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Carrot
And Stick Steven Comfort |
 Illustration: Adam Powell
Spruce238 Ontario Street Chicago, ILL 312.642.3757  |
Esquire's November '96 issue proclaimed Dan Sach's first creation, Spruce, the "finest restaurant in America." I took the bait and booked a table for six at Chicago's latest contender. Chef Keith Luce, whose last gig was sous chef at the White House, is a disciple of Chef Alfred Portale, the mastermind behind Gotham Bar & Grill's (East 12th Street, Manhattan) success in the early 90's, when their signature was height; seemingly every dish protruded up at least six inches from your plate. |
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Though I do appreciate innovative presentations, I tend to be more attentive to the traditional aspects of dining when evaluating a restaurant: food quality and taste, the wine list, service, the specials, and the overall atmosphere. Spruce is nothing close to the best restaurant in America. |
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At least the name is accurate. Wood is tastefully worked into Spruce's semi-underground environs and meshed nicely with steel, glass, and black leather to create a sleek, minimalist atmosphere that exemplifies late 90's no-frills sophistication. Unfortunately, the room is the coolest thing about the place. | |
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The bar is fairly small and simple (limited is another way to describe it), with an adequate supply of the regular fare, nothing exotic. The bartenders are professional, and pour generous-sized drinks in the Chicago tradition. It's too bad the same philosophy is not shared by Chef Luce, who follows the rubric of mid-80's nouvelle cuisine, a style that I thought had been abandoned everywhere except Los Angeles. | |||
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Chef Luce has essentially jazzed up classic American fare by introducing French reductions and sauces, producing dishes that are tasty but predicable. I had a mesclun salad and the sea bass served on a bed of mushroom risotto. Both failed in one immediately noticeable and annoying respect: there just wasn't enough of either. Not that I eat unusually large meals, but when I go out to eat, I want dinner - not half a dinner. My sea bass boasted a pretty 5-inch vertical, but not much substance. To be fair, we all had acceptable meals, and pasty/dessert Chef Ramzy Asmar's after-dinner treats were outstanding. | |
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And... the wine list offered no salvation for Spruce. It is small, solid, and reasonably priced, but it over-emphasizes wines from California and completely ignores crucial appellations like Margaux, Pauillac, Pomerol, Graves, Barbera, Barbaresco, and Pinot Grigio. Nothing on the list cost more than U.S. $50, which might tell more about Chicagoans than Spruce, but suffice to say that the best restaurant in America requires a remarkable wine list. |
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Sometimes getting a rave review published can be the worst thing to happen to a fledging restaurant. It brings the crowds, but they come with expectations high enough that unless you really have the goods, you are effectively sending legions of emissaries back to the public who will bad-mouth your establishment to no end. Caveat emptor, of restaurant and review. | |
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