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There's no exact science for restaurant names, but owners typically look for something that will stick in people's minds, convey something about the food and style of the restaurant and give people a positive impression.
Serendipity Bistro, a new restaurant on the North Side in the space where Sassy Marie's closed last year, seems to be implying that it is a restaurant you'll feel lucky to have discovered.
Unfortunately, by promising to impress, it becomes harder for the restaurant to do so.
As a casual neighborhood spot, Serendipity's menu seemed promising. Cheryl Primonato, who also owns Tusca on the South Side, and executive chef Joe Post knew they needed to serve something more interesting than chicken wings, stuffed peppers and fried calamari. While they describe the food as "hip American cuisine," there are a number of international influences as well.
- Hours: Lunch, Sunday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner, Sunday-Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Basics: Casual, affordable American cuisine with the occasional international influence and emphasis on rich, sweet flavors; served in a handsome dining room with little extra decoration.
Recommended dishes: Truffled potato cake, Seared duck breast, truffled macaroni and cheese, the great pumpkin pizza, pumpkin creme brulee, root beer float.
- Recommended dishes: Truffled potato cake, Seared duck breast, truffled macaroni and cheese, the great pumpkin pizza, pumpkin creme brulee, root beer float.
- Prices: Appetizers, $3.60-$8.50; entrees, $16.75-$24.65; pasta and pizza, $8.50-$15; desserts, $7.50-$8.50.
- Drinks: The specialty cocktail list consists mostly of flavored martinis and other sweet concoctions, $6.50-$8. A small selection of microbrews. The wine list, organized loosely by varieties, lacks vintage dates or clear geographic origin listings, but it does include detailed tasting notes. Almost all of the 15 white and 14 red wines are offered by the glass and the bottle. White wines by the glass start at $6; red wines, $6.75. Nine bottles of white and eight bottles of red are $35 or less. Mark-up often seems to approach, but rarely exceeds, 300 percent.
- Summary: Wheelchair accessible, restrooms tight for wheelchairs; credit cards accepted; reservations available; corkage $10.
- Noise level: Unable to determine.
The Tom Ka soup ($4), while lacking the complexity of the tradition Thai version, was garnished with tender and flavorful diced smoked chicken, which helped break up the monotony of the chicken stock and coconut milk base.
Tasty chorizo and cream cheese filled empanadas ($6.40) would make a novel bar snack. The best part of this dish was the cucumber-pineapple salsa with lots of red onion and cilantro, which would be delicious on anything. Unfortunately, the chunks of pineapple and cucumber were so large that it was impossible to actually put it on the empanadas.
Comfort food is their strong suit. The pizzas have a fluffy, almost focaccia-like crust, and they're served on a hot pizza stone that keeps them warm and just a little crispy. The Great Pumpkin is one of the seasonal dishes on the menu. Thinly covered in mozzarella and a little mild Maytag blue, the best bites have pools of smooth pumpkin puree and crispy fried sage.
Truffled macaroni and cheese with spicy Italian sausage ($14) was one of the best entree choices. The cheese sauce was thick and creamy. The splash of truffle oil worked well in this macaroni and cheese as it has in thousands of others -- a tasty but somewhat tired trend. The generous heap of crumbled Italian sausage was a more original addition, which certainly didn't make this dish any healthier, but it did contrast well with the smooth, rich flavors of the pasta.
The duck breast with smoked dry cherry sauce was a beautiful plate, the purple-red of the duck breast contrasting with the rich orange of sweet potatoes and bright green Brussels sprouts. Overall, the flavors were good, the sauce relatively well balanced, the duck breast cooked well past medium but surprisingly tender. The buttery, smooth mash was like the inside of a sweet potato pie, sweet and rich with hints of warm spices.
Unfortunately, few of the other entrees were as compelling as the duck. Meat and fish were frequently cooked past requested temperatures. Blackened sea scallops were flavorless and a little watery, while grilled shrimp was tough, with a gritty coating of spices.
The grilled pork chop was served sliced, perhaps so they can check the doneness, which was close to the medium I'd requested. Although pink in the middle, it was still tough, a consequence of the leanness of commercial pork. Next to the sweet, cheese-loaded butternut squash risotto, it was impossible to really taste the meat.
Too many of the dishes rely on creamy sauces and starches loaded with salt and cheese. There's a general lack of subtlety that results in food that might be satisfying in the moment but isn't surprising or memorable.
Dishes that couldn't rely on flavor powerhouses faltered. The trio of beet salads consisted of a whole roasted beet stuffed with plain goat cheese with a sprig of tarragon sticking out of it like a flag, a diced beet salad in a sweet vinaigrette, and a tower of beet coins sandwiches between more goat cheese and small rounds of flattened, undercooked puff pastry. This was a very ordinary, very plain beet salad cut into different shapes and sizes.
Our server called the beet salad "a work of art," but she didn't seem to have much respect for it. As she placed it on our table, the tower fell over, scattering pieces of beet over the table. Rather than apologizing or taking it to the kitchen to repair it, she simply laughed at herself, then walked off.
Rather than refill water, they simply brought new glasses, but because they didn't always clear the old ones, we quickly built up quite a stockpile.
While water glasses were plentiful, dessert menus seemed to be rationed. Dining with one other guest, we received only one dessert menu. Dining as a party of four, we got two.
Post, who was previously pastry chef at Tusca, has put together a fun dessert list that would appeal to anyone's inner child. The root beer float is adorably retro and delicious, with house-made cardamom chocolate-swirled ice cream. At some point Post plans to make his own root beer, but until the necessary supplies come in, he's using A&P. The chocolate-dipped peanut butter cookie that came on the side also was tasty, if a touch cold.
The pumpkin creme brulee was a dessert that would grace any Thanksgiving table, as would their cookie partner, lovely dark gingersnap cookies, the kind rolled in sugar before they're baked.
Despite the upbeat ending, I felt no desire to linger over dessert. The restaurant's dining room has beautiful bones -- exposed brick, some beautiful wooden booths for two, but almost nothing has been done to make the room cozier or more comfortable for guests. The tables are absolutely bare. With all those hard surfaces, if the restaurant were full, it would probably be very noisy.
The strangest moment at Serendipity came at the end of my last visit. As we paid the check, our server asked if we'd like some cotton candy, which she said they handed out after ever meal. Then our server disappeared. Ten minutes later, no cotton candy or server in sight, we finally left.
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