Ada Street

The Michelin announced the restaurants that it would award it's Bib Gourmand to this year last Tuesday (Nov. 5).  The Bib Gourmand is an indication of good food and a good value with a diner being able to get two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.  I like going to restaurants awarded the Bib Gourmand because it's a pretty good guarantee that I can get a good meal without breaking the bank and there are several that are on my list of places to try.  When the list came out, I decided to reduce the number of restaurants that I need to try by one.  Ada Street has been on my list since it opened because it has a good pedigree, it's a DMK restaurant (DMK Burger Bar, Fish Bar, and County BBQ), and it's pretty close.  While it's not in my neighborhood, I don't have to ride across town to get to it.  Ada Street, the street, is in an industrial area and is located next to a city garage.  There are no storefronts and I have to guess, not much walking traffic so Ada Street, the restaurant, is in the middle of nowhere.  The door for Ada Street is solid and painted black with the name and address on the door.  This is the only indication that there is anything there.  Walking through the door leads to a hall leading back into the restaurant.  There is a room off to the side that looked like a private dining area.  The hostess station sits in a wide spot in the hall with the hall continuing behind.  After a couple of turns, there was a floor to ceiling LP rack.  Diners could choose records for the restaurant to play, but, like a jukebox, you had to wait for those that came before you.  When I got there, they were playing Heart, "Barracuda" so I was happy.  When I entered the dining room, I saw that it was built in a former garage.  There was a garage door on one side and the open kitchen was opposite the garage door and next to the hall that led into the room.  The bar ran the length of the dining room and is where I sat.  The rest of the dining room seating was 2 and 4 tops.  The room was painted black and there were hanging lights.  The bar was also black but it was topped with brown marble.  When I was seated, the bartender introduced himself (Joseph) and asked my name before even explaining the menu.  He then left me a few minutes to decide what I might like to drink.  I decided on a drink called Love Her Madly which consisted of North Shore #11 Gin, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and a Lime Slice.  North Shore #11 is a very good gin and this was a very good drink.

The food menu was divided into 4 sections: "pick it up", those dishes that you would eat with your hands, "with toast", those dishes that are eaten on toast, "forks, spoons, & knives", those dishes that are best eaten with silverware, and "after", which were desserts.  Most of the dishes were small plates so it took several to make a meal.  I ordered one finger food, a couple that you eat with silverware, and dessert.  I started with Polenta Fries that were served with Chipotle Puree.  The fries were crunchy and flavorful and the chipotle puree added a nice spiciness to it.  The puree didn't taste like pure chipotle and actually tasted like a really spicy ketchup.  This was not a bad thing, it did taste really good and went well with the fries.

I then went with the Fried Brussels Sprouts that were served with  Lemon Aioli.  The sprouts were cut into sixths although not all the way through and were well browned.  They were flavorful and tender and crisp at the same time.  The Lemon Aioli added a nice tang to the cabbage flavor of the sprouts.

My other silverware dish was Duck Confit with Cavatelli with a Poached Egg, Spinach, and Parmigiana Reggiano.  This was really good and I would say this even if duck were not my favorite meat.  I was told to break the egg yolk and mix the yolk into the pasta which made for a very nice and savory sauce.  The duck confit was tender and flavorful, the cavatelli was about the same size as the pieces of duck, and the spinach went together well with everything.

For dessert, I had the Pretzel Bread Pudding with Maple Whipped Cream.  This was a very good finish to a very good dinner.  It came out in a very warm frying pan.  The bread pudding was sweet and salty and the maple whipped cream provided a good maple flavor and a creamy sauce as it melted.

Dinner here was very good.  The food and drink was very good, the space was nice,the service was fantastic, and the fact that the waitstaff referred to me as Gary was a bonus.  The vinyl selection seemed very cool and this seemed like a fun place to hang out.  I will definitely be back.      

Old Town Social - Brunch

Every month, I pick out a restaurant for a weekend brunch.  I invite a bunch of friends to come if they are interested and available.  Most of the time a few friends can make it but even if no one can make it, I still have a good brunch.  This month, I picked Old Town Social, a restaurant that is known, in their lunch and dinner hours for their housemade charcuterie and a seasonal menu with some pretty good bar food.  For brunch, they keep the seasonality and have a mostly savory menu but there are things there for those with a sweet tooth.  The main room is large and has a high ceiling with a long bar and several large flatscreen TVs.  There are several hightop tables and everything is done in light wood.  It looks like a sports bar in a chalet.  There is a smaller side room that is actually at the front of the building that is more like a social room with couches, coffee tables, and a fireplace.  There were also tables beside the windows and a couple of high tops near the entrance to the room where we sat.  What I didn't think about when I decided to come here is that Old Town Social is essentially a sports bar and when we came, they were televising European Premier league soccer with Barcelona playing the hated Real Madrid.  The place was full and was very loud due to the fans cheering the game and the atmosphere was electric due to the excitement of the rivalry.  None of us had a dog in the fight so it was interesting to pay attention to the game and the crowd's reactions to it.  We started our brunch with (besides coffee) one of the few sweet things on the menu, Beignets.  The beignets were light and full of air pockets with a crispy crust and a nice chew.  They were also covered in powdered sugar which made things a little messy if you weren't paying attention.  I wasn't paying attention and I ended up with a lapful of powdered sugar.  They were also really good with our good coffee.

We were all surprised when our main courses came because they were enormous.  One person ordered Grilled Sausage and Waffles, another ordered an Old Town Breakfast which included 2 each of eggs, sausage, pancakes, bacon, and a hash brown casserole.  I ordered what they called Eggs "Sardou" which, to me, was essentially an eggs benedict.  It came with a couple of Poached Eggs that were placed in Braised Artichokes and Spinach, placed on a couple of Whole Wheat Toast Halves and topped with Hollandaise Sauce.  Everything I tried was pretty good.  The artichokes were tender and flavorful, the spinach was cooked well and avoided being cooked to mush, and the hollandaise sauce added some salt and a little tartness.

The food here was good and the meal was fun.  While I would probably come back, I would check first to see if there were any major games being played when I want to come so I am not surprised again.      

The Purple Pig

There are some places that are foodie destinations.  This does not necessarily mean that the place is outrageously expensive and exclusive.  What it does mean is that it is a place that is very creative and different and operates at a high level.  The Purple Pig is one of these places and it has been on my list for several years but for a variety of reasons, a major one being the fact that they don't take reservations and the wait times can be extremely long.  Several of my friends have asked me if I have gone but I would have to say I have not been there.  Recently however, circumstances played out such that I am now able to say that I have been here.  A friend recently came to town and was staying at a hotel a block away from the restaurant so I decided that it was time to go.  The plan was to go for dinner and meet with my friend after.  Unfortunately I was unable to get there as soon as I would as I would have liked and by the time I arrived the wait time was an hour and 45 minutes.  I really had no desire to wait there for that long but they did allow me to leave my name and number and they would call me when the table was ready so that is what I did.  I met my friend (and his family) and hung out until I was called.  My friend joined me.  While the address of The Purple Pig is on Michigan Ave, the only thing on Michigan Ave. is an archway with a sign.  There is a walkway that leads to the entrance which is actually above Illinois Street and closer to Rush Street than Michigan Ave.  There is a covered patio for outdoor dining with a fire burning (because it was rather chilly on the evening that I went).  It was full though and we dined indoors.  The dining room looked had high ceilings with a large L-shaped bar and a vintage look.  As it is very popular, it was crowded and pretty loud.  As The Purple Pig is known for their Cheese, Swine, and Wine, we decided we had to have some of all of these.  They have a large charcuterie list and many of the meats are self made.  The menu has something called The Purple Pig Platter which includes a few slices of all of their cured pork.  As this place is called The Purple Pig, we decided that this was a necessity.  On the platter was Lingua Agrodolce, Cacciatorini, Catalonian Fuet, Chorizo, Testa, Coppa, Tartufo, Jamon Serrano, Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele.  This was all sliced thin, and prepared well.  I liked most of the slices especially the ham (Jamon and Prosciutto) and the Lingua Agrodolce (tongue) but the Testa was a little too gamy for me and I don't know if I would order it on it's own.

If you are going to have charcuterie, it's a given that you also have to have cheese.  For our cheeses, we went for delice de bourgogne,a cow's milk triple cream cheese from the Burgundy region of France, Caveman Blue, a cow's milk blue cheese from Oregon's Rogue River Creamery and an unlabeled smoked Gouda.  The cheeses were served with Fig Jam and Toast and were very good on their own or combined with the charcuterie.

With the cheese and swine, we also had wine to fulfill our "obligation" to go for cheese, swine, and wine.  We had a bottle of Syrah, but what specifically we had, I could not say.  I could say however that it was good.

We decided to continue with the swine after the charcuterie and cheese and had a couple of prepared dishes, one of which was a house specialty.  We had a Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes and Milk Gravy.  The waiter told us that this was a specialty and I can see why because this was amazing.  The pork was fork tender and amazingly flavorful.  The mashed potatoes were very creamy and the gravy was essentially the braising liquid for the pork.  It was creamy of course, but it also brought with it a good bit of pork fat and flavoring which tied the mashed potatoes to the pork shoulder.

Our other entree was a Pork Secreto with Roasted Red Pepper, Leeks, and Pickled Watermelon Rind.  It seems that the secreto is exactly as it sounds, secret.  It is a little used cut of pork located close to the pork belly.  It has a bit of the pork belly flavor and while it is tender and has a bit of bacon flavor, it isn't as fatty.  It was very good in any case and the red pepper, leeks, and watermelon rind that were served with the secreto kind of reminded me of the red pepper sauce that is served with Ćevapi.

For dessert, I had what were essentially Greek doughnuts.  I don't remember what they were called and I forgot to take pictures of them but they were fluffy, sweet, and like everything else that we had, very good.

Dinner at The Purple Pig was great and I am glad that I finally made it here.  The food and drink was very good, the space looked very nice, and the waitstaff were very friendly and helpful.  It was very loud here, but as it is a very popular place, and it was crowded, it was to be expected.  I will definitely have to find my way back here some time because there were some dishes that I still have to try like the pig tails and the pork jowls.

  

Chicago Chef Battle, Dessert Edition

Every fall, Chicago Public Radio Station, WBEZ, hosts a competition among a group of chefs and invites the public as a fundraiser.  In the competitions, they would challenge the chefs with an ingredient that they would all have to work with.  In past years, they have invited savory chefs and had them work with beer.  This year, the chefs they invited were all pastry chefs and they were challenged to create a dessert with tea.  The five chefs invited were also to create a regular and gluten-free dish, although the dish that some chefs made as their main dish was gluten-free.  The chefs were divided into two conference rooms and a demonstration kitchen.  The first chef I tried was Dinah Grossman of Cheap Tart who made a Masala Chai Creme Brulee Tart with Salty Chocolate and Raspberries garnished with Nasturtium Petals.  The thing about public cooking competitions or demos is that the presentations of the dishes frequently suffer.  In Dinah Grossman's case, other than the plates and utensils, these dishes looked very nice.  The tart had a nice crust and the chai added a spicy and creamy flavor to the tart and the chocolate and raspberries added bittersweet, salt, and tart flavors.

For her gluten free dish, she made a Roasted Kabocha Mousse with Matcha Cheesecake and Coconut Tuile.  I really liked this.  The mousse was creamy and the tea and cheesecake flavors went together well.  The Coconut Tuile added a sweet coconut crunch to the dish.

The next competitor whose stuff that I tried was Jonathan Ory from Bad Wolf Coffee.  While I did try both of his dishes, I seem only to have taken a picture of one.  He prepared a Persimmon Chai Salambo (a filled pastry similar to a long john) and an Earl Gray Panna Cotta topped with Granola.  While his dishes weren't bad, the tea flavor was at the forefront and kind of overwhelmed everything else.

In the next conference room they had Dana Cree who is the Pastry Chef at Blackbird  She only made one dish which was gluten-free and very creative in any case.  It was a Hong Kong Milk Tea with Kulfi, Pear, and Elderflowers.  The dish was kind of odd.  It was like a clear plastic version of a dish you might see at a fine dining restaurant (which Blackbird is).  The milk tea kind of reminded me of a less spicy chai tea.  Kulfi is a frozen dairy dessert similar to ice cream but denser that is popular in India.  The elderflowers added a floral element to the dish and while the pear flavor went well with the rest of the dish, I don't like the texture of pears so this kind of failed.

The other pastry chef working in this conference room seemed to be very popular and had some long lines so I went to find the last chef who was working in the demonstration kitchen.  The last chef was Ben Roche, formerly of Moto and the late Baume & Brix.  Both of these restaurants are/were very creative and whimsical and before even seeing what he was presenting, I was kind of expecting some off the wall flavors and ideas (if not presentations because of the lack of facilities and time).  For the first course, he presented a dish called White Dog Gelato (a spin on the name of one of his competitors establishments, Black Dog Gelato).  The only thing that I really remember about this dish was that the tea was in the gelato, it was surrounded with dried corn and sprinkled with chocolate chips.  I remember that it wasn't bad but really nothing to write home about and was completely overshadowed by his other dish, Bubblegum, 1969.

The dish was the whimsical creativity that I would expect from Ben Roche.  It started with Banana Parmesan Gelato sprinkled with Powdered Bubble Gum and with Bubble Gum Paper and with a side of Bubble Gum Tea.  I liked the flavors around the gelato and even with the tea but I found the tea bottle a little annoying because you could only get a couple of drops at a time.

After I had tried Ben Roche's creations, I decided to brave the crowds and try what by crowd, looked to be the most popular station, Jessica Oloroso from Black Dog Gelato.  I will say up front that I had somehow saved the best for last.  Her dishes were my favorite although I can't say which I liked more.  The first I tried was the Pumpkin Chai Brioche Sandwich with Nutella.  It was very good with all of the flavors coming through and playing well with one another.  The brioche bun was a bonus and it was very easy to eat.

The other dish didn't look quite as composed but it was still very good.  It was an Earl Gray Sundae with Chocolate Earl Gray Gelato, Figs, and Bruleed Whipped Cream.  The Earl Gray Tea tied the chocolate and the figs together and the bruleed whipped cream reminded me of fired marshmallows.

I really enjoyed this version of the Chicago Chef Battle.  I got to try a lot of good and interesting things and support a good cause at a good price.  I will definitely be back next year to try new things, support WBEZ and vote for my favorite.

Found Kitchen and Social House

I don't often get to Evanston because while it is right next to Chicago, there is no really direct route for me to get there and it takes well over an hour to get there.  When I do travel to Evanston however, I do like to try out some of their restaurants.  While the restaurant scene in Evanston is smaller than that of Chicago, of course, it is active and does have some pretty notable restaurants and chefs.  I had heard a lot of buzz about the restaurant Found Kitchen and Social House so that's where I decided to go.  Found does have a very good pedigree.  The restauranteur, Amy Morton is the daughter of steakhouse king, Arnie Morton, and worked for many years at his namesake steakhouse before going off on her own.  She is also the sister of David Morton of DMK fame.  The chef at Found is Nicole Pederson, formerly of C-House and Lula Cafe.  With all of this history behind it, I was excited to try it out.  Located in downtown Evanston, Found takes no reservations so in order to avoid the line out the door that happens frequently at peak times, some planning is necessary.  I was going to be in Evanston relatively early so I was hoping to get there early to avoid the crowd.  I got to the restaurant a little after 5 pm on a Sunday and while many of the tables were already seated, there was still space at the bar so that's where I went.  The space has a stripped down, partially-finished look with antique brick walls and an unfinished ceiling over the dining area.  The bar has a large chalkboard overhead with inspirational quotes from a wide variety of famous people such as Jack Kerouac, WC Fields, Voltaire, and the Dalai Lama.  The furniture in the restaurant describes the restaurant as it was all found and are all mismatched.  With a variety of armchairs and couches (as well as the standard restaurant chairs) used for seating and side and coffee tables used for dining.  The candlesticks that were ubiquitous throughout the restaurant appeared very well used.  All of them had a large amount of melted wax cascading down from the candle stand.  While all of the furniture seemed to be mismatched and well used.  The silverware and table service seemed to be fairly uniform.  The menu is vegetable based and seasonal (although not necessarily vegetarian) and is divided into small plates, sandwiches, flatbreads, and a few large plates.  The small plates could act as an appetizer or as several small plates to compose a meal.  I decided to go the several small plates route (or in my case, 2) and started with a Quinoa and Poached Chicken Salad with Fennel, Feta, Arugula, and Olives.  This had a very fresh taste and texture with a nice crunch to the quinoa and a crispness to the arugula and fennel.  The feta tied the chicken to the arugula and fennel and with its tartness tied everything to the vinaigrette.  The quinoa had a nice crunch but it also had a nutty flavor that added to the dish the the olives which were finely sliced, provided a subtle and slightly bitter finish.

My other small plate was a Walleye and Goat Sausage Stew with Kale, Baby Turnips, and Cream.  To me, it sounded like kind of an odd combination (the walleye and goat sausage) but it really worked.  A lot of fresh fish that is cooked well has a relatively neutral flavor as was the case here so it didn't provide a lot of flavor as such but there was enough that it provided a significant textural element.  The goat sausage was skinless and was well spiced in addition to the gaminess that comes with goat.  The kale was wilted so while it didn't have the crispness that freshly picked kale, it did provide a nice vegetable flavor that tied well with the root vegetable flavor of the very tender baby turnips.  The cream added to everything and provided a nice depth of flavor for the finish.

For my dessert, I went a little decadent and got a Cinnamon Pound Cake with Butterscotch, Roasted Apples, and Butter Pecan Ice Cream.  It was sweet, a little spicy, hearty, and very definitely a fall dessert that was a good finish to what was otherwise a rather light dinner.  I could have gone light for dessert as well, but the combination of flavors looked too good to pass up and I really like butterscotch.

There is a very good reason that Found is a hit, even in a city with several other good restaurants.  The space is very friendly and homey and the food is very good.  While a good pedigree does not guarantee a good restaurant, in Amy Morton and Nicole Pederson's case they do well by their pedigree and have created a very good restaurant.

Little Goat Diner

What is your next step after opening and running a highly successful restaurant that pushes the boundaries using relatively common dishes and varying them by changing flavor of texture?  If you're Stephanie Izard, Executive Chef of Girl & the Goat, Winner of Top Chef, Season 4, and the 2013 Winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Great Lakes, you decide to open a diner.  While the food at a diner is generally simpler than that served at a fine dining restaurant, I would think that this may be even more difficult in some aspects.  The menu in a typical diner will be larger than that in a typical fine dining restaurant.  They are open longer and the entire menu is frequently available for the entire time that it is open.  A meal typically moves faster in a diner than in a fine dining restaurant.  All of these are on top of the fact that the menu at all diners are pretty typical, so much so, that you could call several items archetypes.  You may run into a problem with the clientele if you vary a standard diner dish too much.  While the dishes served here were spins on diner classics, they retain their essences.  Located on Randolph Street across the street from it's big sister, the Little Goat Diner (and adjoining bakery, Little Goat Bread) is a large space with a high ceiling and a skylight.  While it's look is dineresque, it is very definitely not a greasy spoon.  It does have some vintage wallpaper on the back wall but for the most part, the walls and counter are white.  The room is divided by two half-walls with a row of booths outside of each.  There are some two tops on the inside of the half-wall and a large communal table under the skylight in the middle of the room.  There is also a row of booths beside the wallpapered back wall and side window, and a row of tables at the front.  The counter runs from front to back along the side of the room opposite the side window behind which is the server station and the narrow kitchen.  The expediter has a very cool computerized tablet system mounted on the wall to keep track of orders.  With the large skylight, I am sure that in the daytime, the lighting in the dining room is bright enough but at night the lighting in the dining room is fairly dim except at the counter where I sat.  The extra light comes from the well-lighted kitchen.  The regular lighting is provided by dim hanging lights.  

There were several directions I could have gone for dinner.  I was not really interested in breakfast for dinner and while there were several things on the supper menu that sounded good, there were also some very good sounding burgers and sammiches so that is how I went.  I ordered a Tonkatsu Sandwich.  While a Tonkatsu sounds unlike anything you might find at a diner, it wasn't that much of a stretch from something standard you might find at a diner.  It was actually a Breaded Pork Cutlet with Asian BBQ Sauce, House Mayo, and Shredded Cabbage on White Bread.  It was Served with some pickled vegetables, Carrots, Onions, a Radish slice, and Hot Peppers on the side.  While I did eat the pickled vegetables on the side, they might have gone quite well on the sandwich.  I am generally not a fan of plain white bread but I do understand the logic of using it as this is what a diner might use.  The breading on the cutlet was crisp and held the juiciness of the pork which was also pretty tender.  The Asian BBQ Sauce was soy based so was fairly salty.  It also had a slight bite and some sweetness at the end.  The mayo took the edge off the salt and spice of the BBQ sauce and the cabbage provided a little crispness and slight vegetable flavor.  As a side for my sandwich, I ordered some Smoked Fries (which came a la carte).  I did think that the price for the fries was a little high, until I saw the order.  It was enormous.  The fries came in (and overflowed) what was essentially a cereal bowl.  The fries were crispy, salty, and like their name implied, had a smoky flavor on top of the good potato flavor that came from the potatoes.  I will frequently use ketchup on my fries and I did try some on these but I only used a little ketchup because they really didn't need it.

When you think of dessert at a diner, three things come to mind: pies, shakes, and sundaes.  The Little Goat had selections on their dessert menu that covered all three.  The dessert menu was also where the most creativity was found.  On the menu (among other things) was a Cookie Pie, a Smoked Pork and Toffee Crunch Shake, and a Cheez-It Sundae.  I was torn, but I finally decided to go with the Cheez-It Sundae.  This was built around a scoop of Peanut Butter Ice Cream surrounded by two scoops of Strawberry Ice Cream.  This was then topped with Caramel Sauce, Whipped Cream, and a large number of Chocolate-Covered Cheez-Its.  A Maraschino Cherry Cherry topped everything else off.  Without the Cheez-Its, this sundae wasn't too bad.  The ice cream and caramel were creamy, sweet, and flavorful and who doesn't like whipped cream with a cherry on top.  The chocolate-covered Cheez-Its added crunch, chocolate (what's not to like so far?) and a sweet-salty flavor along with the slightly cheesy flavor that Cheez-Its provides.

The Little Goat is loud but the staff is friendly and prompt and they do a good job of putting an interesting spin on standard diner fare while still maintaining the essence of diner food.  As the menu is huge, it will take several trips to explore the menu more thoroughly.

Glen Prairie

While you do have to travel further between them, there are some good restaurants that are located in the suburbs.  I went to visit friends in Lombard recently and we went to Glen Prairie which is located in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Glen Ellyn.  The space has elements of modern and classic with beam ceilings and hanging lights.  The tables are round and the chairs are padded and look to have some prairie style elements.  The restaurant specializes in local and seasonal cuisine.  Having said that, my appetizer was a bit of a stretch on that front.  I had Shrimp and Grits with Neuske's Bacon and a Honey Glaze.  I will grant that the grits, the 2 year aged cheddar that was used in the grits, the Neuske's Applewood Smoked Bacon, and the honey used for the glaze all very well could have been local, but the shrimp was definitely a salt water variety and Illinois is definitely not on the ocean.  I like shrimp and grits although I once had a dish at Mindy's Hot Chocolate that I now compare all Shrimp and Grits to.  While this dish had shrimp, grits, and bacon as shrimp and grits is expected to have, most dishes are buttery and served with a brown gravy.  Glen Prairie's shrimp and grits are buttery and cheesy but the honey glaze used makes the dish different enough that I couldn't really compare it to the other versions of shrimp and grits that I have had.  I will say that the dish was very good.  The grits were creamy, cheesy, and buttery, the shrimp was cooked perfectly allowing it to have a good chew without the rubberiness that results when shrimp are overcooked which is not uncommon.  The bacon was flavorful and chewy as I would expect of well cooked Neuske's bacon.  The homey glaze threw me off a little though because with most versions, they will go savory and this one went sweet.  The glaze did go well with the rest of the dish and brought out the sweetness in the bacon and shrimp.

For my entree, I went with the Espresso Rubbed Pork Tenderloin topped with Spicy Peach Chutney, and served with Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Cauliflower.  The tenderloin was well cooked and juicy but the primary flavor of this was, like the shrimp and grits, sweet.  The espresso rub on the tenderloin did provide some moderating bitterness and the spicy chutney was a little spicy as should be expected but the whipped sweet potatoes and carmelized cauliflower contributed to the prevailing sweetness of the dish.  This was not just what I chose either.  While there did seem to be some savory dishes on the menu, it seemed if there was a way to bring out or emphasize sweetness, it would be done.  I can understand some logic to this because sweet is the first flavor that people learn and like, most people's palates do grow beyond being simply liking sweet and so I think that this plays things simple.  

I will make an exception for sweet for those things dessert.  Dessert should very definitely be sweet (although not simply sweet).  For my dessert I ordered a Creme Brulee served with Seasonal Berries which, at this time of year, were Blueberries and Raspberries.  The blueberries and raspberries were fresh and provided a little tartness and the the custard was creamy and sweet.  This would have been a great creme brulee if the crust had been evenly caramelized.  I like my creme brulees with a substantial crust and in the center it was definitely there but the edges were definitely on the thin side.  Overall it was good but it would have been great if they had gotten the crust even.

Overall, I did like my meal here.  It was good but not great and they seemed to take the simple route on most dishes by giving everything at least a sweet edge.  I like the fresh and seasonal theme and the restaurant has a nice look but if they could make improve the dishes by aiming for a more complex flavor profile.