Back to the original point of this thread, I had a first rate meal at Oceanique a couple of weeks ago. Critical to me was that, not only was the seafood first rate, but all items on the plate were bursting with flavor. the chef has a deft hand with vegetables. In my view, this is a destination seafood place (can't speak to the non-seafood items), not just a good suburban place. (Please do not take this as a direct or indiect comment on whether Evanston is a "great" dining destination.)

One specific incident bears mention. In our party of four, I ordered a bottle of red for two of us, but my wife wanted a glass of white. When she asked for a description of the three or four they had by the glass, the sommelier proceeded to being her three or four glassses with a sip of each offering, and she selected the one she liked best. I'm sure they were influenced by the fact that I'd ordered a full bottle and we were having a full meal (so don't go expecting this), but still, this is going above and beyond the call of duty.

Jonah

Had an excellent dinner at Oceanique last night. I'm glad I didn't read this thread or the other one about Oceanique before we went, because we might not have gone due to the wildly varying opinions and the price. For some reason, my husband wanted seafood, and it was his birthday, so he picked.

I was glad I went to the website and found the $25 off coupon, because we don't generally eat at restaurants this fancy/pricey. We were trying to think of the last place that would compare, and decided it was L'Etoile in Madison seven years ago.

So I start out with the admission that we don't have much point of comparison. But we really liked Oceanique and if our consciences allowed us to spend money this way, we would go several times a year...

I was a bit surprised today to see that several of the dishes that ronnie suburban photographed two years ago were exactly what we had last night. The complimentary ceviche amuse bouche was good (exactly like ronnie's photo with the flattened bit of scallion circling the raw salmon), but neither of us is a big fan of raw fish. The beet salad with warm goat cheese was terrific; the heirloom tomato salad was the low point of the meal, with mealy tomatoes (I would not have served these in my house, much less at a restaurant). The chicken liver mousse amuse bouche was melt-in-the-mouth, wow, fabulous. A four-berry sorbet palate cleanser with a touch of mint was also excellent. I was nervous when we both ordered the bouillabaisse because if it turned out not to be great, the dinner would be spoiled. I needn't have worried, it was absolutely delicious, all the various seafoods cooked to perfection, in a wonderfully spiced tomato sauce.

The service was very attentive, friendly but polite (or is that polite but friendly) and made us feel quite comfortable, even though, as I say, it is not what we are accustomed to. We were under-dressed and had ordered one glass each of the cheapest wine on the menu, and with the coupon, ate and drank for less than $75 per person, including coffee, dessert and tip, but both felt that we were treated as well as if we had been throwing money around and wearing diamonds. While we were waiting for coffee and dessert (one panna cotta and one pot au creme), we were each given a glass of dessert wine. (I wanted to take half the pot au creme home, it was so very good and so very rich.)

Not that I expect this to come up again any time soon, but for those of you who eat in fancy places more often (or who grew up in a place where mussel-eating etiquette was part of your childhood training (it was not relevant in central Ohio)), what is the proper polite way to eat a mussel? Can you stick part of the shell in your mouth or use it to scoop up sauce? Or is that only in lower-class places?

I continue to enjoy Oceanique. In spite of the mixed reviews here, my wife and I always have a great experience when we get a chance to visit the spot. As mentioned above, it's a welcoming, comfortable place without any shred of attitude. Food has always been more than solid and wine suggestions are spot-on. It's one of our favorite nearby haunts, although lately we are far less haunted given young kids and fashionable penny-pinching.

As far as I'm concerned, you should eat mussels any way that makes you happy. I think Oceanique is the sort of place where no one will care as long as you enjoy your meal. I prefer, though, to remove the mussel from the shell with a fork and then go after the remaining broth with crusty bread.

It took me a long time to adapt to a fork and spoon as a child, and I still lick my plate when my husband isn't looking, so it seems to me that mussels should be eaten without the aid of a fork... but as I said above, I really don't know from mussels, I grew up in Ohio.

Welcoming and comfortable are good words for Oceanique, despite how elegant it is.

It's out of our price range, so I doubt we go there again for quite awhile, but I liked it quite a bit, and felt like it was good value for the money, for that matter.

$35 for $75 Groupon deal - http://www.groupon.com/deals/oceanique? ... newsletter

Six of us had an amazing meal at Oceanique last night. Coincidentally, it was restaurant week and we were lucky enough that most of the dishes we wanted happened to be on their Restaurant Week Prix Fix. My wife and I split a venison pate and seared scallops. The pate was pretty traditional and very good. The scallops were served with a nice, spicy kimchi sauce. Most of us had Maine lobster with golden beets and yuzu for an entree. The lobster itself was pretty mild, but the overall dish had a lot of complexity. We also had oysters with sturgeon caviar. It may seem clear that I don't remember all of the details. The restaurant week menu came with dessert and they just brought the table one of everything, all of which were very good. Perhaps because it was restaurant week, our dinner came with a lot of little amuses, palate cleansers, etc.

Overall it was an excellent meal. I hadn't been to Oceanique in a long time, but I'll be going back very soon. The restaurant week menus (there is a $33 version and a $44 version) are incredible deals.

I think it was mentioned in another thread, and now of course I can't find it, but as a reminder - due to Northwestern's proximity Oceanique normally has some sort of lower price, prix fix deal. The catch is that I think you need to ask for it explicitly. It's called something like the NU prix fix I don't think it's available every night (prob not Fri and Sat?) so call them and ask to be sure.

leek wrote:I think it was mentioned in another thread, and now of course I can't find it, but as a reminder - due to Northwestern's proximity Oceanique normally has some sort of lower price, prix fix deal. The catch is that I think you need to ask for it explicitly. It's called something like the NU prix fix I don't think it's available every night (prob not Fri and Sat?) so call them and ask to be sure.

My understanding is that a fair number of Evanston restaurants have this type of NU deal.

At our visit week before last (pre-Restaurant Week), we received menus with the $85 7-course prix fixe, but no mention of the $50 3-course prix fixe. We had to ask for the latter. If you didn't know to ask for it, it seems the staff won't clue you in about it (although the website mentions it). I believe that's also called the NU menu. And it ends up being more than three courses, because the chef usually throws in a few extras.

I've been meaning to eat here for the past 3 years or so (top rated restaurant on my iPhone's Zagat app), but it has always slipped my mind when deciding what to eat for the night. LivingSocial offered a deal a few months back for a 5 course meal for two, so I jumped on it. Last night, I was finally able to redeem my coupon and boy, am I happy we did.

The menu posted was pretty accurate


The meal started off with some bread and butter


Chef's Surprise was a Halibut Ceviche

a nice, refreshing palette cleanser and a good sign of things to come

Day Boat Scallops



Venison Pate


Quail eggs belong on everything.

Added bonus - Wild Alaskan Halibut with Pinot Noir


Rasberry Sorbet with Diced Apple and Mint



Wild Alaskan Ivory King Salmon Slow Roasted


What a beauty. Smoky and refreshing.

Chilean Turbot Bacon, Turnip, Morels, Tarragon

Simply delicious. Cooked perfectly. Perhaps a little on the salty side, but the smokiness made it balance.

Day & Night Cake
Layers of Chocolate Mousse, Whipped Cream Chantilly, Chocolate Cake w/Chocolate Ice Cream


Had a bite - wasn't my thing. Chocolate is often too rich for me. Fiancee died.

Napolean
Three Tiers of Puff Pastry filled w/Vanilla Mousseline & Berries Chocolate Sauce
Front:

Back:

Now we're talkin'. Nice, flaky, creamy. The good stuff.

What a great restaurant, and a great chef. Really nice guy to boot - came by and greeted every table to chit-chat about this and that. Talked about how much of a blessing it was that he could come in to work everyday and work with his whole family. That love is present in every dish.

*edit*

Kman was helping out by posting Oceanique's address in this thread. Seems we have a few Oceanique threads going (ronnie_suburban's beautiful photos can be found here)

Well if the mods ever choose to merge the threads they can feel free to prune my post appropriately - until then, should anyone be searching, there's some measure of completeness.

BTW, great pics - makes me consider venturing north of the border into Evanston.

Stunning pictures, really stunning. Makes me eager to return. Again. Thanks for the post.

Oceanique is a lovely place, and has been for many years now, since way back in the day when it was known as Jaton, IIRC. I've eaten many a meal there over the years, and have never been disappointed. Amazing consistency. And they are fellow Red Wings fans! I couldn't ask for more.

Glad you liked it, Incite. The Main/Chicago Ave. 'hood is full of great eats. Just make certain to avoid Lupita's (Custer & Main) like the proverbial plague.

sundevilpeg wrote:Oceanique is a lovely place, and has been for many years now, since way back in the day when it was known as Jaton, IIRC. I've eaten many a meal there over the years, and have never been disappointed. Amazing consistency. And they are fellow Red Wings fans! I couldn't ask for more.

Glad you liked it, Incite. The Main/Chicago Ave. 'hood is full of great eats. Just make certain to avoid Lupita's (Custer & Main) like the proverbial plague.

Ive always thought Oceanique is in the midrange (not bad but not excellent). I think Quince is the place to go in Evanston.I do agree with the Main/Chicago ave statement though, especially when it comes to Piron nearby.

From the friendly folks at Oceanique, a sneak preview:

"Bonjour everyone!

Big update for us as we are ecstatic to announce that Oceanique will be featured this weekend on WTTW 11 Chicago's television program 'Check, Please!' airing tonight @ 8PM, Saturday, @ 4:30PM and Sunday at Noon!

Please stop by this weekend and join us in celebration for a cocktail or a glass of bubbly!"

sundevilpeg wrote:From the friendly folks at Oceanique, a sneak preview:

"Bonjour everyone!

Big update for us as we are ecstatic to announce that Oceanique will be featured this weekend on WTTW 11 Chicago's television program 'Check, Please!' airing tonight @ 8PM, Saturday, @ 4:30PM and Sunday at Noon!

Please stop by this weekend and join us in celebration for a cocktail or a glass of bubbly!"

I was a little surprised by how lukewarm most of the comments were from the two reviewers who visited Oceanique on the recommendation of the third. Although a rather large part of the younger woman's problem with the restaurant seemed to be that she had to leave the city and go to the suburbs to dine there--gasp!

Although a rather large part of the younger woman's problem with the restaurant seemed to be that she had to leave the city and go to the suburbs to dine there--gasp!

She was an ignorant idiot. HATED her sing-song-y putdown of the perfectly nice decor, and the low noise level. Ummmm. . .what?

Stick to your porn brunch at Twisted Spoke, Trixie. Feh.

With a Groupon allowing us a five-course tasting menu for only $40 per person, it didn’t take long to decide that this was something we wanted to do. It had been far too long since we had been, especially in light of the fact that our first visit (the first post in this thread) was so wonderful.

We were on the early side—6 pm—so there was plenty of light in the room, making it a less “cozy” place than I noted in my first review. That said, it was still quite comfy and relaxed and, judging from conversations around us, the Groupon was bringing in a lot of business. (The recent rating of seafood restaurants in Chicago by Zagat that resulted in Oceanique being rated number 1 in Chicago won’t hurt their business either, regardless of your opinion of the Zagat survey.)

The food and service were really very good but when all was said and done, we were disappointed. The food was fine but no better. The service was good but no better (although the staff was warm and friendly, plates were pretty much dropped off without a word, certainly without any explanations, the sole exception being the one "course" not on the menu, the raviolo). Two five-course tastings would normally run $160; thanks to Groupon we paid $80 for both. I chose the “Premier Cru”—mid-level—selection of wine pairings for another $99. The restaurant tacks on an 18% tip (there were two of us). Plus tax (which came to $15 plus change on the food and another $15 plus change on the alcohol). So the grand total, with the Groupon, was $265. Without the Groupon, it would have been $345. To our disappointment, the meal and the experience as a whole just weren't good enough at $265 to justify returning any time soon. And if we had paid full shot, we would have been even more unhappy.

Herewith, brief reactions to each course:


Chef’s Surprise
Tuna tartare encircled by a leek and dressed with a cilantro/ginger “essence.” Nicely done but, in a reaction that pretty much mirrored our reaction to most things, we’d had it better elsewhere. In this case, several times at Kevin.

For the second course, you choose between lobster, corn soup, soft-shell crab tempura, scallops, or country pate. The Lovely Dining Companion chose the lobster; I went with the pate.


Wild Maine Lobster
It’s a bit difficult to gauge from the picture, but the serving was generous in size (though not perhaps quite so generous with the lobster itself). Included in the plate were some bufala mozzarella, white asparagus, caviar, and avocado. I had only a tiny bite and my reaction was that, while very nice, a touch more acid would have been welcome. Nevertheless, this was LDC’s dish and she was quite happy with it (though, as the parenthetical noted, a little more lobster would have been nice).


Country Pate
I enjoyed my pate without being overwhelmed. The plate included a generous slice of pate accompanied by a small parsley/fig salad, two mustards, a couple hazelnuts and blueberry gelee. Best of all was the “side” of Poilane toast. It was thick, well-toasted, but its thickness kept it from drying it too much. Precisely for that reason, I enjoyed it much more than the completely (or nearly) dry toasts that usually accompany pates. While I missed the gherkins, I can sympathize with the kitchen’s desire to do something different. (In fact, I noted one or two tiny slices of mini-gherkin in the salad.) So too with the blueberry gelee. The pate was relatively coarse, a bit soft, but without any assertive flavors. While that may be a plus for some, I would have welcomed a bit more depth of flavor. As my first sentence suggests, though, even though this was a very pleasant rendition, I’ve had better at too many other places.


Squash raviolo
At this point we were treated to a course not on the menu: a butternut squash raviolo. This comes from the restaurant’s regular six-course tasting menu and is accompanied by prosciutto, walnuts, and crispy sage. Without sounding like a broken record, this was enjoyable without being in any way notable.


Four-berry sorbet
A fizzle. The flavors were not identified. Hell, the server just brought the course and started to leave without even telling us what she’d just brought! We had to stop her to ask even the most basic information and even then, she only volunteered that it was “four berries” without telling us what they were. Gee…sorry to bother you. Worse yet, there was nothing at all special about the sorbet—the flavors melded into an indistinct generic berry-like taste. Worse, the flavor was neither clear, nor sparkling, nor particularly fresh tasting. No intensity of flavor at all. Not enough acid. Not enough…. Just not enough.

Fourth course also allowed a choice: bluefin tuna, black sea bass, or Dover sole.


Wild Maryland Black Sea Bass
White asparagus, pea tips, purple potatoes, and Porto. Beautiful presentation, beautifully cooked, otherwise nothing special. Hmmm. Ultimately, disappointing for that reason. Everything “worked” but nothing sang.


Organic Spanish Dover Sole
Artichoke, heirloom carrots, and lemongrass. Basil mashed potatoes. Of these, the lemongrass was MIA. I detected no evidence of the item in question, either in its presence or in its perfume. That said, it was, again, a generous serving (you’ll note essentially a filet and a half on the dish) and it was cooked à point. I enjoyed it but, as with LDC’s sea bass, it all worked and that was it.


Flourless Chocolate Cake

Strawberry/Rhubarb Tarte with Strawberry Ice Cream
Both desserts were fine. We enjoyed them, we finished them, we would eat them again if they were presented to us. I think. Neither was a particularly great example. Neither left us feeling that we would miss never having them again.

And by now, you can tell that—very sadly—that was pretty much our reaction to dinner as a whole.

I would be remiss not to mention the wine pairings. I began with a Champagne, non-vintage Mandois Brut. To go with the pate a 2009 Macon Verze, Domaine Leflaive (13%). Then a light red that I absolutely could not abide: Cantina Vignaioli Barbaresco (13.5%). All I tasted was a light wine badly out of balance. I got far too little flavor and my attempts to engage the sommelier (we were served by Philippe Andre, their Wine Director since 2004) were fruitless. As LDC pointed out in our discussion on the ride home, his reaction was not to engage in a substantive discussion but to pleasantly acknowledge everything I said. That’s certainly one way to deal with people. I don’t care for it. I certainly don’t expect to love every glass I’m served but when I don’t care for something (and, frankly, even when I love something), I sometimes enjoy having a real discussion about it. Why I love it or hate it, what I’m tasting or not getting. Mr. Andre would have none of it. He was unfailingly polite, unfailingly pleasant, and absolutely unwilling to have any discussion beyond mindless observations: everyone has different tastes; sorry you don’t care for it; let’s hope you enjoy the next one more. I’m not asking for a ten minute conversation; I’m looking to learn a little something, to discuss my reaction, and to let him get on with his job while I get on with my meal.

He acknowledged my comments in that ever-so-slightly condescending manner that some sommeliers seem to cultivate: “Yes, I understand what you’re saying but you’re just wrong.” Smooth, yes. Polished, yes. But completely unwilling to engage.

Next glass, I’m pleased to say, WAS more to my taste: a Vosne Romanee, 2004 Les Beaux Monts (again 13.5%). I tried to talk about the relentless move toward higher alcohols in all varietals but, once again, got nowhere. Polite acknowledgments, no more. Last glass, for dessert, an introduction to a very quaffable fortified red dessert wine from Roussillon: Mas Amiel, cuvee special, aged ten years. 16%. Similar to port but less punch; altogether a lovely choice, particularly if port isn’t your thing. Well-rounded, flavorful, light. A very nice selection for the desserts.

Here’s our take: at the end of the day, everything we had was very good or better. But nothing was noteworthy. Nothing made us sit up and take note. Nothing made us think: wow, this is terrific and I can’t wait to return and see what they do next time. Nothing about the whole experience stood out. This is not a cutting-edge destination and I’m not complaining that it should be. But for the price, something has to stand out to make it worth the money, worth the time, worth the trip. Worth going there instead of somewhere else. And, quality of the food notwithstanding, neither of us find much interest in returning. It was a very nice meal that cost more than it should have. Service was fine but nothing exceptional or extraordinary.

At the end of the evening, we were left wondering: how do you deliver a course—any course—and not tell the diners what it is? LDC had a soft drink (she can’t drink alcohol). They brought her drink early on and no one ever bothered to refresh it or even ask her if she wanted more. Did you notice the plate that the amuse was served on? Go back up and look. See all the chips in the gold leaf? That, to me, speaks volumes. Does these things matter? Yes. And no. None of them affects the quality of the meal. But all of them bespeak a restaurant that could—with more attention to detail, more focus, more effort—really shine. But this meal, for us, didn’t. With so many places we’ve been to that we’d like to revisit, so many that we’re curious about and haven’t gotten to, and so many new ones opening, this meal gave us few reasons to return.