mity nice grill

whenever i am in the mood to eat out with friends but at a place not too far from my apartment, i always fall back to my regular places. in the past weeks, christina and i tries to meet up on weekends to get in some japanese language practice before our next class. since it was a friday night so why not get dinner together as well. so i asked her to suggest a new food place we could try and mity nice grill was where we ended up going. christina's been here once with lyle a few weeks before and they both liked it so i was looking forward to it.

mity nice grill is part of the lettuce entertain you enterprise empire. conveniently located in the water tower place on michigan avenue, i wasn't sure where it was exactly. i think if i came to this on my own for the first time, i'd probably be so lost.  it is nestled within the foodlife food court at the water tower place and in order to get to mity nice, we asked for dining receipts from the foodlife stand host .

surprisingly, we didn't have to wait for a table on a friday night and as we were shown to our booth, we walked passed a bar where the game was on. it wasn't too crowded but there were a considerable number of diners. the decor was simple, minimal and casual.

christina raved about the basket of cheese popovers they serve pre-meal. and with good reason. those were yummy :) and addictive (which is so bad). the cheesy popover is hollow in the middle and then soft and chewy at the same time. we were so proud of ourselves because we managed to decline when the waiter came by and asked if we wanted a bread basket refill.

instead of ordering two entrees, christina suggested we could order an appetizer and an entree to share since the serving size was decent.

appetizer | spicy shrimp & avocado cocktail . corn tortilla chips ($11)

when i think of shrimp cocktail, i imagine the generic whole shrimp arranged along the rim of cocktail glass with the usual sauce in the middle. their take was more of a mexican style with chunks of avocado in a sweet tomato sauce but with a spicy bite. the shrimp was fresh and pairs well with the creamy avocado (both of which i love) scooped up with those crunchy corn tortilla chips. it was messy to eat though cos the sauce was on the thinner side so it threatened to spill over as we tried to scoop everything onto the chip. i thought it was a great interpretation though and it was difficult to stop snacking on these.

big plate | cedar-planked maple-glazed salmon . fresh market vegetables ($20)



i guess we were in the mood for a seafood dinner :) we were torn between the two fish dishes but upon our waiter's recommendation, this was the dish of choice. when the salmon was served at our table, i was semi disappointed cos i expected the whole cedar plank presentation but it was served on a cedar grilling sheet. taste-wise, it was pretty good. i like the maple glaze for the tasty flaky salmon although i would probably prefer salmon to be a lil rare in the middle. not sure if i tasted the smokey or the flavor a cedar plank would usually impart on the salmon. i loved the roasted vegetables of cauliflower, carrots and sweet corn which were seasoned well and delish in my tummy. overall, a good dish.



at the end of the meal, we were glad we shared the dishes cos it was a good amount of food. mity nice grill's motto is good food. served right. they held true to their promise with attentive and friendly service and good food. it's worth a visit if you are in  the area and in the mood for an all american fare.

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