Sola Restaurant - chef Carol Wallack - Chicago

[ronnie_suburban]

With a valuable Saturday-night-out having fallen out of the sky and into my hands on very short notice, I asked a friend -- who is also a friend of the house -- if she could help get us a table at Sola Restaurant. The place is red hot right now and was, expectedly, hopping with activity when we arrived for our reservation. The large dining room and bar, as well as the ample outdoor seating area, were filled to near capacity.

The decor in the dining room is sleek, modern and comfortable. Rich, fall colors abound and the dominant use of fabrics -- along with soft, focused lighting throughout -- brings warmth to the space. Amidst the full tables, and intense swirl of activity -- in the eye of the hurricane -- chef Carol Wallack calmly worked the room, visiting with guests, shaking their hands and asking earnestly for feedback from her customers.

The food at Sola is fresh and delicious. Aside from uber-chain Roy's, which one of my companions insisted, "plays it way too safe," there is no other Hawaiian-influenced food in Chicago. But unique does not always equal delicious. In the case of Sola, however, I'm happy to report that the food was phenomenal and the distinctive, regionally-specific elements helped to make it so.

We started with an order of artichoke fritters which were piping hot and delicious. Baby artichoke hearts are quartered, battered and fried. They were served with 2 sauces: a spicy soy-lime and a rich truffle-honey. Both were terrific and even after our shared order of fritters was rapidly snarfed down, I couldn't resist dipping hunks of my pretzel roll into the sauce, just so I could enjoy more of it.

Next up for me was the 'poke man.' The cute play on words should not diminish the seriousness of this Hawaiian-style ceviche, which I am told, changes on an almost daily basis. The version I was served included tender scallops and delectable shrimp along with pieces of mango and papaya. After I forked up every morsel in my mini parfait glass, I greedily slurped down the remaining juices like nectar. This was the best ceviche I've ever had. The seafood elements were immaculately fresh and the balance between the sweet and acidic notes was dead solid perfect.

My wife enjoyed a stylized 'Napolean' of heirloom tomatoes and peeky-toe crab in a shallow bath of cucumber water. Again, the intense freshness of the dish was front and center. The combination of flavors worked exceedingly well together with the crab marrying up nicely with the sweetness of the tomatoes. The cucumber water made perfect sense and unified the other elements nicely. I thought this dish was not only very tasty but also wonderfully refreshing.

Entrees were also notably delicious. I enjoyed a 'special' New York steak prepartion which was a real eye-opener. NY steak, cooked perfectly to medium-rare is covered with roasted fingerling potatoes, foie gras mousse and arugula salad. It was a great combination of flavors, textures and aromas. I loved the way the arugula worked with the steak. My wife had the 5-spice Duck Breast with corn fritters and lilikoi-maple jus. This was also stunning. The duck was tender and juicy and the accompanying elements were divine. The corn fritters and tangy-sweet sauce carried the 5-spice Duck perfectly without overpowering it.

We also loved the desserts -- and we tried several of them. My favorite was probably the black sesame brittle ice cream. But all the home-made ice creams were remarkable -- I loved the buttermilk rendition which was served with the satisfyingly moist and crumbly Pecan Molasses cake. And the coconut sorbet was a fantastic pairing for the juicy-sweet, braised pineapple dessert which I ordered. Served alongside it was some outrageously buttery macadamia shortbread. The banana ice cream, ordered by one of our companions was also outstanding. I only had a small taste of the warm citrus pound cake with mango curd, papaya, kiwi and strawberry but it was also terrific. This was served with some sorbet, supposedly raspberry or mango (can't recall which), that tasted very distinctly like passionfruit. In another bowl was another delicious sorbet, which was red in color. It was supposed to be the passionfruit version but it tasted more like ruby red grapefruit. Even with the help of our server, we never really got to the bottom of it. And it really didn't matter too much because they were all quite delicious.

When we first arrived, the restaurant was at the very edge of my loudness threshold but it didn't stay that way and quieted down quite a bit as the night went on. The acoustics in the room are lively and occasionally it was tough to hear my companions or our server -- although our server did a great job of making herself heard when delivering important information to us. We also encountered a couple of very small service glitches; one which related to the timing of our entrees and second bottle of wine (entrees came first, before we'd finished our first bottle). It ended up not mattering very much because we were nearly finished with that first bottle and our server worked quickly to hustle out the second bottle and accompanying stems. Additionally, both the manager and chef Wallack came over to apologize and ask us if there was anything they could do to remedy it. And before that, an order of potstickers was delivered to the table cold. That was also corrected promptly.

All in all, it was a fantastic meal with several wonderfully unique and satisfying notes -- and a very attractive price point. I'd love to go back -- and I plan to. There were several items on the menu that looked great, which I didn't get to try. I also noticed that Sola also serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays as well as lunch on Thursdays and Fridays. Addtionally, they offer curbside pick-up carryout service which has got to be incredibly convenient if you live nearby.

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Sola Restaurant

3868 N. Lincoln

Chicago, IL

773 327-3868

[gmi3804]

Being one of Ron's dining companions that night, I have to echo everything he spelled out in his great review. This is some of the most exciting cooking in the city at the moment.

Sola is a major new place on the restaurant scene. Service is knowledgable and courteous, and the room is soothingly gorgeous.

I must point out, however, that the noise level went way beyond what should have been acceptable. Even with a "wall" of high upholstered banquettes the noise-baffling was insufficient. It's a shame for a restaurant to hit almost ever mark and then to provide such an ear-splitting environment; it greatly detracts from the overall experience for me.

[Jean Blanchard]

I tried to get into Sola Saturday night but I waited a little too long to attempt a reservation so we'll try it another time. We were at Deleece about 2 months ago and even though we usually are very happy with our meals, some of our dinners were not the same quality as in the past. Glad to read your review of Sola is favorable. We ended up at Think Cafe and as always, food was great.

[ulterior epicure]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the "Honua Stir Fry?" If I'm not mistaken, the word honua is Hawaiian?

u.e.

[ronnie_suburban]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the "Honua Stir Fry?"  If I'm not mistaken, the word honua is Hawaiian? 

u.e.

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It is an Hawaiian term which I believe alludes to the Hawaiian myth of the earth's first inhabitants. I'm not sure of its exact connotations or the context in which it is used here.

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[ronnie_suburban]

I'm realizing now that I somehow managed to drop a segment of my write-up, so let me just add that the sides at Sola were particularly tasty. The 3 we tried were: some perfectly crispy and aromatic Truffle-Parmesan fries, a creamy and delicious rendition of Macaroni and Cheese and an order of . . . Tempura Bacon Needless to say, that was like deep-fried crack for foodies. The tempura bacon was actually an accompaniment for one of the entrees we didn't order -- but George wisely requested a side of it -- and man, was it a show (and artery) stopper!

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[gmi3804]

I'm realizing now that I somehow managed to drop a segment of my write-up, so let me just add that the sides at Sola were particularly tasty.  The 3 we tried were: some perfectly crispy and aromatic Truffle-Parmesan fries, a creamy and delicious rendition of Macaroni and Cheese and an order of . . . Tempura Bacon   Needless to say, that was like deep-fried crack for foodies.  The tempura bacon was actually an accompaniment for one of the entrees we didn't order -- but George wisely requested a side of it -- and man, was it a show (and artery) stopper!

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When I see "tempura bacon" on a menu I consider it a personal challenge!

[molto e]

After reading the write up that Ronnie S. gave Sola, I gave it a try. I really enjoyed the meal and Chef Carol Wallack has a winner on her hands. The tables outside the restaurant make for a great place to dine al fresco. We ate inside along the windows and the following photo is looking into the dining room.

Dining Room

There were a couple of specials for the evening as well as the regular menu items

Artichoke Fritters- soy lime and white truffle honey sauces

The fritters were delicious, perfectly fried with a little spice in the crust. I was fond of the white truffle honey sauce, but when don't I like truffle .

"Napolean" of heirloom tomatoes and peeky-toe crab with cucumber water

This was offered as a special for the evening. I liked this summer salad with ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes with layers of peeky-toe crab salad in cucumber water.

Poke, Man- Hawaiian style ceviche

This evenings ceviche featured shrimp, scallop and salmon that was augmented with pinapple, jalapeno, rice wine vinegar and lime juice. Not all ceviche is created equal and this version is near the top.

Duck Breast- 5 spice crusted, pan roasted, wasabi taro chips, rhubarb chutney, lilikoi-maple jus

The duck was good with interesting accompaniments of corn fritters with the rhubarb chutney.

Short Ribs- hoison, lemongrass, soy, sesame snow peas, mushrooms

This was the only mediocre item that we ate. I felt that the braising liquid for the short ribs was a little bland.

Pecan Molasses Cake- buttemilk ice cream, makers mark caramel, pecan brittle

The cake was good and I found the buttermilk ice cream interesting.

Ice Cream Sampler - Sesame Brittle and Burnt Caramel

I second Ronnie S. with a recommendation for Sola. You will not be disappointed with Chef Carol Wallack's contemporary American cuisine.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[docsconz]

Nice reports and excellent photos as usual, Eliot! Looking at the menu and the photos I can identify some Hawaiian "influence", but is it really significantly any more "Hawaiian" than anything else going on in the country right now? Peeky-toe crab, for example,is from Maine and neither artichokes nor tomatoes are notably "Hawaiian".

[molto e]

Nice reports and excellent photos as usual, Eliot! Looking at the menu and the photos I can identify some Hawaiian "influence", but is it really significantly any more "Hawaiian" than anything else going on in the country right now? Peeky-toe crab, for example,is from Maine and neither artichokes nor tomatoes are notably "Hawaiian".

←

Doc,

The chef calls her food contemporary American with Hawaiian and Asian influences. She is a "self-described surfer girl" from LA so she fuses American food with some other influences.

Molto E

[docsconz]

Nice reports and excellent photos as usual, Eliot! Looking at the menu and the photos I can identify some Hawaiian "influence", but is it really significantly any more "Hawaiian" than anything else going on in the country right now? Peeky-toe crab, for example,is from Maine and neither artichokes nor tomatoes are notably "Hawaiian".

←

Doc,

The chef calls her food contemporary American with Hawaiian and Asian influences. She is a "self-described surfer girl" from LA so she fuses American food with some other influences.

Molto E

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I got thrown off by Ronnie's comparison to Roy's. Sounds and looks good, although i am not sure I would appreciate the din either.

[ronnie_suburban]

Great pics, Eliot.

Doc, I didn't mean to compare Sola to Roy's as much as create a reference point.

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[jesteinf]

We went to Sola last night and had a wonderful meal. We arrived for our 8:30 reservation to an absolutely packed house, but were seated immediately.

For my appetizer I started with the artichoke fritters. I thought the fritters themselves were a bit on the bland side, but the two dipping sauces (white truffle-honey and soy-lime) really elevated the dish. The girlfriend (who, since Friday night will now be referred to as the fiance ) has the trio of tartares. I enjoyed that appetizer more than the fritters. The trio included cured salmon, a sesame crusted tuna, and a fennel crusted tuna. All were wonderful.

For mains, I had the "duck, duck, goose". Five spice crusted breast cooked to a perfect medium-rare, with confit filled ravioli, and gooseberries. This was a great dish, but the portion was maybe just a hair to big. The fiance had the ginger-glazed salmon, which was also wonderful. It was served with tempura green beans, which were crunchy and delicious. Dessert was banana bread pudding with banana ice cream, which was a great way to end the meal.

Although the food at Sola is quite good, what makes the restaurant even more attractive is the value proposition. The wine list is exceptionally reasonably priced, with most selections ranging between $30-$45. Our check for two of us after tax but before tip which included a nice bottle of Chablis, two appetizers, two mains and one dessert was $125. A tremendous value given the skill of the kitchen and the quality of ingredients being used. We will definitely go back.

[ronnie_suburban]

Thanks, Josh, for the report. It's funny that you mentioned the value at Sola because, even though I completely agree with you, I intentionally didn't mention it in my write-up.

A while back, after chef Wallack had opened Deleece, some friends went there and were very impressed with the low prices/value -- so much so that they mentioned something to chef about how great the prices were. A week or so later they returned and found that prices had been raised pretty much across the board by 20% or so. So, this time around, I decided not to say anything about how nice the pricing was. At least if Sola raise prices now, it won't be on me

Congrats also on your girlfriend becoming your fiancee. I assume that she won't be referred to as your fiancee indefinitely, either

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[jesteinf]

Thanks, Ron. Now I just have to work on making sure we have decent food at the wedding!

On the subject of rising prices, I can't stand when new restaurants do this. I understand why it happens, but it still gets to me. Quartino is probably the worst offender right now. I've been there twice in the last 6 weeks and the prices had gone up both times.