Delecce in Lakeview good

I like Deleece in Lakeview alot. At first I thought it was a bar so I skipped it until someone at a party said it was a good restaurant. It's excellent.
I like the carmel salmon very much.

There's also a good Argentine restaurant a few blocks away on Southport but I don't remember the name.

Blue Bayou at the grand opening had a good Creme Brulee.

FoodCritic wrote:There's also a good Argentine restaurant a few blocks away on Southport but I don't remember the name.

Tango Sur?

Although I was infatuated with the newness of Sola for a while, I actually think Deleece is the better of the two Wallack-sister restaurants.

Blue Bayou opened maybe 5-6 years ago. Lots of ups and downs since that grand opening.

A little off topic, since this post was, I suppose, about Deleece, but I was walking down Southport around 11:30 AM on Sunday and there was a group standing outside Blue Bayou when I passed by. While there was a brunch menu, the it appeared to be closed, which was odd when all the other Southport brunch places were in full swing. When I happened to walk by again around 8:30 PM, it was also closed. There were no signs indicating what the story was.

Does anyone know?

Me agree. Deleece good brunch.

Me disagree. I've had neither lunch nor dinner there so I cannot speak about that. But the one brunch, man. Firstly, when I ordered a bloody mary, the waitress said: Absolute or Absolute Peppar? I said: Um, do you have bar vodka? She gave me a nasty glance and said: Yeah. One strike. I ordered eggs benedict. They came on an untoasted english muffin. Two strikes. When I asked for a toasted english muffin I was told that this was how it was served. I said I would prefer a toasted muffin please. When she finally brought the dish back she practically threw it at me. Three strikes. Delecee is out.

I guess it's possible to have bad luck with a server anywhere. I say that because I've had nothing but good servers at Deleece for fifteen years now, or however long they've been open. I don't get there every week, more like three times a year, but everytime I go, the waitperson seems not only competent and pleasant, but somehow smarter than average. I don't know exactly what I'm basing that on, since I can't say any of them has dazzled me with an extended display of wit or erudition, but they just seem to "get it" and have a friendly, interactive sense of humor that's uncommon yet not out of place. They do everything they should do as waitpeople in a good restaurant without making it seem like brain surgery. It gives Deleece a nice sense of proportion and serves as a welcome corrective to any tendency the customer might have to take himself too seriously. Your experience sounds awful, bryan, and I'm sorry you encountered what (in my experience) is an exception.

The GF and I went there last night, and had a very nice experience. I haven't been in some years, the last time was brunch which was great. They offer a $20 prix fixe menu on Mon/Tue nights and the options looked good, but we opted for the regular menu since we both wanted red meat...and I had a $50 gift certificate as well!

We had the house salad, and the butter lettuce salad - the latter coming with goat cheese, roasted red peppers and candy-spiced pecans, delicious and simple at the same time. My lady had the shortribs, very nicely cooked and served with cauliflower gratin and some monster onion rings. My NY Strip was perfectly mid-rare, sliced and fanned over truffle oil-infused mashed taters and a pan sauce.

The wine we decided on was new to both of us, and our waiter as well. He said that it's a recent addition, and we left a bit in the bottle for him to try. His service was very comfortable - there for us when needed but not hovering. It's a casual restaurant and most employees wore blue jeans, but the ambiance still maintains an air of warmth and sophistication.

We skipped dessert and headed to Margie's Candies for a jumbo turtle sundae...awesome.

In 2 recent evenings at Deleece, I've found the food sub-mediocre. I recall having a shrimp pasta that was drowning in bitter, runny pesto, a way-overcooked pan roasted salmon, and a sageless "sage cream sauce" accompanying a roasted chicken.

Of taste there is no disputing, but I think the Sola vs. Deleece debate is about as close as will be the upcoming game between the Patriots and Dolphins.

Went to DeLeece for Mrs. B's last birthday (in the spring). It seemed to me just what you'd want a somewhat upscale but still comfy, neighborhood place to be: warm atmosphere, decently spaced tables, good service. A family-friendly vibe co-existing with a nicely diverse crowd of daters, groups of friends, etc. While kids were in evidence, and welcomed (we were 3 adults, 2 kids), they were also under control and did nothing to intrude on the adult nights out going on in proximity. It's been too long for me to remember details but both meat and seafood were represented at our table. No one was disappointed with anything we were served. Overall, there was a lot of somewhat gussied up comfort food (braised short ribs and the like); no innovation, but the gussying was well done, the flavors were hearty and deep and clear. Presentations were nice without trying either too hard or not enough.
They were very happy to let us bring our own special cake and serve it. (I can't remember if they tacked on a service charge or not.) Wine by the glass included decent selections and decent prices ($7/$8).

Haven't tried the brunch.

I really like this place, too. I've been just twice. The salmon over black rice is really good and the rice makes for a nice texture. Our servers both times were friendly and accommodating, and they had helpful suggestions about wine.

I've never tried their brunch or prix fixe specials, though. Do you recommend them?

Just returned from our first brunch at Deleece. We were driving from the Montrose Beach to our home in Logan Square, and needed a restaurant with puppy-friendly dining. We've found that it's not something that's easy to do on a weekend midday, especially without waiting an hour for a table. When we drove by Deleece and saw that they had outside seating (and quickly found parking), we decided to give it a shot.

On the plus side, there were outside tables available. The servers were all extremely friendly, helpful, and quick. When my dad couldn't make his mind up about a drink, they were nice enough to offer a sample. Plus, they brought our puppy a dish of water without us having to ask. When RAB asked for pico, it was speedily delivered. If only the food were half as good as the service . . .

The food, however, wasn't good enough to justify a return visit, especially with the many great brunch options in the city. RAB and I split both the breakfast burrito and the BLT. The breakfast burrito was a bit dry. RAB improved it by asking for some fresh pico. The chorizo black bean combo worked, but not enough to make up for the dry insides. The BLT was just okay. After seeing another table with the breakfast sandwich, we'd thought that the BLT would have the same crusty hand-cut bread. Instead, it was just toasted white. Surprisingly, the tomatoes were disappointing, even though it's mid-August. And the blue cheese simply overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients. Breakfast potatoes were undercooked and greasy - - they would've benefited from being cooked another 20 minutes or more. My step mother ordered the artichoke frittata, which we didn't try, but she reported as dry and only ate half of.

Too bad. The menu looked great, and had this meal been good, I would've looked forward to returning to try other items.

If anyone has suggestions for other puppy-friendly Saturday brunch/lunch spots between Uptown and Logan Square - - that don't tend to have long Saturday waits - - I'd appreciate it.

Kennyz wrote:In 2 recent evenings at Deleece, I've found the food sub-mediocre. I recall having a shrimp pasta that was drowning in bitter, runny pesto, a way-overcooked pan roasted salmon, and a sageless "sage cream sauce" accompanying a roasted chicken.

Of taste there is no disputing, but I think the Sola vs. Deleece debate is about as close as will be the upcoming game between the Patriots and Dolphins.

28-7

FWIW, I want to like both places, but my experience has been the reverse of yours, Kenny--recent mediocre dinners at Sola, delicious ones at Deleece.