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