Act One Cafe, Rogers Park (Mayne Stage)

The Act One Café, adjacent to the Mayne Stage (formerly the Morse Theatre), has taken the place of the short-lived Century Public House. I dined with friends there last week. The host was very accommodating to our uncertain group size when she seated us on the patio. (We were going to be at least four and maybe six. She agreed not to seat anyone at the two-top next to us in case we needed it, which we did.) It was a nice way to spend a late summer Friday evening.

Act One's mission per its website is "to bring new American cuisine to Chicago's north side." They also purport to use locally sourced products. They have a nice selection of beers on tap, including Half Acre Daisy Cutter, Three Floyd's Pride & Joy and Bells Oberon. I had a couple of Dark & Stormys from their specialty drink list and enjoyed them. I didn't look closely at the wine list, but they seem to have a decent selection both by the glass and bottle. I appreciate that the drink prices seemed fair.

As for the food, we started with the fried calamari. That's often a gamble because some places don't do fried calamari well. Our batch was tough. They serve it with a chipotle-spiked tomato sauce, which we didn't like. Our server brought us a side of the housemade cocktail sauce and some of the sugar cane/garlic dipping sauce (both served with other appetizers) to see if we liked either of them better. The winner was the sugar cane/garlic, but it couldn't help the over-cooked calamari. Entrees fared better. Two of our party had the roast chicken (Miller's Farm airline breast served with bacon gremolata and roasted new potatoes), which was moist and flavorful. Mr. X had a special of scallops and pasta. There were five big scallops and they were perfectly seared. I had the pork chop (bone-on 10oz chop, marinated and grilled and served with a pineapple, chardonnay glaze). The chop had good flavor, but seemed a little dry. It came with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. For dessert, we shared the malted chocolate pot du creme (with Turbinado sugar brulee, brandied Chantilly and pecan-lace cookie), the berry galette (rustic tart with seasonal berries and Ciao Bella vanilla gelato) and three scoops of ice cream/gelato (I don't remember the flavors.) The pot du creme was the winner in my book.

Act One is a good alternative in Rogers Park for a more upscale meal and definitely a great option before a show at the Mayne Stage. Let's hope these businesses stay around longer than their predecessors!

Act One Café
1330 W Morse Ave
Chicago, IL 60626
773-381-4550
Closed Mondays
http://www.actonecafe.com/

Mayne Stage
http://www.maynestage.com/

We made a return trip to Act One last night. The menu has changed since our last visit, but that's good for a place that uses locally sourced products. I was trying to eat somewhat healthy and had the Wrap (spicy arugula, brie, sun dried tomato pesto, tomato and pears, in a tomato basil wrap). Mr. X had the Ribwich (slow cooked short ribs on a Brioche bun with pickled red onions, Dunbarton cheddar blue cheese). I really enjoyed my wrap -- it was fresh with a nice balance of flavors. The Ribwich had a lot going on and skewed a little too sweet for me in the one bite I had, but Mr. X seemed to enjoy it. We split a strawberry shortcake for dessert. The biscuit was nice and tender and the macerated strawberries added a perfect amount of sweetness.

They are now open Mondays. I'm glad we ended up there and will add it to our Rogers Park rotation.