410 W State St

I think we have another enigma A Previous Article...

A place that piqued our interest on Check Please didn't make the To-Do List the list... due to it's proximity to Iowa.  But, having friends living close by we almost made it A Previous Article here earlier in the year.  Alas, the enigma issues kicked in on that evening...  Based on our friends' glowing recommendations and the clear need for people to eat here we added it to our To-Do List and started working on a plan to get a table on (mostly) our own terms.

The place is small, the place is popular, the place is hard to get in.  They don't take reservations, and only start putting names on the wait list about 5 minutes before they open the doors at 5pm.  The enigma is that they are putting out great food (and cocktails) and you really are better off for having given the place a whirl. 

So, we did come up with a plan.  It involved skipping Friday & Saturday.  It involved spending most of the day in the IowaSt Charles / Geneva area with our friends and our bicycles.  It did not include a trip to the hospital*, even though there was one...  It involved getting in line at the traditional Floridian dining time of pre 5pm.  It worked!

They're certainly experienced at handling the rush.  When the doors opened, they didn't seat the whole place at once, taking their time (certainly with us) for what appears to be controlling the orders hitting the bar and kitchen, and having no qualms about leaving you in line.  Once that rush is over they settle down and keep the place turning over and once you're at your table everything runs smoothly.  It didn't seem there was much of a line waiting outside, but we're told that when the line gets too long they'll take a cell phone number and call you when you're up, so we're not really sure how long the wait might have been had we arrived at the time we were leaving.

You'd barely know it's a restaurant from the outside, but the line out front helps you find it.  It really is quite small, but not cramped, and set up so that tables can be joined for larger groups.  There's a tiny bar right in the entrance way (and you can 'negotiate' a seat there instead of waiting for a table but there appears to be a system for that too) where the 2 guys could barely get by each other and were shaking right from the word go.  The kitchen pass is open (and there's a lot of people in a small area again) for you to peek in and it's sort of in the middle of the place splitting it in two.  Our little section was behind the bar, and they have a window that doesn't let you see them shaking, but you do get to see the pretty big range of tequilas they have.  There's also an outside area which we didn't take a look at (and may have been cranky being out there on this warmhot eveningafternoon) and a tiny area that's more like an extension of the bar than anything else out the front with the host stand - I hope she doesn't have to stand out there on crappy weather days!  Everything is neat and tidy and bright and airy and a few simple and appropriate art things on the walls.

Once we got in everything went smoothly, and really, we didn't wait all that long to get in and probably came in under that 30 minute limit we have set ourselves.  We got to sit at the important people's table?  That is, the 5 of us sat at a elevated table (bar height) which if pulled off of the wall could easily seat 8, probably 10.  It seems that they accept people order a number of times, but keep things moving along by making suggestions quite often.  Our Server knows the menu and used this knowledge to gently push us along in the ordering procession - we probably didn't need the suggestions because we had seasoned veterans with us...

There's plenty to choose from and the menu is easy enough to navigate, but if you're a little spicy-hot food averse like me, you'll have to get some assistance from your Server, but I think mostly you'll be fine - I only sulked through one dish.  Food comes out of the kitchen when each dish is ready and not as a complete order.  Certainly no drama when you know that every plate that arrives is going to get passed up and down the table so there's none of that awkward "go on, you can start with out me" stuff.  The cocktail list is fun and I think you'd be missing out on the experience if you didn't try at least one.

Our meal went pretty much like this:

• Limonada 
• Flor de Jamaica (tequila, orange, hibiscus flower & more) - orangy and flowery.
• Cassi-Pica (tequila, lemon, serrano, egg white & more) - looks good in the glass, didn't seem to last long, must be good.
• Ahuacatl (tequila, avocado, agave nectar and more) - mild, but avocado-y, kind of sweet too.
• Mojito (rum, mint & more) - exactly what you'd expect.
• Guacamole del Dia (strawberry) - a fun way to start the meal - it'll probably be different the day you are there
• Ceviche del Mes (shrimp) - a nice sweet tang.  It we ordered a second it would have all gone too...
• Tacos - they all come in 4s as standard and all completely individual.
  
  • Pescado (beer battered tilapia, red cabbage, chipotle-morita aioli & more) - crispy and soft at the same time
  • Hongos (portabello, avocado, onion & more) - vastly different to all the others we had, but no less tasty.
  • de la Costa (beer battered shrimp, napa cabbage, roasted serrano-mango salsa & more) - probably the best sauce of any we had (and I could probably argue it would work on just about all of the other tacos just as well) with the sweet tangy gentle heat thing going on.
  • Pescadillas (shredded shark, avocado-habanero pico & more) - not sure what we expected, but it was almost crab cake in texture.  Everything combined made a great taco.
  • Barriga de Puerco (slow roasted pork belly, adobo, queso fresco & more) - a great piece of pork, almost a shame it was only taco sized.
• Esquites (grilled corn, lemon-aioli & more) - this may be the best corn I've ever had that wasn't still attached to a cob.  Our friends 'made' us order it and we thank them.
• Brochetas (skewers)
  • Pica-Pica (bacon wrapped shrimp, onion, pineapple, chipotle-lime glaze) - fortunately for me the pineapple took the edge of the shrimp.  Tasty!  But right at the edge of my comfort zone.
  • Carne (beef tenderloin, onion, poblano, garlic-avocado salsa) - beautiful tender meat made better with the salsa.

I do think our group was the best size to get the most out of the menu.  Had it just been the two of us we would have so over eaten trying to get a taste of as much as possible, and had the group been larger it's probable things would have been ordered that you missed out on.  But a group of 4.5 matches up really nicely with things that mostly come in 4s!

It's an enigma! 

It's a place we'd love to go back to (there's at least 5 Tacos we didn't get to try), but we're not going to get an ulcer trying to do so.  If the opportunity arises and the planets align up just right we'll be back in a flash, but not to be dining at 5:01 on a Tuesday.  We're certainly happy for Chef Ricardo and how we'll he's doing, but we're also a little sad he's so far away and so hard to get into.

Stay JOLLY!
DPete, Kris, Jersey

* There was some blood letting as part of the day's adventures (and I do mean blood on the sidewalk letting!), but that's a story only our wounded participant can share.

477 South Third Street

We made the trek to the Suburbs because part of our moderately-regular-getting-together-dinning-group chose many years ago to plant roots in Iowa St Charles and we as a group had promised them that we non-IowaSt Charles residents would make the trek one day.  This was the day.  And for the record, it's not a miserable drive out there, just not one I want to make too often after spending a couple of years commuting daily via 290...

Turns out the Main Street(?) of Geneva is pretty slow on a Saturday night and the restaurant (like most of the stores around from what I could tell with the 'mood' lighting of the street) has a fairly low key outside.  Inside, not so low key.  We entered through the bar (is there another door?) and it was medium busy and set up for some sort of live music - we later discovered it was a one man band who seemed to attract people as it was more busy as we left and he was playing than when we arrived and he wasn't.  The restaurant is well segregated from the bar but we periodically heard him doing his thing (I can only assume it was the same guy each time) and I don't think there was any other music playing.

We all arrived on time (which I accept becomes a bigger challenge the bigger group) but that's because we had a staging area in anticipation of dining somewhere else this evening.  Straight in and straight to our table about as close to the middle of the place as you could get considering the layout.  The place was closer to packed than not but the vast majority of tables were winding down as evidenced by the mostly empty place by the time we had to start thinking about desert and the totally empty place once we had finished it.

It's a white table cloth sort of place apart from our table (which I think was one big table and not a couple pushed together? and I also think we got slightly fancier chairs than everyone else?) which was fine because it was in great shape and looked kinda cool (or should that be kewl?).  There are lots of deep dark wood things (including the furniture) making up the majority of the decor with some exposed brick and quite a lot of mirrors along at least one wall.  They do have a nice glassed in wine cellar as a feature which I'm pretty certain does not hold the whole collection.

Our Server knows his job and not just because he knows the menu and winelist.  He was bossy in the way a table of 8 often needs to be bossed around but polite and chatty and sensible the whole time - although I didn't notice him in action elsewhere I think I'd be very surprised if he was the same amount of bossy around a 2 top.  I don't subscribe to this logic on big tables but he insisted on taking care of the girls first every time he had to do something which meant him doing a few laps of the table as he did what had to be done.  On a date with my wife or even a group of four it's fine, because he can stand still and talk to us all equally as well.  Not a deal breaker by any stretch, just something I noticed.  What I really liked is that when I ordered a second bottle of our red (I don't mind ordering, it's fun, but my friends have somehow managed to bequeath me the title of wine expert and while I would happily describe myself as being comfortable with a list, I'm far from an expert and quite certain they could also make great picks) he gave me a new glass for the tasting.  Oh, and he can understand (and get right) the instructions for splitting up the payment over multiple cards (and cash) - thanks!

It's a good size menu.  Easy enough to navigate, split into sensible sections and comes in nice big fonts.  Plenty to choose from, and it must be close to impossible to not be able to find something you're in the mood for.  We did have one doubling up for Main Course but we could go back as a group a couple more times and still not get everything to our table - so if you are a local that's a great thing.  They were quite happy for us to share a handful of Appetizers and Desserts and made sure we had the right eating implements to do so.

Our meal went a little like this:

• New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - light on the acid, heavy on the color, smooth on the palette.  Perhaps a bit too gentle for those of us who had big hunks of meat, but a good match with everything else.
• Yalumba Shiraz - We had a mixed bag of appetizers and mains but the consensus was for a bigger red.  This one was at the smaller end of the big red end.
• Chopin Martini
• Twin Crab Cakes - Just what you'd hope for, but not the best dish for splitting 8 ways...
• Jumbo Medjool Dates - a bit of a kick in the sauce and not a great sharing dish, but tasty.  Great crunch bread(like) for dipping.
• Tempura Frog Legs - Crunchy and tastes like frog.  I admit, sometimes my brain doesn't work as even I expect.  The legs came on skewers and I have no idea why, but as I took my first bite of frog leg meat bones I was thinking that was nice of them to remove the bones and put them on a skewer so they still look like legs.  DOH!  Once over this hurdle all was well.
• Baby Octopus - perhaps closer to teenage octopus than baby?  I was a little bit bummed I only got a sampling as it was probably the groups favorite and no chance for seconds (I know, I could have ordered another...)
• An Assortment of House Salads - which all Mains come with a choice of.
• Spinach & Eggplant Cannelloni - this must have been the best of our Mains as it was gone the quickest...
• Salmon Baked in Parchment - looked like a bit of work to get into from across the table, but all gone ultimately.
• Cedar Planked Barramundi, Macadamia Nut Crust - tradition (of sorts) dictates Cedar and Salmon, so kudos for mixing it up and double kudos for mixing it up with my wife's favorite Australian fish (and mother's favorite nut - for anything). Not a lot of Cedar, the Nuts worked well together.  
• Monkfish - hidden amongst clams and mussels it looked like I made a mistake going with the Veal.  I should have at least asked for a taste of the sauce.
• Veal Rollatini, veal broth, sauteed mushrooms - the sauce probably outshone the Rolls, but they were good - the sauce made it's way to someone else's side of mashed potatoes.  I was expecting thin slices of Veal as part of the roll but got a sausage type deal which turns out to be the right thing to do.  Turns out I didn't make a mistake...
• Roast Prime Rib of Beef (wildwood cut) - if you like a big piece of meat that is barely cooked to Medium Rare and you don't mind being the last one (by a long way) eating you can't go wrong.  It looked like a great cut.
• Roast Prime Rib of Beef (petite cut) - not my definition of petite, but clearly smaller than the other...
• Skirt Steak - not as spectacular as the other steaks on the table but cooked just right it didn't last long.
• Chocolate Gateau - rich in just the right richness sort of way.
• Butter Pecan Bread Pudding - tasted better than it looked.
• Dark Chocolate Mousse - the most popular.
• Trio of Profiteroles - the most spectacular looking and easily enough for 2 to share and be happy
• Various Coffees
• Chocolate Martini

An excellent Plan B!  Our friends tried really really hard to deal with a similar enigma A Previous Date Night Article to what we've dealt with before and we applaud their efforts to get our name on a list that is apparently more often than not full for the night barely minutes after they open the door.  Oh well, they didn't quite make it (from anecdotal evidence you get in line around 4:30 to get your name down and hopefully they call you (which is a nice feature) before your bed time), but everything worked out equally as well as we could have expected of Plan A (We really do want to give it a try and if they ever decide to take real reservations we'll start working on our calendar and saving for gas...) ending up having a fun dinner with great friends over a bunch of great food and wine. 

Stay JOLLY!
DPete & Kris, Kate, Janet & Dave, Joe