Crofton on Wells

For my vegetarian sister’s birthday we went to Crofton’s on Wells. It was great.

The restaurant is gorgeous. Steel, modern lines, lots of blue grey, but very comfortable. I will say that the metal covers on the menus were a bit heavy and cumbersome.

My sister, husband, and I arrive on time and wait for our parents who are always fashionably late. We sat at the bar and ordered some drinks. My husband said his gin and tonic was one of the best ones he’s ever been served. My sister and my martinis were very good, almost too good.

Our parents arrive and we’re shown to our table. Let me just say that we are a loud, happy bunch, possibly the loudest party in the restaurant. It’s a rather small place that only seats probably 60-75.

We sit down and order. For starters I had the Smoked Cauliflower with Lentils. It was very good. The lentils were cooked perfectly and stood up to the smokiness of the cauliflower. My husband did say it tasted like chili, but then it was the best chili I ever had. It was a vegetarian but had a very strong bacon-y taste to it.
My sister, the guest of honor, had the beet tureen with heirloom tomatoes. Now she loves beets and she loved it. I don’t care for beets, but the heirloom tomatoes were just perfect.
We also had the crab cake, which even though it was very good, it disappointed my stepmom. She is looking for a great crab cake with out peppers in the mix. My husband had a chilled soup that was also very good. I believe it was a cucumber, melon, leek soup.

For our main courses we had, the bbq pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, mushroom and pea risotto, and the Amish chicken. Amish chicken was the butt of my sister’s jokes. She expected to see it in a bonnet, driving a carriage. I’m a fan of the Amish chicken, but the vegetarian didn’t get that.

I had the bbq pork tenderloin. It came with a corn cake/fritter/pudding thing. While very tasty, the corn cake was rather dry. The pork was done to perfection. Still slightly pink, very tender, and with a rich smoky flavor. The bbq sauce was a little generic tasting, but still good.

The beef tenderloin was the rock star of the night. It was perfect. Thank god we all agree that Rare, Medium Rare is the only ways meat should be cooked. It came with some little potatoes, onions-very yummy, and mushroom. Not being a mushroom fan I have to rely on my stepmom, she said they were good.

The risotto was good, one sister complained it was too salty, but I believe it was due to the cheese and not the seasoning. I believe they used a sharp parm. It was tasty, but not of too much interest to us carnivores.

The Amish chicken did not disappoint. It was done perfectly, plated very nicely. It’s not a rock star like beef tenderloin, but it was tender, juicy and well flavored.

All the plates were perfectly sized and portioned. Nothing was too much or too little. Which I really like.

Aw, desserts. We splurged here. We had 3 desserts, the chocolate cake, the crème brulee tasting (mango, Earl Grey, and lemongrass), and some rhubarb sorbet held with in a crème puff pastry.

They were all to die for, but the clear winner was the Earl grey flavored crème brulee. It was rich, creamy, and just plain good.

All in all it was a great meal and a great vegetarian option.

Crofton on Wells
535 N Wells St
Chicago Il
312-755-1790

Funniest thing was my veggie sister wanted to get away from the standard veggie fare at most resturaunts, pasta and veggies tossed together.

Well the special was Soba noodles with veggies and a miso broth.

She couldn't get away!!!

any recent reports on crofton on wells?

I was there last June. Have been trying to find a time to go back since.

My long report is here:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

The short version: I've been three times now and have never been let down. Food is in some ways classic and in some ways modern, but always tasty. Service is attentive but not over the top. A real gem.

are jeans ok there or is it more business casual?

I would say more business casual but jeans with a blazer could work well. Not a stuffy place but you also don't want to stick out being too casual.

I really like this place as well - enjoy.

Was there just a few weeks ago. It's one of my favorite rooms in the city, and the food is very good, but the menu is pretty conservative. We like it, and we'll definitely be back... but it's probably the most "boring" menu at its price point I know of. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

(My quail app was *awesome*.)

I was there last summer for my Birthday, and just blown away. I have to say it's one of my favorite restaurants in the city, especially when I don't feel like experimenting. I'd say it's southern-inspired french cuisine. Suzy Crofton works with a lot of local farmers for her ingredients, too. Highly recommended!

We went last June for our anniversary. For several years in a row it had come in second when we were deciding where to go. After going, we were sorry that we had waited so long. Well executed food with excellent service.

I owe you all a detailed report on dinner. Forgive me as it's been a few days so some of my details are a little hazy, but I can give the general impression of the place as well as some details about food.

First, it was gross outside when we went. We came in from the cold and were warmly greeted by the host. She was pleasant, had a smile on her face, and welcomed us into the restaurant. I know this sounds trite, but I can't even begin to list the number of restaurants we visit where the hosts have absolutely no personality whatsoever. Our table wasn't quite ready so we were offered seats at the bar where Max, the bartender made a couple of great cocktails. (An Americano for me and a Black Martini for her). Both were made with great care and balance of flavors. One thing to note- I didn't see a single input screen behind the bar- that's really nice to see. (the screens can be bright and distracting from time to time, but that's just me nitpicking).

We sat and they transfered our tab over to our table. Our waiter was pleasant and friendly, just like the rest of the staff. We were at complete ease when he told us about a few things on the menu. One question we had was to the portioning. My fiancee and I are generally in agreement that overall Chicago portions tend to be very large, and that smaller portions are really welcome to us. They had 3 courses set up on the menu and we wanted to do all 3. Luckily for us they were small enough that we could eat 3 courses and not feel so stuffed that we needed to be rolled home.

I started with their crabcake. Mind you I'm coming from DC so my impression of crabcakes is a touch unfair. Not too much filler in this, but enough to keep it bound and moist. I wish I could have tasted a bit more of the crab in it, but it was seasoned and prepared wonderfully.

For my next course I had the ravioli- basically a rabbit confit ravioli, again perfectly seasoned, served hot, and plump with flavor.

For my main I had the waygu ribeye. This was possibly my least favorite of the evening, which isn't saying too much as I still thought this was excellent. The ribeye was wonderfully full of flavor and very rich.

All in all, a truly wonderful meal. I actually was so impressed with our service and the variety on the menu (I don't find their menu boring at all within the confines of what they are doing- modern American food) that I remarked I'd return there the next night for dinner if my fiancee was so incliend I think this needs to be on more people's lists to hit up for fine dining.

Bump.

My wife and I ate at Crofton this past Saturday; I think it was our 5th time there. This continues to be one of the undersung gems in the city. The menu has gotten a bit more interesting since our last visit, but still eschews foams, terrines, and parlor tricks. It's just well considered, wonderfully executed food.

My wife had the mushroom appetizer (with pancetta and brioche). It's always fantastic, and this was no exception. The pork entree was also perfectly cooked. (We've become pork experts; she orders a pork dish EVERY time we go out. Now I can take a bite everywhere and use it as a benchmark.)

I had the duck / foie gras raviolo (lovely), and I finally ordered the Amish chicken and mashed potatoes. Not the world's most exciting dish, but it just sounded good. It was easily the best chicken I've ever been served. Moist, but with lovely texture and perfectly crisp skin.

We shared a curried lentil side w/ ginger jelly and cashew butter. It was awesome.

Washed it all down with a 2005 Peay Pomararium Pinot Noir, which was every bit as elegant and enjoyable as our food.

The service at Crofton is great, the prices are quite reasonable for the quality, and the food is damned good. An unqualified recommendation.

My wife and I went to Crofton's yesterday with another couple for the Restaurant Week menu ($32 for three courses, plus tax and tip). This was everyone's first time to the restaurant.

For a first course my wife had the crab cake while I had the cauliflower soup. The soup was excellent, with trumpet mushrooms and arugula oil. The crab cake was barely passable, with a weird mouthfeel that seemed like there was an egg filler increasing the size of the dish and keeping it together.

For the main course, we both had the Amish chicken breast. It was well prepared, with a spicy crust that helped give the dish some flavor. It was served with mashed yukon gold potatoes and haricot verts. The potatoes were average, as were the beans. They were good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

For the dessert, I had the banana cream pie with macadamia nut brittle and chocolate sauce while my wife had the house-made ice cream consisting of one chocolate scoop and two scoops of salted caramel. The banana cream pie was very tasty, but there was a lot of chocolate going on due to the sauce, so fans of more traditional banana cream pie will likely be disappointed. The salted caramel ice cream was excellent and pretty special. The chocolate ice cream was pretty average.

We ordered a couple of bottles of wine, which was an adventure. The wine list is loaded with very overpriced selections, all between 2.5 and 3 times retail. We found a couple of decent wines in the mid-$40 a bottle range, which worked fine for the meal. Pretty much everything else on the list was north of $70 a bottle.

In summary, the food was worth what we paid for it, but we won't go back. The menu pricing is crazy for the value received. The three courses I paid $32 for yesterday would have set me back $56.75 any other time. Not a chance it's worth that. Combine that with an expensive wine list, and I would say that this is a place to visit only if you're entertaining on an expense account.

I recently got one of those $50 coupons for $25 deal through the WXRT website. I have been wanting to go to Crofton on Wells and Naha for some time. But as I got the coupon ...

I am a Vegetarian and I was pleasantly surprised to see the restaurant had a vegetarian menu. That in itself is great, because it lets me know the Chef put thought and effort into it.

I had a Chilled Cucumber soup. A frenchified, strained, delicious version of Raita. Cool, refreshing and summery. I am now thinking of making my version of this. I have a hand held blender and a strainer. Why not?

For the Entree I had a Spinach/Morel Risotto. Now I think the Risotto was overcooked. But since I like my rice well done, this was perfect for me. I seem to remember from the previous Risottos I have had at other restaurants that the Rice has a residual bite left to it. But having grown up eating rice in India; this was considered undercooked in my family. So for my palate, this risotto was perfect. That also made me realize that I have to go get my annual Morel Mushroom fix. Once a year I get my fresh Morel fix by making a Kashmiri Guchchi pullao.

Dessert was a Cheese plate. The best was a Goat cheese that was mild and not to Goaty.

Friends I went with split a crab cake for appetizer. The best reaction to that was, "This makes me not want to get CrabCakes at cheapass places". They had a Pork and an Amish Chicken for entree, and going by their reactions they seemed to think this was among the best preparations they had eaten.

The service was professional, respectful and efficient. The server made sure the other offerings they had for soup were not vegetarian and advised me against it. I like this sort of consideration. Overall it was a fantastic experience. Now I have to look for coupons for Naha.

John Danza wrote:
We ordered a couple of bottle of wine, which was an adventure. The wine list is loaded with very overpriced selections, all between 2.5 and 3 times retail. We found a couple of decent wines in the mid-$40 a bottle range, which worked fine for the meal. Pretty much everything else on the list was north of $70 a bottle.

At the fine dining level this is pretty standard for markup.

jpschust wrote:

John Danza wrote:
We ordered a couple of bottle of wine, which was an adventure. The wine list is loaded with very overpriced selections, all between 2.5 and 3 times retail. We found a couple of decent wines in the mid-$40 a bottle range, which worked fine for the meal. Pretty much everything else on the list was north of $70 a bottle.

At the fine dining level this is pretty standard for markup.

True, but most places have a better range of wines at different price points. I would also be willing to debate that this is a fine dinning establishment.

I think Crofton on Wells just wants to be expensive and make folks think that expensive equals fine dining.

John Danza wrote:

jpschust wrote:

John Danza wrote:
We ordered a couple of bottle of wine, which was an adventure. The wine list is loaded with very overpriced selections, all between 2.5 and 3 times retail. We found a couple of decent wines in the mid-$40 a bottle range, which worked fine for the meal. Pretty much everything else on the list was north of $70 a bottle.

At the fine dining level this is pretty standard for markup.

True, but most places have a better range of wines at different price points. I would also be willing to debate that this is a fine dinning establishment.

I think Crofton on Wells just wants to be expensive and make folks think that expensive equals fine dining.

I would respectfully disagree, it's fine dining with a more relaxed atmosphere (it ain't Everest). I don't know what their current list looks like, I haven't looked it over lately, but I think this is a common comment on most wine lists right now, especially those at the higher end.

I think we've been to Crofton eight or ten times at this point. I think the restaurant has only gotten better over time. It's not a culinary fireworks kind of place, but everything I've ever tasted here just been done right.

As far as wine prices, I have not noticed their list to be particularly high, at least for the Cali pinots we tend to drink with this kind of food. They tend to be 40-60 on release and 90-110 at Crofton, which I think is pretty much in line with everywhere else.

$35 for $75 Groupon deal - http://www.groupon.com/deals/crofton-on ... newsletter

I went to Crofton a few weeks back, been meaning to post. It exceeded my expectations. Execution was solid, service was fantastic. I really enjoyed it, it's a place I'll recommend easily from here on out - I guess for some (unwarranted) reason I imagined it'd have a boring menu and staid atmosphere. Not true at all... it was only half-full on a Saturday night, which was a bit disturbing, hopefully it was just an off night.

My wife and I went to Crofton on Friday and, unfortunately, we were pretty disappointed with the meal

Initially, service was pretty good. The meal moved at a relaxed pace. The waiter was efficient and knew the menu.

The food itself though just wasn't very good. We started with an amuse that had some heavy apple flavors. It was OK, but heavy for an amuse.

For the first course, I went with scallops while my wife went with a squash soup. The scallops were cooked well, but two days later all that I can recall about them was that there were odd flavors that just didn't add much. The squash soup on the other hand was pretty good (the one decent course we had all night).

For the second course, I went with sweatbreads with foie, while my wife went with a pear salad. My dish just felt slimy. Eating it was unpleasant. My wife's pear salad was overwhelmed with blue cheese. The cheese was so strong that none of the other flavors came through.

For the main course, my wife went with cod while I had venison. Again, neither dish worked. The lentils on the cod seemed overcooked. The fish itself was OK. My venison had some really strong flavors. Unfortunately, I don't recall what they were but the made the dish pretty unpleasant.

For dessert, my wife went with a chocolate dessert which was conventional but good. I went with an apple dessert which was almost inedible due to too much and too strong cheese.

On the bright side, my wife's cappucino was exceptional.

Looks like Michelin agrees with me. Crofton lost its star.

I went there once about a year ago after hearing rave reviews and thought it very mediocre. We live very close to it and haven't gone back. It wasn't bad, just undistinguished.