Dinner #3: Landmark Grill & Lounge

Tonight's restaurant selection, Landmark Grill & Lounge, was made by P.B; he was curious about this restaurant as he had heard good reviews and it is run by the same people that manage The Girl & the Goat.  Lucky for us, every Wednesday at Landmark is Wino Wednesday (half price bottles from 7-8PM plus a free pizza! - so of course we ordered two).  Plus, this week was Chef's Week 2011, which the restaurant had helped to found, so they had a $33 3-course fixed menu that we could also choose from - another happy accident (though no one took advantage).

Landmark Grill & Lounge is located at 1633 N Halsted St.  Street parking may be difficult depending on time of day, though it is convenient to get to by public transport.

Before moving on to the food, I must make note of the unwelcoming reception some of our party received upon entering the restaurant.  When the two arrived, the hostess was condescending & rude to them regarding their inquiry about the coat check and also made a snide comment about how they would need luck to get a seat at the bar.  So our first impressions based on interaction with the staff - not so great.

The restaurant's ambiance was actually quite nice.  It wasn't too crowded and it felt very spacious.  We were seated towards the back of our section, which was great for having lively group conversations.  It wasn't too loud, so we were able to carry on a normal conversation without screaming.  The music was an eclectic mix - a little new agey to contemporary/modern.

However, I feel we were all in agreement that the wait-staff left much to be desired.  The first person who visited our table, apparently the "assistant", came to take drinks but ignored our requests for wine and just wanted to know what type of water we wanted - tap/table or bottled.  Seriously???  So that was a little off-putting.  When the actual server arrived, he seemed a little insincere, especially in the way he made recommendations about food & wine.  I'm sorry but when I ask you for what your favorite menu item is, I want to know YOUR opinion - not that everything on the menu is "fantastic, but with slightly different preparation methods".

Regardless of the personnel, the food was pretty good.  Let's start with the pizzas - in my humble opinion, a MUST!  The menu lists very interesting/unusual pizza combinations; we went with the Pulled Pork/Cilantro Pesto and Chef's Special (which was a yellow curry + chicken and some other goodies).  These were great appetizers for the table.  If you like thin crust pizza, definitely give it a try.

The main course consisted of two Atlantic Salmon, one Skirt Steak Sandwich, one Roasted Chicken and one Arugula-Ricotta Agnolotti.  Everyone seemed pretty thrilled with their dishes:  H.L loved his lentils with the Chicken; A.W. particularly enjoyed the "special sauce" on her sandwich (and we all enjoyed her fries!); P.B. and K.S. enjoyed their salmon (though not so the eggplant puree).  I, myself, was a little underwhelmed with the agnolotti - i think it had to do with the pesto.  In all honesty, it tasted like fresh-cut grass.  However, Kelly and I decided to split a side-order of the brussel sprouts - OMG!  So delicious the way they were prepared.  Brussel sprouts are one of those misunderstood vegetables, but I definitely would recommend to anyone to give 'em a try - you won't be disappointed.

Of course, we ended dinner with dessert - the Gigantic Cookie w/Ice Cream & Hot Fudge and Milk-Chocolate Semifreddo.  In all honesty, you really can't go wrong with dessert, but these were exceptionally good.  The sweetness of the cookie was a nice balance to the mild/not-quite bitter semifreddo.  I'm sure we looked like sharks in a feeding frenzy as we devoured both desserts - we were reaching across one another to see who could get to them the fastest.

Overall, a great evening out.  While the personnel was a little disappointing, the food made up for it and I think it would definitely be a fun spot to hit again with friends (especially on Wino Wednesdays).  As a group, we decided to give the restaurant a score of:

STAY TUNED FOR NEXT MONTH'S GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE...

Anne will be picking our next spot, keep a look out for updates & check back in a month for a new review!