Chocolate Always Wins

Yesterday was the opening day for the ice rink at Millennium Park. Reminded that one of my favorite Chicago winter pleasures is eating at the Park Grill with its vantage point of the skaters- a veritable kaleidoscope right outside its window- we headed over there on this blustery evening. I’ve never had a bad meal at the PG. Since we’ve been in the loop, it’s our old standby. Last night I had a red pepper soup and roasted fillet of salmon with a pomegranate sauce and pomegranate seeds on top of a purée of spiced butternut squash brightened up with a little crunch of fresh chervil sprinkled around the sides. The colors, the textures, the mingling flavors were mmm. J had a skin-on roasted salmon with some kind of lobster-stuffed mushrooms that I never got a taste of because it went too quickly! I was trying to keep it light because at the PG I always save room for dessert. Pastry artiste Christine McCabe makes it hard to choose just one indulgence. We split the gianduia which was creamy, nutty and berryful with an unflappable flourless chocolate foundation. The dessert offerings, like the rest of the menu, reflect the season—we were tempted to go for a squash confection, but in this house chocolate always wins in a toss-up. In the past we’ve swooned over the crème brulee, an apple-rhubarb crumble, and a nearly effervescent slab of carrot cake. It’s a treat to skate it off first and then pop in just for coffee and a sweet.

Back to the main fare.. the menu is not very pretentious since they’re appealing to tourists and suburbanites as well as the theater crowd. It looks like a lot of people use it as a burger and fries kind of joint, but fishetarian foodies-in-training like us always find interesting options. The salads are amazing, especially one they’re currently doing with roasted beets and watercress. The pumpkin soup is velvety with a hint of cream and maple. And the seared scallop appetizer—lekker! Food this good deserves to be as far away from a TV as possible. Unfortunately, there are a few at the bar which are within eyeshot of most of the rest of the place. It’s my main beef with nearly all restaurants… if I wanted to watch TV I’d stay home. Dining is a meditation for the senses, not something to do in the glow and din of college football.