Ravenswood Grill - American bistro

While I don't frequent diners as often as I used to, I still have some love in my clogged heart for a good greasy spoon. This love did not extend to the joint formerly known as Ravenswood Restaurant, just east of Damen on Lawrence. Just looking in the window of that place made me feel kinda sad. It closed unceremoniously last year, and I did not give it a second thought.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that there was a banner up over the door, reading "Ravenswood Grill - American Bistro". The absence of sponsorship from name-any-crappy-light-beer-company on the banner gave it some credibility in my eyes. The menus in the window looked simple, thoughtful and earnest, and the tastefully remodeled space looked very clean and cared for. I decided next time I was wandering by at a mealtime, I would try it.

At 130pm on a weekday, I stopped in. Normally, the prospect of being the only customer in a restaurant would make me turn around, but I stuck to my plan. Nevertheless, it's been a long time since I have spent an entire meal in a restaurant all by myself. Maybe this is still a soft opening?

The space is nicely turned out, with a full wooden bar by the door and framed mirrors on the walls. I suspect they kept the booth seats from the old place, as mine definitely had a sizeable dimple in the middle, but everything else looked new and fresh. Nothing innovative or trendy, just tasteful.

The lunch menu had a selection of sandwiches and salads, all more or less aligning with your pub-fare-with-style template. All lunch options were $15 or less, and dinner entrees $20 or less. All meals include a side dish; I went for the chicken breast sandwich ($8.99), with a house salad, though I was tempted by the sweet potato fries.

The first surprise came before my order was ready: rather than a bread basket, I was given complimentary slices of warm banana bread sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were moist and tasty enough, though like almost all banana bread (in my opinion, at least) cried out for some butter or additional flavor.

The salad came first, and was definitely a cut above what I would usually expect for a complimentary side. Crisp romaine, fresh spring mix, several grape tomatoes and cucumber, sliced red onion in a nice balsamic and topped with a sprinkling of chopped parsley. It was big enough that a slice of chicken breast on top could have made it an entree.

The chicken sandwich was also well presented, served open faced on tomato focaccia with melted provalone and a pesto mayonnaise. There was a healthy amount of fresh lettuce, and a thick slice of beefsteak tomato that I took off the sandwich, partly because it didn't really match the flavor of the focaccia but also because it made the sandwich a little too thick to eat out of hand. The fruit garnish was a nice touch too, half a large strawberry and a twisted slice of navel orange. I think having only one customer to serve allowed for a strong attention to detail, but everything looked lovingly tended and assembled. My chicken was moist but needed spice, since the mayo was rather subtle, so the hot sauce bottle got a bit of a workout, but it was a very hearty sandwich.

I asked the server how the opening was going, and she admitted that things were slow. Apparently, it's a family business that used to run a Mexican restaurant up in Rogers Park, and they wanted to move to a more central neighborhood and try their hand at American fare, so they bought this space last fall and fixed it up. She said they get visits from the regulars of the old diner wondering why they can't get their ham n eggs all day long anymore, but they hope to earn some new regulars.

They do serve breakfast, but opening for breakfast at 830am seems odd to me, since they are missing the early morning rush to the Metra station two blocks east. Either open at 7am, or just do lunch and dinner. Also, while I expect their breakfast fare would be just as lovely, I feel likely to choose Over Easy a couple blocks north on Damen.

I don't think it's a destination restaurant by any means, but this was a really nice meal for $8.99 (though the overall cost of the meal was actually closer to $60, because I unwittingly parked in a zoned spot around the corner and got ticketed about 5 minutes before I got back to my car...D'oh!). I will try dinner soon, and hopefully have some company this time!

Ravenswood Grill
1968 W Lawrence Ave
Mon-Sun. 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

The Ravenswood Grill thread deserves a bump. The word I'd emphasize from the review above is "earnest". This place wears its homemade organic freshness on its shirtsleeves. It's aspiring to be a bit more than it looks like, and that may discourage its target market, while also putting off those who wander in thinking it's still more of a diner. We ate there tonight, downing a chicken tortilla soup with a bit of a spark that we felt rivaled the similar soup at Mixteco. Then, my soon-to-be bride had a turkey burger, while I had the tuna steak salad. The sweet potato fries were great - big cottage fries only lightly dipped, so they had more sweet potato flavor than the grizzly things so many places serve. The tuna was nicely done. My salad was slightly over-dressed, but then, I always think that, and should just remember to tell every restaurant I order one to bring dressing on the side. The owner told us the dressing, and all the sauces are home-made, as was a list of things too long for me to take in. Her turkey burger had good flavor. Very satisfying.

And we got a little menu card that says you get a 10% discount if you "mention" it. So if you're looking for that last nudge to get you in there, heck, mention my menu card. It doesn't say it has to be your menu card to get the discount.

Brunch there sounds interesting too.

I did have brunch there this past Sunday. The best part was I strolled in and was seated immediately. There are several Mexican items on the brunch menu which looked pretty interesting, but I was really in the mood for an omelet. I ordered cheddar cheese in mine. You can order up to three fillings, but I like to keep things simple. The omelet looked great, was pretty high, but not fluffy. Maybe even a little tough. It was an okay omelet, could have had more cheese. The menu said it was served with "red potato hash." This was potato cubes in some kind of reddish sauce. Not a hash. They were okay, the toast was okay. The worst part was the the waiter kept touching my arm which I hate.

Ravenswood Grill is now Cinnamon Cafe.

1968 W Lawrence
773-769-9003