Crosby's Kitchen

 

While I do go out to a lot of group dinners that already have set menus, I do occasionally like to go out to a simpler place and dine a la carte.  To this end, I decided to go to Crosby's Kitchen recently.  Located in Lakeview, it is part of the same group that runs Smoke Daddy, Ella Elli, Frasca's Pizzeria and Wine Bar, and Tuco and Blondie.  In fact, it shares a wall with Ella Elli.  This location seems to be very family friendly and there were many families there when I went.  It is on a corner on the Southport Corridor with a patio along Southport and the entrance on the corner of the building.  While the patio was set up when I went and it did have large gas torches, it was dark and cold and the torches were unlit, so the patio was unoccupied.  The dining room is large and open with windows looking out to the street on both sides, shaped vaguely like an L with the main leg pretty wide, and a narrower side that was parallel to Southport with a small fireplace at the end.  I was seated in a booth in the smaller section (all of the seating is booth seating) and got to watch the fire in the fireplace.  There is a bar on the back wall with TVs playing sports behind it.  While I could see the TVs from where I was sitting, I was more interested in the far.  The drink menu features beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails.  The wine list is the most extensive, though nothing was extensively challenging.  I was not feeling like wine, so I went with a cocktail.  Admittedly wine is generally not my go to unless it seems to fit the menu.  I will not order wine unless I am at a French or Italian restaurant or a wine bar.  All of the cocktails seemed to veer to the sweet side, I tried to pick one that was more than just sweet.  Called a Cherry Limeade, the cocktail that I ordered had Montelobos Mezcal, Cherry Sour (I imagine it was a shrub), and Lime.  The drink was still sweeter than something that I would normally go for, but it was more than just sweet.  The mezcal provided a little smoke, the lime added tartness, and the cherry sour added a sweet and sour cherry flavor.  If not for the smoke flavor from the mezcal, it could have very well passed for the cherry limeade that a kid might drink.

Like the drink menu, the food menu was also pretty simple, though it did have some finer dining spins to the various dishes.  I imagine the simplicity is what draws the families.  I started my meal out with an anchor of family cuisine, Deviled Eggs.  These deviled eggs, though, included Lobster.  There were three deviled eggs served.  As one deviled egg is half an egg, I was served an egg and a half.  I humorously wondered what happened to the other half.  The eggs were fixed to the plate with the whipped yolk that filled the hard boiled egg whites.  While deviled eggs are one of those things that are simple to make and everyone likes, elevating them with lots of lobster and some cayenne to give it some spice improved it a lot.

For my entree I went with something that is a regular special (regularly served a couple of days a week), the Wood Grilled Filet of Beef, served with seasonal vegetables, which in this case was Grilled Cauliflower with Pesto.  The filet was served medium rare with a well seared outside and a nicely pink interior.  It was very tender, juicy, and very good, but the star of the course was actually the Cauliflower and Pesto.  It was very tender with a little char and well covered with very flavorful pesto.

Dessert was also very much a comfort food thing and it was absolutely ridiculous.  Several restaurants in the Four Star Group, which Crosby's Kitchen is a part of, have a Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie.  This iteration was served hot, of course, and was topped with Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel.  I love chocolate chip cookies, in general.  This one was very good with a crisp exterior and a soft interior.  The ice cream went well with the warm cookie as did the caramel and the entire thing provided a satisfying finish.

While nothing here was ground breaking, it isn't what they are about.  They focus on comfort food and they do it well.  It isn't a place I will go to stretch my palate, but if I'm looking for something that is simply satisfying, it's a good place to consider.