Hemmingway's bistro - Oak Park

I have eaten here several times. I like the room especially when I am sitting on the lower level. It is a cool space. It has a real nostalgic feel. After dining tonight, I won't ever do it again. The food without the exception of the heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella was extremely poor. The heirloom tomato salad was only saved by the vinaigrette..

I had received a coupon for $50 off. I put it towards a burgundy that was forgettable. Almost every course was flawed. The lamb was undercooked, we ordered medium. The mustard sauce that came with the lamb over-powered the dish.

The whitefish was poor (the house signature); they used so much butter in the sauce that any delicacy the fish might have had was lost on execution. The flavorless topping was annoying, too bland - no salt. The side of spinach was so over salted it went back with the plate. I love salt, most people think I over salt.

As appetizers go, I didn't hate my Foie gras; it didn't make enough of a statement to even know if I even cared about it. Please, if you are reading this, don't order it. Escargot was also ordered. While not bad, it was nothing special. It was kinda reminiscent of watching old cooking shows where young chefs are learning about a new ingredient - snails. They make it in the typical escargot porcelain indented plate, but they forget all the flavor. Good looks no flavor, as if they are hoping the teacher only looks but doesn't try.

The souffle rounded out the meal, nothing special though it was the dessert special. Poorly executed. Lucky for the Hemmingway Bistro they are attached to a hotel, that way they have new out of town customers that they can filter into this mediocre eatery and not have to worry about locals like me who would only return because a friend gave me a $50 coupon. I still feel I was jipped.

r

Thanks for the update. While I've been curious about this place but never had heard any great buzz about it, I now will avoid.

Hemmingway's Bistro
211 N. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60302-2118
(708) 524-0806
http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/mainmenu.html

My daughter and boyfriend went there Saturday night. "How was it," I asked. Eye roll, expressed the daughter.

My second meal here was the last chance they got, 2-3 years ago. Nothing rose above mediocre, and the soup I had that evening was possibly the worst I've ever had in a restaurant. A tomato soup that was more like a bowl of marinara sauce in both consistency and flavor.

That said, at the time they were turning out souffles well enough that I could have been convinced to return for drinks and dessert some time. If even those have faded I can't see any reason to try them again.

Interesting...I'm also looking into this place. It gets good reviews on Yelp. I don't know what to think.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hemmingways-bistro-oak-park

guinness wrote:Interesting...I'm also looking into this place. It gets good reviews on Yelp. I don't know what to think.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hemmingways-bistro-oak-park

Guinness, you're a relative newcomer (welcome!), but posts that suggest Yelp deserves consideration are considered by many a green light for snarks-krieg. Not saying it's fair, but it's usually inevitable (though this post itself may defuse some of that). You may want to emotionally prepare yourself for fallout.

That said, I really don't think you should patronize Hemmingway's, but if you do, please report back (especially if the experience is good).

Gotcha David, no more mention of y***. Please direct snarks to my PM.

Has anyone been to Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park lately?

I'm going with family next week and can't seem to see their menu on their website - something about not having the right plug-in? I was hoping somebody might be able to guide me on what to order or make some recommendations. I haven't found much written about Hemingway's elsewhere on the forum.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Taking a look at the source code, it appears whoever created the HTML markup for that website made some mistakes. For some reason they are attempting to use the <embed> tag, but the menu is actually just a plain old PDF which they can link to normally.

Here are all of their menus:
Breakfast
Brunch
Lunch
Dinner
Dessert

Which meal are you going to be there for? I've been for both Brunch and Dinner. I'm not quite an expert foody but I recall enjoying the escgargots and the scallops for dinner.

Cheers.

Hurdler4eva wrote:I haven't found much written about Hemingway's elsewhere on the forum.

Have you seen the Hemmingway's (different spelling) thread? There are other mentions scattered around in different threads as well.

Thank you all for your help Especially thank you to Idiosyncronaut for posting the menus. I was clearly thinking of dear Ernest when I searched for the restaurant and didn't realize the restaurant spelled its name with two "m"s.

I think we're going for dinner after shopping at Oak Brook shopping center. Their special souffle dessert looks intriguing - too bad it doesn't sound like it's much good. We might just try it anyway. I have very high standards for souffles though. The best I've had have been in Dallas at rise no. 1.

Plans changed and we had lunch at Hemmingway's Bistro today - I thought I'd share some photos of our meal.

The restaurant didn't make the best first impression. We had to wait at least five minutes at the door before anyone came to greet us and there was no hostess stand. There was only one waitress on the floor, serving approximately ten tables. Our waitress was awesome, friendly and knowledgeable, she just needed to clone herself to be able to serve everyone. Also, when I sat down at the booth, there were a ton of breadcrumbs that I had to brush off myself. A small detail, and with only one waitress and one busboy, I wasn't surprised that they didn't have the time to brush away crumbs.

I loved that we were given a little butter knife, but the butter was rock hard and I prefer it soft and whipped, easily spreadable. The bread, from Red Hen Bakery, was good though. The décor had a rustic, cottage vibe, and everyone else dining at the restaurant was far older. I'm pretty sure they were all senior citizens, and the atmosphere was a bit lethargic.


Jumbo Sea Scallops / Hemmingway's Bistro by TrackBelle, on Flickr


My scallops were wrapped in smoked salmon, served over caramelized cauliflower, capers and lemon beurre blanc. It was a really interesting taste combo, I had never had smoked salmon cooked before, always served raw. I liked it, but after the first scallop, it became far too salty and the buttery cauliflower did nothing to temper the taste.


Cassoulet Toulousain / Hemmingway's Bistro by TrackBelle, on Flickr

The cassoulet on the other hand, was fantastic. I loved how they included melt-in-your mouth duck confit, and rabbit sausage along with the pork rib. I asked, and they don't make their sausage in-house, but it was fantastic nevertheless. I would have ordered this but I don't care for pork.


Herb crusted whitefish / Hemmingway's Bistro by TrackBelle, on Flickr

Herb-crusted whitefish was unremarkable, although the spinach served alongside was beautiful and fresh and the mashed potatoes were good.


Mango Grand Marnier Souffle / Hemmingway's Bistro by TrackBelle, on Flickr


Mango Grand Marnier Souffle / Hemmingway's Bistro by TrackBelle, on Flickr

Our Mango Grand Marnier souffle was the highlight of the meal. It was light and airy, as good as the souffles I've had at rise no. 1 in Dallas. It could have used a touch more mango flavor, but otherwise it was perfect.

Next time I would come on a different day so I could try the seafood Vol-au-Vent, Coq au vin, or Flounder Grenobloise. Their specials are definitely the most interesting menu options. Come to think of it, the souffle is good enough to merit a visit in and of itself.

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