Pier 5736?

Anyone been to this seafood place on Elston? They claim the Reader rated them one of the top 50 restaurants in Chicago, but I can find no other info. about them...

Pier 5736
5736 N. Elston
Chicago
773-774-3663
closed Monday
Tue - Sat 3 - 10
Sun 3-9
http://www.pier5736.com/

I ate at the Pier, loved it, great place, tremendous seafood, fun owner, nice service, I would definitely go back.

I found Pier 5736 to be nice enough, very friendly staff, casual atmosphere, and good prices. The prices seemed to be the main attraction, and our server reiterated the great "deals" available. Perhaps I took this as a red flag, and the fish, though good, seemed not anywhere near the level of, say, a Shaw's -- but at about 50% the cost, it's a bargain and a worth a trip.

eta: nothing to see here!

I swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster that I went to this place Friday night with the intention of returning home and doing my chowist duty by being the first to write it up . . . and this thread pops up.

Fine. I can't comment first, but I can still do my duty.

From the outside, it looks like one of 10,001 old neighborhood bars. Signage is kind of tough to see. Inside - surprise! It's an old neighborhood bar. Cleaned up some, with movie posters [Godfather III and Once Upon a Time in America???] and Sox memorabilia [dude, you're on the north side now] on the walls. Looks like the original tin ceiling, painted in the past 25 years and snaked with conduit. Tables are covered in cloth, white butcher paper over that. Some chairs are restaurant-diner standard, some are those $7 plastic lawn chairs. Patrons at the bar/restaurant, early on a Friday, consistent with the aging haute working-class nature of the neighborhood. Couple of guys at the bar nursing a drink & having a cigarette.

Enough decor. Menu has various standard fishes [tilapia, salmon, catfish,trout], crab cakes, chowder. [I forgot to ask if the standard menu items are fresh or frozen.] Some sandwiches, some non-fish items for non-fish eaters. There are 4 or 5 specials listed on a chalk board, among them arctic char, escolar, more trout, and cod. I ask the eager-to-be-helpful waitress about the specials, and she does a good job of giving me a run-down on the fish specials and their prep. I ended up ordering the escolar [in an americaine sauce] because she told me it was the freshest fish, having just come in that morning [the chef later said it had come in the day before...].

Bread comes to the table; it's very mediocre french bread, sliced, and heated up so that it's dry & crusty on the outside and cold in the middle. At an upcharge of $1, I have a caesar salad with a dressing that tastes like it was made on site, not too bad. My fish arrives; a reasonably sized filet, nice pool of sauce underneath it, and a handful of perfectly grilled veggies [potoato, mushroom, squash, I forget what else]. The grilled filet is an irregular shape, leading to overcooked, stringy edges and a medium-warm inside. It's a nice, tasty piece of fish, but I'm not thrilled with the unevenness of the cooking. The place was fairly empty, and Chef Peter came by to check on things. I asked him about the shape of the fish, and he proceeded to tell me how huge the fish was and how big the pieces he'd seen could get - which left me wondering about my oddly-shaped filet.

I went into Pier 5736 really wanting to like the place, but I left indifferent. Dinner was $24, plus an $8 martini and $8 glass of wine [both of which felt priced a little high, especially the martini]. At that price point, I can think many places I can go and feel I've eaten a more interesting meal, or a meal where the details are looked after with more finesse, or a much more abundant meal. I admit I don't know what the retail price of escolar is, but by the time I paid tax and put down a tip, I was out $50 for a meal for myself. And I expect a more rewarding experience than this for that amount of money.

They have a $20 special on Wednesday and Thursday nights: choice of selected fish, appetizer and desert, and Monday and Sunday nights a chef's choice [according to the web site; I didn't see the Sunday/Monday special mentioned in the restaurant]. Specials may be the way to go here. When I walk into a restaurant that looks like a neighborhood bar, I expect more of a value than I feel like I got here, which was a decent meal at a far-from-cheap price.

Giovanna

Nice description, Giovanna.

Went there tonight, and, overall, I think I agree with most of the other posters ... great prices, adequate food and service, but not a real destination place.

My whitefish special was very well-priced at $10, which included a basic salad, and some steamed veggies and potatoes on the side. Perfectly adequate, not much more than that.

The chef came out briefly to see how things were; I mentioned that I had heard about the place of LTH. He didn't seem to care.

I also hoped to like this place, but its really just an independent restaurant pretending to - and only slghtly exceeding - the quality of a chain. But it was a worthwhile experience that I wouldn't have heard about without LTH.

And, where the heck has Giovanna encountered a Flying Spaghetti Monster?

nr706 wrote:And, where the heck has Giovanna encountered a Flying Spaghetti Monster?

No, no. Not a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

I really thought I had heard about this place from here, but I can't find any other threads.

The first time we went, I had blackened mahi-mahi , which was quite good. The sides were very well done, I think it is always veggies and potatoes.
The second time, I had garlic shrimp and it was a little soupy and garlicky for me, but then I prefer my shrimp a little drier. We had fried calamari for an appetizer and it was pretty good. The chocolate mousse bomb (which they may not always have) is very good, and I don't usually even order mousse because it's not one of my favorites. We got that both times.

I do recommend this place and do plan to go back. I think on Tuesdays and Sundays, they have five $10 specials. I could be mixed up about that, so call first.

-Pam

tiapam wrote:I do recommend this place and do plan to go back. I think on Tuesdays and Sundays, they have five $10 specials.

I'm pretty sure the 10 buck specials are Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is one of the better fish deals around.

Giovanna wrote:No, no. Not a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

I find this blinkered monotheism most distressing.

Giovanna wrote:
No, no. Not a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

So funny, but appropriate, to find this here!
I first encountered this (HIM?) when Sparky was going through his pirate dress-up phase...

finally ... vindication ... proof of the existence of the flying spaghetti monster

-ramon

Ramon wrote:finally ... vindication ... proof of the existence of the flying spaghetti monster

-ramon

Ramon! Thank you for steering us to this!

Praise his noodly appendage!

Giovanna

Had dinner there last night with my wife and a friend who lives in the neighborhood. Overall, a nice experience. As previously noted, no comparison to Shaw's. But it's moderately priced, not overly huge portions, and attentive service. Not bad for a neighborhood spot. BTW - there's a 10% off coupon on their web site.

Update: Pier 5736 is closing at this location on Jan 10. It will be reopening on 5721 Clark Street (the old Round Oak Restaurant). We had dinner there tonight and happy with the price and selection--$12 Sunday fish specials tonight included skate, pan-fried and served with a light butter/caper sauce.
We will be visiting Chef Peter and staff in the new location soon.

Are they changing their catchy name to "Pier 5721"?

I asked our server this exact question...and he said that they weren't sure yet. But that they were going to keep their website pier5736.com and to check this for updates...but I had to inform him that I went to the website earlier that day and that it looked like it expired.

http://www.pier5736.com/ (again...not working right now, but maybe in the future).

I am in the area, so around 1.10 I will post back with an update as to the new name for the new location.

Giovanna wrote:Cleaned up some, with movie posters [Godfather III and Once Upon a Time in America???] and Sox memorabilia [dude, you're on the north side now] on the walls. Patrons at the bar/restaurant, early on a Friday, consistent with the aging haute working-class nature of the neighborhood. Couple of guys at the bar nursing a drink & having a cigarette.

Go SOX...LOL Dudes were smoking at the bar

Cbot wrote:Go SOX...LOL Dudes were smoking at the bar

Check the time stamp, it is 2006 back when you could smoke legally at the bar.

Regards,