Every year my husband's family goes to dinner in downtown Chicago for Christmas. The past two years I've been fortunate enough to be included; this year we went to Petterino's.
The restaurant is located in Chicago's theater district 150 North Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601.
The walls are lined with caricatures of celebrities including television and movie stars, comedians and politicians. The host was friendly and we were seated immediately. Our server came around immediately with a basket of various breads and to take our drink and appetizer orders. My in-laws ordered sidecars (my father-in-law said it was one of the best he'd recently had) and I got the Windy City Martini (vodka, vermouth and bleu cheese olives). The martini was probably one of the best I'd had. My father-in-law said Petterino's was well known for their mixed drinks.
For appetizers we ordered steamed muscles, grilled and fried calamari. The grilled calamari were divine - served with giardiniera (if you read my last post you know how much I adore this vinegar-y relish). The fried calamari were crisp and tubes-only, although I prefer the tentacles if they're fried to a crisp. The muscles were good (according to the rest of my family); I must admit that my palate is sensitive to textures and I'm not a fan of the muscles but their flavor was good.
The entree menu had everything from burgers and sandwiches to seafood and steaks. I was the odd-man-out and ordered parmesan crusted scallops while everyone else ordered steaks. The scallops were tender and served on a bed of sautéed spinanch with the best lemony sauce with capers.
The steaks I tried were tender and flavorful and the sides we ordered to share were mashed potatoes and asparagus. My mother-in-law raved about the mashed potatoes but to be honest I didn't really think they were l that much better than ones I'd gotten at any other steakhouse. The asparagus however was steamed with slight grill marks and served with just a squeeze of lemon which I think is probably the best way to serve it; you really get to enjoy the vegetable.
Despite the fact we were all stuffed, dessert and drinks were ordered. My mother-in-law ordered a Brandy Alexander but unfortunately the restaurant didn't not have them on the menu but this didn't stop our server from bringing her an improvised version of the drink which she said was delicious. The food ordered was a tirimisu and an apple crostata. Both were to perfection.
I was stuffed so I just ordered peppermint tea. I had read on Pinterest that peppermint tea was supposed to alleviate the over-ate bloaty feeling. Could be the placebo effect but I think it really helped!
Well readers, if you enjoy tasty eats and happen to be seeing a play or just in the area I'd advise you to stop in! They even have a pre-fixe menu to cater to the theater-goers!
Below is a picture of my fantastic scallops!
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