devon seafood grill

living in the city where the only body of water that surrounds it is lake michigan thus the seafood here is expensive, finding a good deal for dinner during restaurant week at devon seafood grill makes me a happy girl. being a sucker for anything seafood, i jumped at the chance as soon as i found friends to go with. 

despite its name, this restaurant is not located on devon avenue but on the corner of chicago and wabash in the gold coast area.


taken from examiner.com


we got there a tad early and the place wasn't as packed as i expected, granted that it was only just before 6 pm. we were shown to our table which happened to be down in the basement where the room was decorated tastefully with warm colors and cozy lightings. i could catch a glimpse of the contrasting brightly lit kitchen at the end of the room and there were several private dining rooms that were painted deep red to add a lil more color to the dining area.

they started us off with some delicious, crumbly biscuit served warm from the oven with a side of honey butter. off to a good start, i'd say.

first course | baby greens . watercress . feta cheese . toasted pine nuts . honey balsamic vinaigrette . 

christina decided to get a salad since she wanted to start her dinner with something lighter. she seemed pretty happy with her selection and said it was definitely a good way to begin her three course.

 

first course | lobster bisque . cream. sherry . tomato . lobster .

the three choices of first course were the two salads and lobster bisque, so it was a no brainer for me which i'd go for. the lobster bisque was thick, creamy and had a good lobster flavor. however, it was borderline too salty for me. it was good but wasn't amazing.

second course | seared georges bank scallops . wild mushroom risotto . shaved fennel salad . basil olive oil . balsamic glaze .

i was torn between two entree choices - this seared scallop or the crab cake to which our friendly waitress recommended the crab cakes which was her personal favorite. however, i still went with the scallops because i rarely get to have scallops and the wild mushroom risotto kinda gave it the slight edge. 

i honestly wanted to love this dish but it fell short of my expectation. the scallops had a decent sear and was seasoned right but the mushroom risotto was undercooked and that wasn't pleasant. christina seemed to have a better luck with hers though. there was too much basil olive oil that it overpowered the dish. the redeeming factors of the dish were the fennel salad and the balsamic glaze which added a refreshing crunch and slight sweetness to the otherwise rich dish. at the end of my entree, i was half beating myself for not ordering the crab cakes just as the waitress suggested. oh well.

second course | seared atlantic salmon . sage potato gratin . creamed leeks . mustard vinaigrette . 

the salmon had beautiful grilled marks which laid on top of the potato gratin and topped with the sauteed leeks. it looked delicious but xy said it was underwhelming and wasn't impressed with it. 

side dish | brussel sprouts with pancetta

the brussel sprouts were cooked just right and still maintaining a little bite with a hint of the pancetta flavor running through the dish. it was tasty done right.

dessert | vanilla bean creme brulee . raspberry . mint .

after having one of the best creme brulees i've ever had in san francisco, i set a pretty high standard for any of its counterparts.

christina and i were a little surprised when the creme brulee was served in an espresso cup that is deeper than it is wider. the whole point of ordering the brulee is the crisp crust which wasn't very present in this case. it wasn't overly sweet and the custard was soft and smooth which was nice but the creme brulee was mediocre at best. i am not too sure why they threw in a short bread cookie on the side though. dessert number two?

dessert | orange cream-chocolate tart . ganache . pistachio ice cream . 

as delightful as this sounds, xy was disappointed with his dessert. he actually had difficulty cutting through his tart shell. the ganache and the filling tasted alright with a huge punch of orange flavor but it wasn't a favorite of ours. it was almost borderline too sweet but he finished the pistachio ice cream.

i actually spoke to one of my co-workers before going to devon seafood grill and he said he wasn't too thrilled with his experience there but i wanted to try it nonetheless. when i asked xy what he thought about the place, he said he won't be returning for their regular priced items. there were some highlights to the meal but as much as i wanted to like it, we were bummed out with our dining experience. 

disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others