Oak Park Abbey Wine Dinner

I didn't see a previous post for the Oak Park Abbey so I thought I'd start one in response to the FABULOUS dinner Mellon-hubby and I had there last night. I had never heard of this restaurant until a co-worker forwarded me an email about a wine tasting dinner there. In the interest of full disclosure the chef (Mark Wright) works for the same company I do during the day.

They usually do a monthly Chef's wine dinner which is a price-fix tasting menu with wine parings.

Last night the theme was surf and turf and the menu was as follows (sorry - I didn't take photos because I'm a wuss):

The meal started off with a watermelon amuse. This was watermelon and pistachio served in different forms (liquid pistachio "fizz" with balsamic covered watermelon) with accents of basil and heirloom tomato. Honestly, this didn't really wow me (I'm not a fan of watermelon). Not only that, but this summer I've seen so many variations on watermelon/balsamic combo that it's kind of becoming cliché.

The next course, however was a winner - a diver scallop perfectly seared, served with a creamy and light sauce (I think he called it "corn chowder") with bacon and mushrooms. This was sprinkled with fresh sweet corn, so the sweet crunchiness of the corn accented well with the richer scallop and bacon.

Walu and braised veal was the next course and was a standout. The rich buttery walu was simply seasoned with salt and pepper and pan roasted, topped with the braised veal, and served on top of a lemon and black pepper risotto. The richness of the fish went well with the veal and the bright lemon in the risotto was a nice complement.

A wagu tenderloin followed, grilled perfectly rare with a nice mashed potato. This was served with "tomato molasses" which was the consistency of Fig Newton filling and tasted like a cross between molasses, Coca Cola, and Fig Newton - it was the perfect sweet accompaniment to the beef. This was topped with a deep fried blue cheese fritter which was heavenly.

A champagne float with vanilla ice cream and chocolate truffles was the palate cleanser before the semolina cake dessert which was the dessert that knocked the entire dinner out of the park. It was custardy, light, not too sweet and perfectly accompanied with pistachio crème anglaise.

The wine parings were thoughtful, if a little predictable - but nice (and generous) pours.

I don't think they do this type of dinner more than once a month and judging from the size of the kitchen, seating is probably limited.

They have a regular menu with small plates which I have not tried but will go back to check out. The wine list was pretty interesting for a small wine bar and most selections were available by the glass and by the bottle - and the wine prices didn't seem too outrageous. They do have wine flights of 3 wines each - at first glance the flights seemed a bit bland, but they seemed worth checking out anyway.

The Oak Park Abbey
728 West Lake Street
Oak Park IL
(708) 358-8840