09/14/2007

Fresh and Familiar

Pat Bruno
Chicago Sun Times

TAVERN AT THE PARK
Hogan's move to Millennium Park brings dishes that are approachable, interesting and flavorful

Tavern at the Park is on the ground floor of the Prudential building on East Randolph Street and across the street from the north end of Millennium Park. A seat in one of the booths opposite the bar will get you a bird's-eye view of the Wrigley Arch. A seat in the loft dining room above the bar will almost give you a view of the park itself. A seat in the sunken dining room around and behind the bar will get you a view of nothing but stone and wood (albeit in the Frank Lloyd Wright mode of cool). Wherever you end up sitting, Tavern at the Park is comfortable in every way.

The principals behind Tavern at the Park are pretty much the same as those that brought us Keefer's on West Kinzie (John Hogan, Richard and Glen Keefer and Pete de Castro). Executive chef Hogan has a culinary vitae that stretches back to Everest, with a stop at Kiki's Bistro and other top-notch restaurants. And at Keefer's, Hogan has done consistently fine work.

I figured that Tavern at the Park would not disappoint, and it didn't. It gave me pretty much what I had expected: The menu takes the middle road, with familiar dishes that are approachable yet have not been dumbed down. Folded into that are enough nuances to keep matters interesting.

One of those nuances was an appetizer, herbed chicken fondue. Yes, fondue. The fondue pot (with the flame beneath) was filled with chunks of pulled rotisserie chicken in a fontina cheese sauce that was scented with garlic (barely scented, which is fine) and brought to dipping consistency with some chicken stock. This fondue arrangement included rounds of toasted bread and slices of Granny Smith apples. I get the cheese sauce and the bread, but apples? The apples should go.

Mussels and pepperoni. Now that's a combination that I haven't seen around all that much, but the idea makes sense. A take on a classic Portuguese dish, the pepperoni whipped a whole lot of flavor into the tomato/garlic sauce (called a garlic fondue on the menu), which in turn gave the steamed mussels an added taste kick. Don't forget to sop up the sauce with some of that crusty bread.

The same menu is in play all day long. It offers a lot of options at prices that are sensible considering this prime location. For example, if you want the Tavern Teasers for dinner, the most you will shell out is $15, which would get you three mini sandwiches stacked with cuts of filet mignon that have been given the blue-cheese-crust treatment. A better go at these mini sandwiches would be one of each. One filet, one pulled pork (with cole slaw), one sirloin burger topped with cheese. And a haystack of shoestring fries is part of the deal.

A much lighter approach, as it happened one day at lunch, was to start with the tomato/basil soup. Wow, this was good. Sometimes tomato soup can be all tomato taste and no depth. Not this one. It was creamy-smooth and richly luscious.

Following the soup there was a fish sandwich. Hake was the fish (hake is used with abandon at Keefer's). The fillet (choose grilled or fried) was tucked into a toasted wheat roll along with tomato and arugula. A remoulade sauce (nice touch) added more tasty interest.

We had to try the grilled chicken flatbread. Flatbread is posing as pizza these days (and the other way around at times). Generally, I am not a fan of super-thin pizza crusts, but I did enjoy this version since there was some nice chew to the edges. The size (about 8 inches in diameter) was large enough for two to share as a lunch or dinner opener. The real enjoyment, however, came from the chicken, sliced fresh tomatoes and mozzarella topping. Not unique, but uniquely delicious.

Entrees range from braised beef short ribs to fresh fish of the day to rotisserie chicken. I suppose familiarity breeds contentment. I was quite content with the rotisserie roasted prime rib that comes in two sizes -- slabs of 14 or 20 ounces. I had put away a couple of appetizers, so I opted for the smaller size. I would have liked this dish even more had the beef been a little less medium and more medium-rare, but the cut was lean (lots of meat, little fat) and rich with beef flavor. Two ramekins on the plate, one with au jus, one with a horseradish sauce, added to the enjoyment.

The chicken Milanese was almost terrific. If only the arugula salad (with red onion, tomato and shaved Parmesan) that is part of the dish were slid to the side of the chicken instead of being plopped on top. That would have prevented the otherwise tasty chicken (very lightly breaded) from taking on a note of sogginess. And, while I am at it, why chop the arugula? A delicacy like arugula should never be done in by the knife.

For dessert, the apple crisp was laced with a caramel sauce, and that brought out the best of the tender and nicely spiced apples. The kitchen might want to cut back a bit on the oatmeal in the crisp, but that's a small matter.

Quite delicious was the warm blueberry/apple bread pudding. A slab (enough for two to share) was moist, lush and made all the more inviting with a perky lemon sauce and some of the biggest, plumpest, burst-in-your-mouth blueberries I have seen.

return to main review menu