar) and be sure to visit the lovely restrooms (the Men's Room if you want to watch TV).

Our ratings for J. Alexander's 1832 N, Clybourn, Chicago, Illinois:

4 of 10 Steak Knives; 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Mercat in Chicago: Not So Relaxing Tapas (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 61)

We love tapas, and we are both fans of the Blackstone Hotel, newly refurbished and reopened after years of litigation (damn lawyers). So we were particularly excited when we heard a tapas restaurant had opened in the Blackstone. This actually was our second attempt to find Mercat, which is very well hidden. The first time we wandered the hotel just to look at it and we found a couple ballrooms, a lounge and a very nice lobby, but were at a loss as to where the restaurant might be. This time, we asked and learned that to reach Mercat we needed to go through the bar (which is one staircase down from the lobby) and then go up a camouflaged curving staircase. At the top of that staircase is a large trendily decorated room with high ceilings and large windows overlooking Michigan Avenue and Grant Park (a very lovely view). The colors also are interesting oranges and yellows. The table are a bit close together, but the decor is worth seeing.

We started with a bottle of Marques de Vargas Rioja. We both enjoyed the tart, fruity flavor, which also went well with all the tapas courses. The menu here is somewhat limited for a tapas place for diners who share our tastes (which are not too exotic). So we needed to search to find enough small plates that we thought we'd like, but we found them. First, we shared three cheeses and three cured meats from the cold meat and cheese section of the menu. There are 8 cheeses and 8 meats to choose from. We avoided the raw cheese, which made us a little nervous, and had one each of goat, sheep and cow's milk cheese. All of them were excellent, the portions were ample, and we thought this was one of the best cheese plates we have tried. We found the goat cheese particularly interesting because it was not soft like most goat cheese, yet still had the same smooth flavor. And it came with caramel and garlic spread that sounds like a bad combination, but which tasted great (who knew). Our favorite meat was the jamon iberico, which our waiter explained was from a pig that was fed a diet of 70% acorn. Unfortunately, the 100% acorn pig was not yet ready for consumption, so we couldn't try that. But 70% was really tasty and well worth the $23 for the plate, which also came in an ample portion with plenty of bread. The other two meats were less interesting but decent, but the acorn pig stole the show. We also got complimentary bread with a tomato paste, which Steve loved.

We then had the a beef shortrib flatbread which was out of this world. Steve could have made a meal of just that. The beef was tender and flavorful, and the dish was perfectly cooked. Lisa was excited to see the bacon wrapped dates, especially served with cheese fondue poured over them, but utlimately, as often happens with the dates, she found the flavor a bit overwhelming. Steve initially thought these might not be so bad, but. as usual, ended up finding them wretched. (We vow not to order dates again.) The next two plates were somewhat boring. The garlic shrimp were cooked in a nice garlic butter, but the shrimp tasted somewhat fishy. The potatoes were advertised as spicy aioli. This led us to believe we were getting the staple of all good tapas restaurants (in our opinion), the garlic potatoes, however, these potatoes were more like hush puppies with paprika mousse on top. They didn't taste bad, but they were a big let down from what we were expecting, and actually did not taste that spicy to us.

Dessert disappointed. First, Mercat was out of the chocolate dish Lisa wanted. So she tried the Crema Catalina, which turned out to be basically an orange flan. Since Lisa doesn't like custard, it wasn't the best choice for her, but Steve liked it, and LIsa liked the cake on the bottom. Steve ordered sheep's cheese mousse with an almond cookie and black grapes. The cheese tasted like ricotta and didn't really work with this dish because its taste overpowered the rest of the ingredients. But the cookie wasn't bad (Lisa ate it). The grape slices didn't have much flavor.

The bathrooms, in keeping with the rest of Mercat's atmosphere, were trendy. They were also clean, though Lisa found the Women's Room slightly odiferous, and the water in the sink only got luke warm. Steve had no complaints (for a change) about the Men's Room.

Dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, was $230, and would have been about $175 with wine by the glass. This seems a little high to us for a tapas restaurant, but Mercat is right downtown and is a poseur's paradise, which entails overhead. For our tastes, the atmosphere here was a little too intense for a tapas place, especially once the crowd picked up. Nonetheless, the service was good, if a bit amateurish, with a few too many servers per table. (We also found the music a bit jarring, but we probably are not the target patrons.)

Our ratings for Mercat, 638 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois:

7 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Bonefish in Skokie: We Lucked Into a Good One (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 60)

We went to the Barnes and Noble in Old Orchard to see our favorite author, John Sandford (he of Lucas Davenport/Prey novel fame -- though Lisa likes the Kidd novels, too) read and sign his new novel, Phantom Prey. If we were rating authors, Sandford always gets 10 of 10 Steak Knives. After the signing was complete, we realized we were quite hungry, as it was almost 9:00 p.m. Since Lisa was not in the mood for red meat, we didn't really know of any other logical choices in the Skokie area. However, Steve remembered there was a fish restaurant slightly south of the Barnes and Noble, but when we got there, we realized that right across the street was a place called Bonefish that Steve had heard favorable things about. So we decided to go there and we're glad we did.

We started with wine by the glass -- a Pinot Noir for Lisa, which she thought was okay, and a St. Michelle Riesling for Steve, which he found too dry. For an appetizer, we shared the ahi tuna. Lisa didn't like the breading all that much, but thought the tuna was pretty good. Steve thought this dish was excellent.

Because it was late, we skipped salads, and Lisa only had the crab cake appetizer as an entree. It was a bit spicy for her, but she still enjoyed it. Steve had the salmon, which was presented in a plain fashion that accentuated the taste, which Steve really liked. For dessert, we shared the specialty, an amazing strawberry shortcake recommended by our waiter, who provided good and friendly service without being intrusive. Instead of cake, the dish was anchored by an excellent sourdough biscuit. The strawberries tasted fresh, and the vanilla cream tasted like ice cream. The whipped cream was also very good.

The decor was very peaceful and relaxing and the tables were well spaced.

We had different experiences with the bathrooms. The Men's Room was very clean and had nice foamy soap and warm water from the tap, so Steve was very impressed. In the Women's bathroom, however, the patrons seemed to have forgotten to flush, and only one stall was marginally useable in Lisa's view. There was paper on the floor, and she really would not like to return there.

The total bill for dinner for two, with wine by the glass and no salads, was $83, which we think is a tremendous bargain. (One of our friends has accused us of only rating prohibitively expensive restaurants, so we trust he will appreciate this review.)

Our ratings for Bonefish, 9310 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, Illinois:

7.5 of 10 Fish Hooks; 1.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes (Steve defers to Lisa's bathroom sensibilities on this one)

Foxfire in Geneva: Good for the Area (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 59)

We wanted to wander through Geneva's lovely antique and decorating shops, so we decided to make a reservation at one of the few restaurants we have not yet tried in that area. Unfortunately, the weather was not very conducive to walking between stores, but we did enjoy a visit to a wine shop and an antique shop before stopping for dinner at Foxfire. It is a steakhouse that has gotten good reviews, so we were hopeful that it would break the streak of bad Geneva-area restaurants we have previously tried (mostly before we started this blog). While we would not call Foxfire a top tier steakhouse, it was far better than anything else we have tried in the Geneva area.

We started with a bottle of Peter Franus Zinfandel, which had a nice grapey flavor and a slightly dry aftertaste that kept it from being too sweet. We really enjoyed the wine. For an appetizer, we ordered the baked goat cheese with cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves, served on toast points. The goat cheese was warm, but came in a different presentation from what we've seen before. Nonetheless, we thought the dish was quite good and was well complemented by the tomatoes and garlic. (A whole garlic clove and 2 cherry tomato halves per toast point is the ideal mix.)

Salads disappointed a bit. Steve's mixed green was wimpy and overpowered by the dressing. Lisa's tomato and mozzarella had what seemed to be particularly sweet thousand island dressing drizzled on the tomatoes, which distracted from their flavor. Still, she liked the mozzarella fairly well.

We had a divergence of opinion on the entrees. Steve's bone-in ribeye was cooked a perfect medium rare and he particularly liked it because it was heavily charcoaled. Lisa had a bleu cheese crusted filet, also cooked a perfect medium rare. The bleu cheese was a bit heavy and salty for her, and the charcoal -- probably the same as on Steve's ribeye -- was far too strong for her. Steve says that if you like an old-fashioned steakhouse experience (which always meant heavily-charcoaled steak), this is a good throwback. But the old steakhouse experience is not really for Lisa.

For dessert, Lisa had the Chocolate Explosion. It was a chocolate cake with a thick layer of dark chocolate mousee (served with whipped cream), and she found it heavenly. Steve ordered the pretentious-sounding rasperry creme brulee cheesecake. Inexplicably, there appeared to be no cheesecake or creme brulee. Rather, it turned out to be more like angel food cake with a pudding center, so Steve was not particularly impressed.

The bathrooms were nicely decorated and the Men's Room was fairly clean, but the Women's Room had some towels and paper strewn about. However, the Women's Room had fresh flowers, which was a nice touch.

Service was friendly if a bit uneven. For a restaurant of this type, however, things seemed a little amateurish.

Our total bill with a bottle of wine was $205 and would have been about $170 with wine by the glass (a fairly good value).

Our ratings for Foxfire, 17 W. State Street, Geneva, Illinois:

6.5 of 10 Steak Knives: 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Grotto in Oak Brook: Don't Go There (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 58)

We were out in the western suburbs, so we decided to stop at the recently-opened Grotto restaurant. We should have kept going.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa had the old stand-by, Rutherford Hill Merlot, to make up for a difficult experience trying to choose tile for a bathroom remodel. As always, the Rutherford Hill had a good, fruity but not too sweet flavor and was very soothing. Steve had an unremarkable St. Francis Zinfandel.

At this point, we should comment on the overall feel of The Grotto. Everything here struck us as amateurish, particularly the waiter, who punctuated everything he said with "No problem," which became a big problem for us, Steve particularly. Also, the service was uneven and seemed very disorganized. Plus, some sort of flying bug landed on Steve's bread and wine, leading him to abandon them quickly.

Our appetizer couldn't have been worse. How does one ruin a shrimp cocktail? Ask the folks at Grotto. While the shrimp were big, which we usually like, they tasted fishy, and nearly rancid. Moreover, the sauce was fairly repulsive. It was strong but not tangy as we'd expect from shrimp sauce. We couldn't even finish a four-shrimp serving.

This really put a damper on the meal from the start, but things didn't particularly improve. Lisa's salad was fairly good, mixed greens with gorgonzola cheese and pear (so that was something) and Steve's wedge was also acceptable, but not great. The main course was another (sad) story. One of the reasons we tried Grotto was because it featured bone-in filet, which our devoted readers know is our favorite cut. We can't see how this version, however, could not have been anyone's favorite cut. It was basically tasteless, even close to the bone and both steaks were cooked closer to medium than the medium-rare we'd ordered.

For dessert, Lisa had spumoni, which was fine. Steve ordered cheesecake with seasonal berries. When he asked what the berries were, the waiter said, just whatever they throw on. And he was, in fact, right, because the cheesecake itself (which was quite bad) was accompanied by four or five types of berries, seemingly randomly strewn across the plate.

The bathrooms were perhaps the best part. Both were very solid, clean and well-decorated, with coppery-colored tile and wood, and plenty of warm water and towels.

Dinner for two, with wine by the glass, was $185 (please save your money and don't go here).

Our ratings for The Grotto, 3011 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, Illinois:

4 of 10 Steak Knives (and that's giving it the benefit of the doubt); 2.5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Rosebud Steakhouse in Chicago (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 57)

On another nice Sunday evening, we walked to Rosebud Steakhouse in the River North area of Chicago. What we got was a fairly solid steakhouse experience without many frills.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa ordered a Sanford Vinery Pinot Noir. She thought it was pleasantly light and fruity. Steve's Petite Syrah, however, was too dry for his taste. For an appetizer, we split the ahi tuna, and instantly regretted it. This was perhaps the least flavorful tuna that we've encountered. The pepper totally overpowered whatever marginal taste the tuna had. Neither one of us wanted to finish it.

Next, Lisa had the Santa Barbara salad -- which is Rosebud's version of the tomato and fresh mozzarella. The yellow tomatoes were a bit lackluster, but the red tomatoes and mozzarella were good. Steve's wedge, which is the most ubiquitous steakhouse salad these days, was average.

One of the reasons we wanted to try this restaurant was that it had bone-in filet, which not all steakhouses carry, but which is our favorite cut. So we both ordered this dish and were satisfied but not wowed. Steve's was cooked a perfect medium rare. Lisa's was a bit cool in the center, but still okay. The part toward the bone tasted very good, but the rest was unexceptional.

For dessert, Lisa had a brownie sundae, which she liked because the cake was fairly dark chocolate though, as always, she would have liked more hot fudge. Steve's apple pie a la mode had a fatal flaw for Steve's taste -- too many apples, and not enough crust. But otherwise it was okay.

The service was completely indifferent and the tables were too close together for us, so the overall experience suffered a bit.

The bathrooms were clean and well decorated. However, the Men's Room faucet did not put out any warm water, which is particularly troublesome with respect to the servers and cooks.

Dinner for two, with wine by the glass, was $225, which is about average for a top Chicago steakhouse (perhaps a little much for a second-tier steakhouse, which is where we rate this).

Our ratings for Rosebud Steakhouse, 192 E. Walton, Chicago, Illinois:

7 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

The Bank in Wheaton, Illinois: Don't Bank on It (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 56)

It was a rare beautiful Chicago spring day, and we felt like taking a walk, so we drove to our favorite walking suburb, Wheaton, home of the most churches per capita in Illinois. Though not religious, we do enjoy the buildings and landscape.

After a nice walk, we decided to try one of the few restaurants in Wheaton we had not yet visited, the just-opened Bank Restaurant. As the name suggests, this used to be a bank, though most recently it was a lackluster Blockbuster Video. The decor is very nice, with lots of wood, and an old-time feel.

We started with a bottle of River's Edge Pinot Noir. It had a hint of vanilla and was very smooth. For an appetizer, we ordered a cheese plate, which we both really liked. It had many types of cheese, plus honey and nuts, and the portions were ample. Unfortunately, as we have often found lately, things went downhill from there. The salads were okay. Steve's wedge was good but not great. Lisa's mixed green was also okay, and she amused Steve by adding blue cheese crumbles from the remainder of the cheese plate, which tasted very good on the salad.

The entrees, however, were awful. Lisa's filet was almost medium well instead of medium rare (which is what she ordered) and had basically no flavor. Steve made the mistake of ordering barbequed duck. It came slathered in a hideous sauce and the duck seemed undercooked, which caused him not to finish it for fear of getting sick. Since we were both still hungry, we risked ordering dessert. Lisa's lava cake was pretty good, and was dark chocolate, though the center was not as liquid as she likes. Steve had tres laches, which consisted of three types of very moist cake. The texture was the kind Steve likes in cake, but the taste was forgettable.

Service here was friendly but very uneven, with some courses brought before the previous one was finished, and others coming only after a long delay. On the bright side, the restaurant does apear to employ much of Wheaton's youth.

We found the bathrooms vile. While, if clean, the decor would be fairly nice and in keeping with the style of the restaurant, we can't quite bring ourselves to describe either of them. Let's just say the previous users were not hygenic and the restaurant did not seem to make much effort to keep them clean or in good working order.

Dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, was $130 and would have been about $110. If the food had been a bit better, this wouldn't be a bad deal, especially given the nice surroundings (bathrooms excepted). But, given the relatively low quality of the food and the disturbing bathrooms, we wouldn't recommend this place.

Our ratings for The Bank Restaurant, 123 W. Front Street, Wheaton, Illinois:

5 of 10 Steak Knives; .5 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Powerhouse in Chicago: A Great New Addition to the West Loop Food Scene (Chicago area Restaurant Review No. 55)

We wanted to try something close to downtown after work. Steve had just seen a write-up of Powerhouse so we decided to check it out. We are very glad we did because this was a first rate dining experience. Once again we find ourselves commenting on decor, but in a good way. The tables were well spaced, and the restaurant was comfortable and inviting, with a feeling of quiet.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa had an Austrian red wine called Zwiegelt, recommended by the waiter, which she found delightfully light and fruity. Steve had a New Zealand pinot noir which he really liked.

Our salads were excellent. Lisa had the field greens with Bosc pears and spicy pecans. The greens were fresh and tasty and the pears and pecans complemented one another nicely. Steve absolutely loved his romaine salad which was much like a wedge but with more interesting lettuce.

We both ordered steak. Lisa had the tenderloin which was cooked a perfect medium rare and tasted wonderful. Steve's ribeye was also perfectly cooked and the marbling contributed to its great flavor.

Powerhouse's dessert choices were a bit limited, at least for our tastes. Lisa had the German chocolate duo, after initially scoffing at Steve's thought that she would have this. Perhaps her reacftion is understandable since she doesn't like German chocolate cake, but this dessert was actually more of a flourless chocalte cake, and the choclate was the bitter dark kind Lisa thoroughly enjoys. Steve couldn't find anything he wanted so he defaulted to some odd sorbet flavors. But he forgave this course because the rest was so good. The bathrooms were solid but unspectacular, albeit clean.

Dinner for two at Powerhouse with wine by the glass and no appetizers was $200, but well worth it.

Our ratings for Powerhouse, 215 N. Clinton (not Hillary), Chicago:

8 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes

Koda Restaurant: Good Neighborhood Bistro (Chicago Restaurant Review 54)

We were in the southern suburbs and, on the way back to the city decided to stop at a new bistro in Chicago's historic Beverly neighborhood. There are not many fine dining places in Beverly, which is a shame because the neighborhood is so classically Chicago. But Koda is a good start.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa had a Pinot Noir and Steve had a Merlot, both of which were very good, although the selection of wines by the glass was very limited.

We went on a Monday night which is a good night to try Koda because, to our surprise, we were told that a 3 course dinner was half price. Given the quality of the food, which is good but not great, we would recommend Monday night dinner at Koda to get full value.

Initially, we have to say that we weren't really impressed with the coffee-shop-like decor. The place really didn't seem like a bistro. However, Steve's french pizza appetizer, with brie and walnuts, certainly could have come from a top parisian bistro, although Lisa thought it was too sweet. That was fine by Steve since he was able to eat almost all of it, and he loved it. We both liked the ahi tuna, which was both visually appealing and fine tasting,

Entrees totally disappointed us. Steve's lamb was dry, chewy and essentially tasteless. Lisa's shrimp gnocci was far too sweet for her taste, although she liked the shrimp itself (when she could taste it).

For dessert, Steve had an unexceptional creme brulee and Lisa had a chocolate dish which was again too sweet. The bathrooms were nice and clean, although not fancy. They were also cold.

Koda's service was earnest but not particularly informed. Some of the courses came out on top of each other, but the meal moved at a good pace.

The total bill at Koda with wine by the glass was $80. This is a good value but we would be less enthused if we had paid the fiull pricxe whcih would have been more like 120.

Our ratings for Koda, 10352 S. Western Ave., Chicago, Illinois:

6.5 of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes