Jerry's Restaurant, in Winnetka

Our friends took us to this place, which I don't see any mention of on LTH (doing my best effort at a search). What I ate was quite good, worth posting about.

It's a small place in "beautiful downtown Winnetka," an offshoot of a takeout/catering place (I gather) called Cook's Corner. The room was full of nicely/casually-dressed, happy people. Here were the three things I ate: Salmon and Avocado Sashimi in Wonton Cups (appetizer), "It Fell Off the Bone" Crispy Style Pork Shoulder w/Rice and Black Beans (that's really the name of it--main course), and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream (dessert).

The finely chopped raw fish in the appetizer was very fresh-tasting and full of flavor, and the blend of it with avocado and other ingredients was "to be devoured," which I did--all three fried wonton cups' worth. The pork entree I thought would be of particular interest here, since LTH has so many porkophiles. While I'm at a loss to explain why "crispy" is in the dish's title (I found nothing crispy about it), the shredded ("pulled"? I don't know) pork was really, really good--loaded with true pork flavor, seasoned subtly and just enough to bring out the indigenous qualities of the tender meat rather than disguise them or distract from them. Every bite brought new enjoyment. Dessert was very good, easily big enough for the missus and me to share.

Full disclosure: In another lifetime, I was "work-friends" at the same company with the owner of Jerry's. She wasn't there on Saturday night (our waiter told us she was in NY). If she'd been there, I would have been delighted to see her, but in no way did this connection influence my opinion of the restaurant. I went in fully prepared to like it, not like it, or be apathetic about it. I liked it.

Jerry's Restaurant
505 Chestnut St.
Winnetka, IL 60093
847 441 0134

We discovered Jerry's a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed our dinners there. We were there Friday night. With the much colder weather the soups sounded like a good choice. They had lentil or bean soup and our waiter brought a demi cup of each so we could taste them before deciding if we wanted to order them. They were both delicious and we ordered one of each and shared the beet salad which is one of the best beet salads I have eaten next to the one at Carnivale. My husband had the same pork dish and I had the eggplant tower. We skipped dessert but I would have ordered the peach cobbler if we weren't too filled. Jerry's is a great neighborhood spot.

Just thought I'd add that entree prices were surprisingly reasonable, given the quality and the location. Most under $20 if I recall, and I seem to think my pork shoulder was $18.

They "get you" (if that's the right phrase) on the prices of the desserts, which seemed a little steep, and also the appetizers and salads. But all those things are shareable, so that amortizes that.

We ate at Jerry's for lunch today, and loved it!

First things first, though. Last week, the Tribune published an article on the best French toast in Chicagoland. They evaluated 16 different candidates and, as the very best of all, (drum roll please) they named Jerry's Restaurant. Since then, Jerry's has been slammed, especially for lunch (when they offer their French toast), but also for dinner (when they don't). You can make reservations on their website (i.e. their own website at cornercooks.com, NOT on Opentable), but they told me you really need to reserve Friday and Saturday dinners at least a week ahead of time.

We didn't know any of this, and walked in today around 12:30 pm, and were immediately seated at the last remaining empty table, so we lucked out. Ed, our server who was also manning the host station, was great, great service and very friendly. My companion got the "Shrimp tortilla stack with Chihuahua cheese, avocado and pico de gallo" ($15) and I got the "Trio of the day" ($15) which consisted of a demitasse of the soup of the day (white bean) and two of the entrees: "Asian salad with warm chicken, dates, wonton crisps, peanuts, tomato and avocado with peanut lime dressing" and "Roasted salmon with tomato avocado salsa on baby spinach". Both dishes were superb. And I loved the Trio of the day for its ability to enjoy several dishes from the menu. For dessert we had the French toast ($10), which was indeed wonderful. It was quite a lot of food, though, and most folks would probably be quite content with just the savory dish without dessert, since portion sizes were ample.

This is a great restaurant, with the feel of a lively neighborhood bistro, combined with creative and delicious cuisine emanating from the talented kitchen staff. We hope to return soon!

Speaking of future visits, Jerry's offers several deals that are worth keeping in mind. Sundays through Thursdays, if you are dining between 5:00 and 6:30 ("not 6:31", as it notes on the menu), they have an early bird special in which they give you free dessert along with your entree. They also have a frequent diners program with a punch card; you get a punch for each $10 spent (before tax/tip), and when you have 30 punches, you can exchange it for a $25 gift certificate good Sundays through Thursdays.

Thanks so much to all who visited us and wrote such nice words. We really appreciate it. To all those French toast fans-we serve it at lunch and once spring arrives we'll be open for outside dining and brunch on the corner! I'll keep you posted.

I had lunch recently at Jerry's and thought the experience was mixed.

Cuban-style black bean soup was very tasty and might have been the best thing I had at our lunch.

Rolls -- which appeared to be baked in-house -- were cold, dense, chewy and pretty much devoid of flavor. The butter with which they were served was frozen solid.

We'd read a lot about the French Toast, so we decided to give it a try . . .


Cornflake Crusted French Toast with Orange Butter

Conceptually and texturally, this was a home run. The exterior was crispy and the interior was light and almost creamy. It looked beautiful, too. The flavors were, for the most part, very nice but there was an unmistakable bitter taste that clouded every bite for me. I'm not sure where it was coming from. If you look at the pic above, you can see some areas on the edges of the toast that are definitely black. But, it almost seemed that the syrup served on the french toast may have been over-reduced and, perhaps, scorched. Or, maybe the bitterness came from the oil in the orange. I just couldn't identify its source. My wife really dug the dish but I just couldn't get past the off note.

Entrees were also mixed. Juan's Killer "Huevos Rancheros" were, unfortunately, dry and overcooked. The eggs were brown and crispy on the outside and the yolks were hard. The avocado-cilantro sauce with which they were served lacked any punch. However, I loved the crispy tortillas on which the eggs were served, and the hash browns were excellent. Trio of the Day featured a Cold, Roasted Shrimp Salad, which was pleasant and refreshing, albeit a bit bland but I appreciated the roasted preparation applied to the shrimp, which provided flavor and texture. Component 2, a house-pickled beet salad, was really nice. It showcased tender beets and acheived a nice balance between sweet and tart. The third component of the Trio, a Roasted Salmon (provenance unknown), was served on baby spinach with a tomato-avocado salsa. As with the eggs, the salmon was dry and overcooked but the salsa was very nice.

The space is a bit worn but cozy and pleasant. There are 2 rooms and the one in which we sat (facing west) does not get much natural light because there is a foyer between it and the windows, which gets all the light. A north-facing room gets great light but a party was scheduled in that room for later in the day and as such, no seating was available in there. On a bright, sunny day, I really don't like sitting in a dark room but that's just me. Overall, though, the place is charming. Service was friendly, enthusiastic and thorough.

=R=

Corner Cooks and Jerry's in Winnetka are morphing into Taste on Chestnut, under new ownership, according to an e-mail I received from being on their mailing list:

email wrote:A New Beginning

The address of 507 Chestnut has held a restaurant for many years. When the opportunity became available to purchase the restaurant I didn’t hesitate for even a day!

The process took a little longer than expected, but the end result has been more than rewarding. To be part of such a great community has been a great feeling and that will reflect in the efforts of our team as it moves forward in the next few weeks.

As most of you have read, I am Steven Leviton, the new owner. My background is as an executive chef, and food and beverage manager in known restaurants, clubs, and hotels that many of our customers have frequented, both here and in South Florida. I plan a gentle evolution of menus that our discerning customers have come to expect. I also plan to continue the in-house events, catering, cooking parties and team builders.

In order to have the restaurant move forward to the next generation, we will be closed on Sundays and then close from January 2nd-January 29th. Please stay tuned to the website and your email for our progress reports.

Our eventual name will be "Taste On Chestnut." You will see the new signs closer to the re-opening dates, subject to the village’s approval. The website will also migrate to the new site that we are building. You may also contact us at the same phone numbers as before and info@tasteonchestnut.com

We hope to see you December and again after we re-open! Happy Holiday’s to all!

Steven Leviton
info@tasteonchestnut.com