Glen Prairie - Glen Ellyn

I come to you more than a little ashamed. A year or so ago, they began to renovate what is now the Crown Plaza Hotel in Glen Ellyn (previously it was a slightly sad Holiday Inn). Not of great interest to me, but it was on a route I travel every couple of weeks, and the restaurant that emerged actually caught my eye, both in terms of the look of the interior, as well as the logo. To the point that I actually pointed it out to my wife, saying simply that it attracted me, but my deep bias against hotel restaurants (overpriced and rarely any good) prevented me from going.

Then I was perusing the current Chicago Mag's bit on dining bargains, and there it was, a great deal, seasonal, local ingredients, strong cooking. So we went, based on a Chicago Magazine article, to a place I have passed and noticed at least 50 times. Embarrassing, but thank you Chicago.

The short report is that the food is quite good, the $20 3-course menu a crazy bargain, and I wish them the best. The room is warm and welcoming, nice bar and banquettes, perfect place to enjoy a good cocktail followed by a warming winter repast. I will be back soon.

They do, in fact, pursue a locavore approach to food sources, as our hostess explained, sourcing as much as they can from within a 100 mile radius. The suppliers are first rate, as are the ingredients. My salad was a beautiful combination of cherry tomatoes, perfect greens, turnip shavings and more, so lightly dressed you could almost miss the dressing (Champagne Vinaigrette, so it was supposed to be light), but that was fine with such pristine ingredients.

My Miller Farms Roasted Chicken was interesting - the appearance of the skin, bubbling, golden brown and crispy, suggested it had been deep fried rather than roasted, but I did not ask. It was flavorful, herb marinated, though the white meat was a wee bit dry. The caramelized Brussel Sprouts were undercooked, and the caramelization was not as marked as I expect. Still tasty, as I enjoy crispy vegetables, but the execution was not what it could be.

The Bride's meat loaf was an interesting concept - three layers, piled up in thin bricks - first a layer of mashed potatoes with a touch of mushroom gravy, then a reddish beige interior slice of meat loaf that most resembled salmon loaf, topped with another slice of meatloaf, glazed with a pretty coating of mushroom gravy. Tasty and moist, but visually a bit different.

While there we also learned of another dish that I will go back and try - a riff on chicken and waffles - "seared chicken breast, butternut squash waffles, maple syrup gastrique." I was told the Chef actually grew up near Roscoe's and this is his tribute to the comfort food of his youth. Amen to that.

If one orders a la carte, the same three courses would be $28, so it is a deal even without the prix fixe menu (available every night after 5).

Given the price, the quality of the ingredients, the approach (basically little riffs on traditional comfort foods with good, but not perfect technique) and the simple fact that there were no major flaws in my $20 3 course meal - I am thrilled. The main attraction of the wine list was a large section on American sustainably, organically and or biodynamically raised wines. The rest of it was not too interesting. But the food is very wine friendly, and corkage is $10, so it might as well be BYO the way I see it.

Another nice touch is that dessert is offered in regular servings at around $6 per, or in small servings for $2, allowing one to have a light dessert (I had an egg cup sized serving of Cappucino Gelato, while the Bride enjoyed the same size Brownie Sundae), or to create your own dessert sampler.

Comparisons to Prairie Grass and Vie come to mind, though the chef, whoever he or she (I believe it is a he) may be is not anywhere near the skill and palate of Paul or Sarah. Nor is he quite as ambitious. But I wish him every opportunity to improve, because his approach is very sound.

Service was attentive and responsive, though it reminded me more than a bit of the early days of Vie - a bit like being waited on by a very enthusiastic college theater troupe. Dedicated to the concept of the restaurant and genuinely friendly and interested, but not quite the smooth professionals, yet.

Should have tried it before now, but color me happy now. I suppose one of the shared sentiments around here is that we wish every meal to be delectable, every restaurant to thrive, or at least I do. Glen Prairie is a work in process, and I will happily track the progress.

Will take pictures at my next visit, too.

Glen Prairie Restaurant
Crowne Plaza Glen Ellyn-Lombard
1250 Roosevelt Road
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
630-629-6000

Thank you dicksond. I travel by there but it never would have occurred to me stop in. This is such a pleasant surprise. Their menu looks interesting, with a nice variety of items. I look forward to visiting.

As it happens, after reading the same Chicago mag article we ventured out last night after we ran out of candy and tried this place for dinner. The space really surprised me. I thought it was warm and inviting and I'd probably try eating at the bar the next time with the very friendly staff. My husband had the veal and pork meatloaf and liked it but prefers a more traditional style. I thought it was more reminiscent of pate and since I love pate, I very much enjoyed it. I tried the chicken and waffles. The waffles were great. Very crispy and flavorful. The chicken was a little overdone, slightly dry. All in all, we both agreed that this place was worth giving it a second try. Many more things on the menu that we'd love to give a try and I think there is some definite talent in the kitchen.

P.S. My Maker's Manhattan was superb!

We've been a few times, and the room is sadly not filled to capacity as it should be. This is one of those suburban gems that never fails to impress us - I'm glad that you posted your experience there, and I hope it inspires others to check it out. It would be a shame to lose out on this one.

I have now visited Glen Prairie three times and really want to like the place, though I find that a challenge at times.

Highs and lows include.

I had a short rib sandwich with sides at lunch that was tender and flavorful, as well as a good deal.

But it took almost an hour to be served our food, and there were no more than two other tables occupied.

I had the duck leg confit on what was effectively a sausage and brussel sprout hash (along with some other root vegetables) that was perfect, and as part of the $20 menu was a great bargain, too.

But a table mate ordered the chocolate souffle for dessert, and they delivered a fallen souffle to her - I suppose we could have sent it back, but we just ate it since it did taste fine. Still, I would expect a place that is offering souffle to do it properly.

My Iceberg Lettuce salad was nicely garnished with crunchy bits of Nueske bacon, and fine blue cheese, but the lettuce, which is all about texture really, was a bit on the limp side.

On a Saturday night it was pretty full, so business is picking up, but they really need to develop a little more discipline and hold themselves to a higher quality standard if they want to be considered really good, as opposed to nice folks with a bit of ambition who do not really know how to achieve those ambitions. I will go back, but I am pretty sure I know what to expect now.

Thanks, I have a client out that way who always like to meet over food (I guess when you own the company, you get to keep the expense account). The problem is that the selections in the area are either pretty dismal, or are becoming overly familiar. When Bistro Banalieu (or however it was spelled) became Sequel, the food became overpriced (at least for a business dinner), leaving a big hole in the area for mid-priced but civil (and interesting) dining.

d4v3 wrote:Thanks, I have a client out that way who always like to meet over food (I guess when you own the company, you get to keep the expense account). The problem is that the selections in the area are either pretty dismal, or are becoming overly familiar. When Bistro Banalieu (or however it was spelled) became Sequel, the food became overpriced (at least for a business dinner), leaving a big hole in the area for mid-priced but civil (and interesting) dining.

I had a meal at the Westin by Yorktown, not sure if it was Harry Caray's or Holy Mackerel, that was pretty good. Not cheap, but not outrageous either.

I assume you know Sequel is closed.

I have heard consistently good things about Tuscany on the west side of the mall, but I have not tried it myself, and hear it can be a bit pricey.

I really want to like Uncle Julio's a little further east on Butterfield and I actually have had one or two decent meals there, though I do not like it as much as I would like to like it (if you follow that). Not as refined an atmosphere as either the places in the Westin or the Glen Prairie, of course, so only take the client if he likes Mexican.

In the end, I will go to Glen Prairie before I go back to any of them (though my meal at Harry Caray's leads me to wonder if they do not actually turn out consistently better food, even if the value is not as good, so I suppose I will need to go back there.) There remains a certain inconsistency, but it is all pretty good and a good deal.

Tuscany is one of the places that has become overly familiar. It is nothing really remarkable, but dependable. It is indeed more pricey than similar Italian restaurants in the city, and the Italianesque pomp and flourish can get a little old. When it first opened, we went several times. It can also get a little loud for business. I am eager to try Glen Prairie. Unfortunately, I don't get out that way as much as I used to.

dicksond wrote:

d4v3 wrote:
In the end, I will go to Glen Prairie before I go back to any of them (though my meal at Harry Caray's leads me to wonder if they do not actually turn out consistently better food, even if the value is not as good, so I suppose I will need to go back there.) There remains a certain inconsistency, but it is all pretty good and a good deal.

Ive done Harry Carays(I ignore all the cubs crap), and Holy Mackerel a few times, and each meal was pretty good. I like that they share a kitchen and you can order off either, or like I did, both menus.

I prefer Harry Carays because the dining area is its own space, while Holy Mackerel is off the lobby, and the folks pass through the dinig area to get to Harry Carays.

Had lunch there today. The northern pike was moist, tender and flaky, and had a nice crust. It was served with good sauted green beans, and the killer mac n cheese (which is served in a little Le Crueset-like casserole). The mac was rich, creamy and delicious, topped with a cheese cracker-like crust. I didn't finish it all, because I wanted to try to the fallen souffle for dessert, which was very good, too. And only $2! (Note that the menu lists "fallen chocolate souffle").

My lunch companions had the the grilled 3-cheese sandwich with a big side salad; she said it was very tasty. Another had the spinach and mushroom frittata, which also got high marks. It looked somewhat wan, as it was made with egg whites (also listed on the menu), but I was told it was delicious.

We started with the fried ravioli on butternut squash and truffles. The squash/truffle sauce was excellent -- really butternutty with great depth of flavor. The ravs were good, too, but fried ravs just aren't my thing I guess.

Note also that there is a 10% off food coupon on the website, which is good through 12/31/09. Nice place.

I started this thread with an apology that I took so long to report on this place. I will end my involvement with a different apology - I am sorry if I encouraged you to try this place.

From the beginning, Glen Prairie was more about promise - quality ingredients, an interesting menu, attractive pricing, a pleasant room - than what arrived on the plate. For every wonderful item on the dish, there was another item that was not properly cooked. For every nice service touch like $10 corkage, there was a wait person who was challenged to actually wait on one table in an empty room.

And now I have had it.

My special appetizer was a large plate of La Quercia Prosciutto with a drizzle of olive oil, complemented (in your dreams!) with some toasted bread topped with tapenade. The Prosciutto was very good, and the Tapenade quite nice, too, but together what do you get? No chance to taste the subtle flavors of the prosciutto and olive oil, that's what. Just about every taste note in the ham and oil is LOUDLY DUPLICATED in the tapenade, sort of like listening to a duet by the Sex Pistols and CSO - no need to have the CSO even show up, because no one can tell they are there.

I probably could have forgiven this terrible misconception of a dish, clearly created by someone who does not actually taste any of the food, if it were not for what followed.

Finally sampled their "fried chicken 'n waffles" and they were just plain terrible. Definitely a contender for the worst meal of the year in my book, and this includes a recent party with all Jewel catering, from the potato salad, to the cheapest dogs and buns in the store, to the sheet cake (I shiver at the memory, not least that I actually felt compelled to sample some of it). In addition to being dry (hard to do with a leg and thigh, but I guess if you deep fry it without any breading, it gets easier), it also had a certain off-taste that makes me bet it had been in that kitchen quite a bit longer than 24 hours. As if that was not enough, the "sweet potato waffles" better resembled - well, I am at a loss. They were hard (not crispy), dry, and the maple syrup gastrique nothing more than a mere hint of what could have been before the incompetents took over. On the plus side, the brussel sprouts were properly cooked for the first time in all my visits to Glen Prairie.

I really did give them a chance - dining there four times, three for dinner and one lunch, over 6 months. And I have seen some progress over that time - downward.

The trap remains that one can go there and have a very good meal, as tcdup did in the post above. But as the odds of that have grown progressively gotten worse, it is time to take my palate elsewhere, before I do further injury to myself and others.

I feel better now. Some day I may even be able to forget this meal.