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Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: North CenterIrving Park (Brown)
"Not only is Volo a perfect, neighborhood spot for a casual meal...Mondays are half price bottles of wine night! Lucky (or dangerously) for…" read more »
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Forgive my quote from "Pulp Fiction"...but Samuel Jackson said it best when he said "This is ONE TASTY BURGER!!"
I've been all over the country looking for good hamburgers, and this is one of the finest I've ever tasted.
Thank you Carol for caring enough to make a great burger!!
This place is great! It looks a bit like a Crate and Barrel catalog meets Michelob commercial. The bar even has a back lit shelf. I came here for brunch with my sister. We arrived at the right time, sometimes after 10am on Sunday and it was almost empty but started to fill up afterwards. A good place for a few people or families since I saw a few families with kids dressed like they just got out of church. A couple of individuals came for brunch and sat at the bar.
I ordered the Green City Market omelet. It had spinach, red bell peppers and cheddar cheese and it came with hash brown potatoes and toast. To drink I ordered mimosa made with blood orange juice. A highlight of the day was the Malasadas. My mouth is actually watering thinking about them. They were kind of like portugese doughnut holes. They were fluffy and tasty and left me wanting more. I would go back just for the Malasadas.
My obsession with coming to sola for brunch started when my friend innocently posted a picture of the Malasadas she had for brunch on the popular social network. Then came the comments, "OMG it looks so good" "wow, they look yummy". And of course my friend had to confirm that they were very tasty.
We arrived here shortly after 10am on Sunday morning and were probably the 3rd party in the restaurant so we were seated right away. But more and more people started arriving shortly after we were seated. It looked like they were seating incomplete parties which I don't know if that's the norm for them, but it's definitely a plus to me. I hate it when places won't seat almost-complete parties, even when our companion is just parking the car and will be inside shortly.
I wasn't the only one with Malasadas (Portuguese styled doughnuts) on the brain, I saw many other tables order them as well. It's served with a side of mango curd and raspberry coulis. The sauces were very very good, I liked the raspberry a little bit more.
My bro ordered the Green City Market omelet--I can't remember what vegetables they had for it that day--but it did come with potatoes and toast, that I remember. I was kind of preoccupied with what I ordered--the Huevos Benedictos--poached eggs with a spicy hollendaise and chorizo and corn bread. Wow, wow, wow. Very very good. Perfect poached eggs and served with a side of really good hash brown potatoes. The chorizo was a little salty for me by itself, but eaten with the other items toned the saltiness.
Service was really good. Very attentive and friendly waitstaff. Very nice space. I'd definitely like to come back, maybe for dinner, for sure for brunch. I thoroughly enjoyed sola.
Not the place to come if you're vegetarian. My poor husband had one entree option, and that was whatever the "greens and grains" special was that day. In the end, he liked it, but what if you hate brussel sprouts (which it mainly consisted of)? Well, then you're stuck with a tiny $12 salad and some artichoke fritters. Even the onion soup had bacon in it.
Anyway, moving on.
The food was good. I thought it was over-priced for the portions you got, but it was GOOD. We did get the artichoke fritters to start, and while I wasn't fond of the dipping sauces, I was a huge fan of the fritters themselves.
I got the salmon entree, and I loved it. The ginger glaze was perfection and the puree and green beans complimented it just fine. They even asked me how I wanted my salmon cooked! I said, "medium?" and I guess that's what I got? I don't really know. I've never been asked how I want my salmon.
We ended our meal with the cookie plate, and they were good, not amazing. They served us a green tea cookie, which tasted like a regular sugar cookie to me, and three other varieties including a really good chocolate coconut one and a chocolate chip macadamia nut. I can't remember the other kind.
Our service was attentive, but our waiter was kind of snobby. Although, all the other waiters seemed to be super friendly, so I t hink we just got a bad one.
The kicker of the evening? When we looked down at our flatware and saw it was from IKEA. Awesome!
Sola is expensive. Is it worth it? I think so. Am I certain it's worth it? Maybe, maybe not. But I know I definitely enjoyed it.
Mmmmm.
Me: "Hey Breakfast Burrito, why don't you fill my belly with an abundance of fresh deliciousness, ASAP?"
BB: "Don't mind if I do!"
The service was fast, kind and attentive. The ambiance was nice, upscale and comfortable (even if it was 100 degrees hot in there). The bloody was a bit watery and mild (I like em thick and spicy), but the mimosas looked delectable! The four of us cleared our plates of all their delightful deliciousness and it was very reasonably priced. Quite possibly the best breakfast burrito I have ever eaten.
After going here I realized how long it's been since I've gone to a restaurant where the food comes out looking so pretty. I regrettably forgot to charge my camera before going (Ugh!) so I unfortunately don't have photographic evidence of said pretty food. Trust me though, it's quite aesthetically pleasing. Ah, but the prices make my eyes water just a tad, lol.
Let's get started. I must inform you that this place is NOT on Lincoln Ave. It's like a door and 1/2 west of Lincoln Ave which had me befuddled for a few minutes when I was 100% sure I was reading the addresses correctly. Go to 3900 N. Lincoln Ave and look West. As you will see right away, it has an open and fresh decor of wood, metal, glass, and white. A contemporary environment with a hint of casual. I immediately felt it to be the restaurant equivalent of Jake clothing store. Yep, if you've been to Jake you know what I mean.
The hostess was very friendly when I entered and didn't question my intentions when I walked toward the table where my dinner companion was waiting for me. It requires repeating that it has sadly been a while since I've dined at a place like this so I was bit taken aback by the relatively small menu. There wasn't much to choose from. And from the selection that existed, there was a lot of fusion going on. I like new and innovative dishes, but some flavors I just can do without being fused together. Wasabi ketchup? Ginger kumquat jam? Apple togarashi compote along w/port and red curry jus in a dish? Now you guys are just "doing the most."
What did I have? I won't lie. I played it safe with the least Jackson Pollock-like dish on there. I got the 1/2 chicken with shallots and some chopped spinach, on top of Chinese black rice dressed with minted yogurt ($21). It was damn tasty. The chicken was pan fried with that type of golden light crisp to the skin that you can only get in restaurants such as these. The meat was juicy and flavorful with there being a leg and a breast. The minted yogurt was a fantastic complement. I only wish there would have been more on the plate. I liked the rice. It had a hearty flavor with a bit of sweetness much like you get with chianti. Now it said spinach on the menu, but it didn't taste like spinach. It taste more like chard and it overpowered the other flavors when I ate it. Most of that stayed on the plate.
I also got a side of mac and cheese ($6) which was really a side. It was a generous portion of creamy 4 cheese deliciousness. It had the lovely baked golden top to it and paired with the entree, filling but not too much.
Dessert. Once again I was confronted by strange fusions of flavors that just weren't sounding like dessert, let alone appetizing. Black vinegar sorbet? Wasabi vanilla bean syrup? Mmmmmmn, I can't do it. I was going to opt for the mai'a hot fudge sundae which was banana ice cream, hot fudge, macadamia nuts, and bruleed banana ($8). I thought banana ice cream AND bruleed banana was just too much b-a-n-a-n-a-s for me, but the waiter was going to have vanilla ice cream substituted. I knew I couldn't eat it alone and my dinner companion wasn't up for it, so I missed out. Boooooo. Just means I'll have to go back!
So even though I wasn't feeling all of the fusiony trendy options, I would definitely go back. The prices are a little higher than I've gotten used to paying, but it's not in the Tavern on Rush price territory. Sola has an extensive wine list and some great sounding cocktails. I'd could see myself dropping back in for appetizers, cocktails and dessert while sitting at the bar. Ooooh, sounds like a great date idea!
Sola is simply one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago.
We went for brunch this Sunday. The huevos benedictos are phenomenal--perfectly poached eggs topping chorizo and corn bread. Monica loves the short rib benedict. The chilequiles are certainly tasty. The omelets great and seasonal. I'm a fan of the sola bloody mary, preferably with a beer back. As many reviewers have noted, the brunch is outstanding and really great for all ages (including families).
But dinner at sola also shouldn't be missed--we went for the dinner-of-the-month beet prix fixe over the summer and it was also really great. The entire place smells like truffles. Don't miss the truffle mac and cheese and the truffle fries. Mmmm, truffles.
I've been to Sola a few times for dinner. It was good. BUT, what I am here to tell you about is the BRUCH.
As Marshall Erikson says in the highly popular television show "How I Met your Mother,"
"We're HERE, we're HUNGRY, get used to it, BRUNCH!"
Well, that was my sentiment as I entered Sola on saturday morning.
The first thing I ordered was the malasadas (portugese donut). I have had malasadas in Hawaii, where they sell them in parking lots and on the side of the street. I would say they are comparable. What I loved about the malasadas here were the lovely dipping sauces, one raspberry and one mango. Oww oww. We actually saved the two sauces to dip our bread in. People kept trying to take them away from us, and we would have to slap their hands away (and apologize later...maybe).
Another Hawaiian dish I love is Kalua Pork. Good Kalua pork is the bomb. You can imagine my delight when I saw Kalua Pork hash on the menu! This dish hassss PERFECTLY cooked kalua pork, yummy hashbrowns, egg, and guacamole!
HANDS DOWN, BEST BRUNCH DISH I'VE EVER HAD. I was so in love with it I ate it all and wanted more.
If only the dinner was this good, I'd try to move in to Sola. Sleeping bag under the reception desk... and I could shower in the sink. It'd be awesome.
I have a serious problem. I can't resist the foie gras. Ever. Especially when it's served with Vietnamese caramel. Seriously, I don't know what I ever did during the ban. To the enabler that brought it back, I thank you.
We arrived at Sola on a chilly night, but I really wanted to sit on the patio. The host was great about offering a shawl and having the heaters turned on so we would be comfortable. It was a nice touch.
As you probably gathered, I started with the foie gras ravioli with Vietnamese caramel. It was a great combination of flavors and I loved it. For the main course, I ordered the pork, which is comprised of grilled loin, braised cheek and kalua pork with figs and bacon bread pudding. I love kalua pork, but the highlight of the dish was the grilled loin. It was delicious and prepared perfectly. My bf chose the cobia, served with potato gnocchi and mussels. It was also very good.
I liked the friendly service and the cozy atmosphere. A great compliment to the food.
http://jimandbrittneye.../
It was our first Valentine's Day, and we're spending it at another Á la Card establishment! Sola was ready for the big day, with gorgeous table tops and a printed specials menu. We opted for a mix of the aphrodisiacs on the list and some items from their everyday menu.
We started with two wines, the Duval-Leroy Brut Champagne (France) and the Brooks Amycas (Oregon). With the wine came our first special, the oysters two ways - kumamotos on the half shell with Meyer lemon emulsion, and Thai basil... and malpecs tempura with avocado wasabi puree, basil cucumber salad, and American sturgeon caviar.
The kumamotos were extremely fresh for the Midwest. We both commented that they "tasted like the sea." We had never had fried oysters before, but they were surprisingly light, and the avocado wasabi puree was delicious. A very successful aphrodisiac, from what we could tell.
We then shared the crispy mushroom salad, which was baby arugula, Asian pear, shallots, pleasant ridge, cider truffle vinaigrette, and of course, crispy mushrooms!
This salad could do no wrong. The mushrooms were like nothing we'd ever tasted, the pears added a delightful sweetness, and how on earth could cider truffle vinaigrette not be amazing?! It was a great salad, and it was unique enough to be memorable.
For her entree, Brittney had the scallops with green apple crab risotto, green beans, and apple curry butter.
The description made this dish sound perfect for me, but it turned out to be pretty disappointing. Though the scallops were very well down, and the apple curry flavor was nice when I could taste it, the risotto was extremely fishy and didn't taste at all like apples or crab. I ate most of the scallops and the green beans, but I left the risotto, which I thought would be the highlight of the dish, mostly untouched.
For his entree, Jim ordered a special, Carol's Colorado lamb chops with cambazola cheese, cauliflower puree, wilted spinach, shallots, and shaved fennel.
For our final course, we ordered a sweet dish and a savory one. To satisfy Brittney's ever-growing desire for sugar, we got caramel apple bread pudding with Roxbury russet, Szechwan peppercorn-cider sauce, and sweet soy vanilla ice cream.
Yes, it was definitely as good as it looks and sounds. This was quite possibly the best bread pudding we've had, and that's saying a lot. We always gravitate towards it on any menu, mostly because it tends to come with interesting pairings. This was no exception, and it was a perfect Valentine's Day treat. However, next year they should find a way to make it pink.
To satisfy our (constant) cravings for cheese, we got a really nice cheese plate, which included housemade fruit preserves, nuts humboldt fog (California, goats milk), gouda aged 4 yr. (Holland, cows milk), and manchego (Spain, sheeps milk).
Each new cheese was better than the last, and we literally scraped the plate clean. A perfect ending to an almost perfect Valentine's Day meal (company was perfect, risotto was troubling).
The ambiance of the place was pretty lively and friendly, and we even struck up a conversation about whisky with a nearby table. However, we told them ahead of time that we wanted a slow meal, and we instead got the feeling that they wanted to turn over our table three times before V-Day was over. Overall, the food only missed the mark once, but frankly, we're not likely to go back any time soon. If you're in the area and want to stop in for salads and dessert, then we say, "Bon appétit!"
My theory is if a place is going to be overly claustrophobic, loud, and waiting time longer than it takes my grandmother to walk to the bathroom (and that's a long time) then the food better be the most amazing culinary experience ever. Well, Sola does not reach that feat nor does it welcome another visit.
I attempted several dishes and found most to be on the "mush" side. The Short Rib Benedict hollandaise sauce does not compliment the salty beef very well while the rest of the dish is softer than air. The pancakes are equally, if not more, "mush" compared to the other dishes. The syrup literally went through the entire pancake in a matter of seconds forcing me to re-douse the pancake -- I found myself going through this routine every 10 seconds. For goodness sake, McDonald's pancake absorbs and holds syrup far more efficiently.
Had Sola been a more spread out seating, less noise, and less hype then maybe I would have rewarded another star, but they are merely another disappointment to add to my list.
I was really impressed with sola. The woman I spoke with when making reservations was polite and helpful and our service was really excellent when we arrived. We had 2 servers because one was new and both were great- I never would have guessed one was being trained. He actually steered me towards a cheaper entree of the two I was considering, which is nice (and also appreciated, since the short ribs were excellent). My friend had the wasabi crusted tuna which was also delicious.
The tab was much more than I'd like to spend but it was a really great place to have a special meal or to treat yourself once in awhile. We each had an entree and their lowest price glass of wine and our tab was $75. Each entree was $25-$30, which is about double what I'm used to spending. The food was worth it for sure, but I can't dine out at this price often.
Judging from the reviews and the photos on Yelp it sounds like sola changes its menu frequently which seems cool and a way to try new things each time. I'd love to come back.
I have frequently been here for dinner, which is excellent for fresh seasonal ingredients, and fish dishes (also meat dishes). However, their brunch should not be overlooked either.
For starters, while it doesn't appear it would be a kid friendly restaurant, their Sunday brunch gets plenty (and early dinners do as well). So, definitely don't be afraid to bring the whole family.
I have had their steak and eggs, which is excellent with a prime piece of meat, and a couple of eggs. However, this past visit I strayed and had the pork hash, which was fantastic! It was pulled pork (slightly smoked) blended with what seemed were their house potatos (well spiced and super fresh), topped with a couple of eggs of your choice. The combo was truly excellent, and I can't wait to have it again.
Also at the table was the farmers market omelet, which was basically what was freshly picked up at the Green City Mkt. It too was good, but the cheese was more like a super rich cream cheese (my laymans assessment) and would have been substituted with a more basic swiss had we known.
Plus, coffee was good, which is definitely a necessity for any breakfast/brunch out.
Finally, look for their coupons on http://dining.com ($10 off usable Sunday).
Like: after making my Open Table reservation, the host/ess called to confirm and inform me that the entrance is not actually on Lincoln, but on the cross street Byron by the Chase Bank.
Dislike: Limited street parking. I found a spot by Wolcott/Byron right away though. No meter. Must have gotten lucky.
Like: potato hash that accompanied our brunches. Crispy and flavorful!
Dislike: my crab and leek omelet only had patches of crab and was rather bland.
Like: warm, golden decorated interior with a fireplace by the entrance.
Dislike: it was kind of loud, despite there being no music and sola being half empty.
LOVE: malasadas donuts! Sugar coated fried goodness and comes with raspberry and mango curd dipping sauce.
I admit it, I'm not a bruncher. I don't understand Chicago's brunch culture when my man and I can make delicious breakfasts on the weekends for ourselves, watch Sunday newsmagazines, or our DVR'ed shows. However, I can be easily persuaded to have brunch with a friend before knitting class. So, my brunching knitting friend and I decided on Sola for my foray into brunch since I wanted to try it.
I arrived a little late due the wonderful Red Line construction. My friend had already got us a table. For my beverage, I had some tasty pineapple juice while my friend had grapefruit juice. For my brunch, I decided on a favorite hard to make at home standby: eggs benedict. While my friend ordered huevos benedictos.
For a busy Sunday morning, our food was served quickly. The eggs benedict were damn delicious. The eggs were perfectly poached and oozed perfectly down the plate smothering the english muffin in a yolky nirvana. Sola's Canadian bacon was surprise. It had to be the meatiest slices of Canadian Bacon I've ever experienced. The accompanying hashbrowns were a relevation. They're crisp and spicy. I knew my potato in any shape or form loving fiance would regret missing these bites of potato heaven.
I enjoyed my first real Chicago brunching experience. I could see myself enjoying a Sunday morning meal with friends before class. This will hopefully a first in a series of Sunday brunches in North Center for a brunching novice.
Some dude took me here to celebrate passing the bar exam. What a nice boy, huh?
He started with the soup special, which was their take on French onion soup. It included pineapple, which was a surprisingly nice addition to the soup, particularly with the cheese it was topped with.
My starter, the crispy mushroom salad, was not nearly as tasty. The mushrooms were thinly sliced and fried until crispy. Unfortunately, this removed nearly all the flavor from the mushroom. I ended up avoiding the mushrooms and just eating the greens and cheese, which were dressed with a nice citrus vinagrette. Skip this salad.
Our entrees were the tuna and the scallops. The light sauce served with the scallops is perfect. It was a lovely plate of food. The tuna, as always, was also great. We got the truffle fries and the mac and cheese as sides. We had opposing opinions about the sides. I love the truffle fries - boy thought they were way too salty. I was unimpressed by the mac and cheese because I thought it was bland and generally unimpressive. He loved the mac and cheese and ate most of it.
No dessert because we were far too stuffed. It was pretty good, but I wish I'd known not to order that salad.
I've been to Sola twice since the last review.
My 2nd time at Sola, I got a chilled avocado soup as…
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Decided to take my friend here for her birthday. It was pretty empty when we arrived. We were seated next to the family with the two crying babies. Hm? lol.
They gave us a bread basket, which was nice. The bread IN the basket? It was okay.
I like that they have an ingredient of the month. When I went, it was melons. They had a prix fixe menu based on melons. Pretty cool.
We were given a random small sample of some tomato, melon, ?,? thing on a spoon. That was yum.. and free(insert heart).
Shared the mussels & shrimp appetizer. Didn't taste that good. Very plain. Super small. I know it's an appetizer.. but wow, for 13 bucks-ish.. it was for HALF a person. Real talk.
I got the ginger glazed seared salmon w/edamame puree,truffle teriyaki sauce, & green bean tempura. Hm.. I know it's seared and all, and I guess that's how it's supposed to be made.. but..I don't like my salmon to be raw in the middle. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE raw fish, but when it's WARM+raw.. ew.. tastes almost metal-y. Very small portion. At least the sauce was genius :)
My friend got one of the specials. I think it was the wagyu steak? I forget. She liked it.. but thought it was the smallest piece of meat she's ever seen.
Expensive for the very small portions. I wouldn't complain about the portions if it tasted amazing. It did not :(
I'll give it another try this month.
Best surprise from the boy ever :) mmmmm.
Sola was soooo good.
Nothing we ordered disappointed us.
The Hostess was Wonderful and came and made small talk with us when she noticed our waiter was lacking in social graces.
Now let me break it down.
Drink:
I wish I remembered the name
It was delish! It was candied ginger vodka pineapple and black pepper and a little star anise floating on top
App:
Parm-Truffle fries
So good.. a lot of people are trying their hand at this type of fry and failing. But Sola is on point Perfect!
Entrees:
I had the Tuna It was perfect. It was Panko breaded and seared. it came in a cute little tower on top of bamboo rice with Tempura avocado on top! mmm and I the best part soy-wasabi buerre blanc sauce ... perfect and delish.
The Boy had the Scallops- wild mushroom - leek - fava risotto, wax beans, baby bok choy, truffle vinaigrette, oregon truffle
I'll let that speak for it self... it was near orgasmic...
Dessert-
sponge cake Panna Cotta - sake soaked, lemongrass,raspberry gelee, kumquat compote... This was inhaled and it was a perfect balance of sour and sweet and creamy :) mmm i'll dream about this :)
I will be back!
Wow...SO CLOSE to a five star - if ONLY my food was served piping hot! If you read my other reviews, you'll realize that is my BIGGEST pet peeve if my food isn't hot! (or if there is hair!)
What inspired me to come here with another couple is the Chicago Gourmet event - I was really impressed by the tuna poke that was served there and I wanted to branch out with my friends into a neighborhood that we don't normally go to. This restaurant is in North Center which is quite a trek for us near South folks.
Other than that, I will say that we all really enjoyed our food.
Appetizers ordered:
Sweetbreads (special) - delicious, but really tiny portion. I do recommend it but pricey for how much you get ($15)
Heirloom Tomatoes - nice ripe, colorful tomatoes, tasted fresh
Potstickers - these were ok - I've eaten millions of potstickers in my life (I'm Asian!) and I prefer the skin of the potsticker to be a bit thinner but nice bold flavors
Tuna Poke - I have never been to Hawaii, so I'm not sure how Poke is typically served but I've never seen is served with rice. It was still very good - the tuna and the dressings were served justed like at Chicago Gourmet (but no rice at CG).
Entrees - star of the show was by far - the short ribs - which I learned had won an award in 2007 from the Restaurant Association. super tender and absolutely flavorful.
Halibut - served very undercooked but fresh
Duck Confit - My husband says his dish was 7/10 - so very good but not stellar.
I had the pork done three ways which if it had been served hot, I would have loved it. Really tender - flavors were penetrated deep into the meat which was exceptional. I've often had or made pork from center cut meat and found it difficult to have flavor unless marinated for long periods of 24 hours or more.
Dessert - Mmmm...the four of us shared the soft centered chocolate cake - is was AWESOME!
Can't wait to try their brunch - but only if they promise my food is served hot!
So my wife (who I share a yelp account with) may not agree with my rating, but I'm going at it first so I win. :) She would probably go 4 stars.
We went to Sola last night (a Sunday) to enjoy a nice dinner out. And a nice dinner it was, but the nice guys never win, do they? It wasn't spectacular.
Tracy had the Cobia, I had the Pork. Both were good but not great. Sola seems to put all of their effort into the sides that accompany the main dish. If I could have a plate of nothing but the excellent sounding sides, for example the Bacon Bread Pudding, I'd be happy.
Service was fine, but not great. Ambiance was fine, but nothing special. On the whole, I enjoyed the experience, but am I in a hurry to go back and pay $140 to relive it? No I'm not.
The best part for me was the dessert. The sesame brittle icecream that sat along side the soft center chocolate cake was great. Tracy was moaning in an eerily suggestive manor over the chocolate cake, but I had similarly erotic thoughts about the ice cream.
Beer / drink selection was good, the fries are way overrated.
So yeah, if the meal was $50 less or the main courses were far more memorable, this would have been a 4 star review.
For the record, I am glad I went, and I did have a nice time.
Mmm... Huevos Benedictos.
Perfectly poached eggs with a spicy sauce on top of chorizo and amazingly light corn cakes topped with an awesomely fresh salsa.
Yum! Throw some super crispy and a little bit spicy hashbrown potatoes next to that sucker and it's my perfect breakfast.
I'd wanted to go to sola for awhile since I used to live around the corner. Back then, double digit prices scared me away, but their brunch is very reasonable ($10-14) for Chicago prices. I finally made it here for brunch last weekend with a friend.
The grand marnier souffle french toast was good, but it wasn't great. It was pretty cold by the time it got to us (sitting outside), and while it was good, it didn't blow me away like I was expecting it to. Still, service was good. We ate outside, but I like the atmosphere inside from what little I saw--very warm and subdued.
The tea was a little disappointing since it was from bags and served in a pot that got cold very quickly (again, sitting outside, so maybe that was part of it?). Also, we ordered a side of seasonal fruit that had some less than seasonal-tasting items in it, but it was quite large and only $3, so we weren't peeved.
I don't know how we missed those donuts on the menu (maybe they weren't there?), but I want to go back for those and the huevos benedictos. Another good brunch there and I might be talked into dinner.
Oh, hey, a place that serves brunch in Chicago that accepts reservations! Attended a six-person surprise birthday brunch here last weekend and, I have to say, we had a really excellent time. Being that we were a surprise brunch, the hostess and server were gracious in seating us and putting up with our antics before the Birthday Boy arrived.
The coffee is decent. A bit of a lighter roast than I like but drinkable. I also ordered a juice which was underwhelming. The malasadas, however, were outstanding. Perfect little sugary pillows of yum! There were 5 different dishes ordered at our table: Crab & Leek omelet, Huevos Benedictos, Short Ribs Benedict, French Toast, and two orders of the 5-Spice waffle.
According to the meat eaters, the Short Ribs Benedict was the winner in the meals, with the other benedict recipe a close second. The eater of the French Toast didn't express much love for her dish, but both waffles were devoured. The Crab and Leek omelet was good, but the Philistine in me prefers whitefish to crab for flavor in omelets. [Go 3-Mile Omelet at the Omelet Parlor in Colorado Springs!]
Also, the staff brought out a fancy plate of truffles for the Birthday Boy which was sweet of them. They didn't bother us at all during our extended brunch and were invisible in their steady refillings of our coffee. It was a great experience, and I'd love to try sola again for dinner and a repeat of brunch.
Tried Sola last night. Loved the atmosphere and the food was delicious, however the service could have been a little better, and the portions were a little too small..
We both had the cheese and grape sald for an appetizer, which was very light and very tasty. For my entree, I had the pork, which was absolutely incredible. It was a flight of 3 different cuts. The porkbelly was just about the most scrumptios thing I have eaten all year. My only complaint about the dish was that the portion was tiny. I seriously could have eaten 2 more plates of food. My date chose the duck, which was also top notch, and a perfect portion for her 100lb body, but I think I would have left hungry if chose that dish as well.
All in all, I was pretty impressed with the place. I was able to get a cupon for "buy one get one free" entrees through my office, so our total tab for: 2 appetizers, 2 entress and 3 glasses of wine came to $80 (without the cupon, it would have been about $120) This would have ben a 5 star rating had the waiter ben a little moe attentive, and the poritons about 30% larger. I mean come on, for $120, two people should both leave full. But that being said, the food was still dynamite!
Beets beets beets. I love beets. A few Yelpers tipped me off that sola was doing beets for their ingredient-of-the-month prix fixe in July. Sold!
As it turns out, the food was very good. Perhaps not quite as phenomenal as I would expect for the price point. However, it was all very enjoyable across the board.
I ordered the soup du jour (not included with the prix fixe) and it was an all-time great soup, one of the few best that I've had at an upscale restaurant (the best soups ever are at Soupbox and my grandmother's house). Corn and coconut puree with scallions, edamame, shrimp, and a chili oil drizzle.
The relatively simple beet salad (radishes, manchego, grilled pineapple, and yuzu vinaigrette) was very good. I wasn't too thrilled that the entree was halibut but they designed and executed it well, again rather simply: beets and beet greens, summer squash, and truffle vinaigrette. So far an A- and a B+.
Dessert was...weird. It was a carrot/beet cake "ice cream sandwich" in which the "ice cream" was frozen tofu. The hoisin caramel sauce and carrot/beet salsa were a bit superfluous. This dessert tasted fine, but I didn't care for the texture. There needed to be more cake to offset the icy tofu and the sharp crunch of the candied pecans. Whatever cake was in each bite just melted away as I chomped at the two harder ingredients.
All in all, the food was very good. The service was fine too, but I didn't care for the space. There was something cold and uninspired about it. Oh, and watch out--the storefront is not actually on Lincoln, but around the corner on Byron.
A word about their cocktails: Try. They're not quite as artistic as, say, Otom's, but they are unique enough for your attention. The lemon basil mojito was excellent. It was more or less a regular mojito with a ball of sorbet in it. "What kind of sorbet is this?" "That's the lemon/Thai basil/ginger sorbet." "Wow!" Quite unexpected and delicious. I asked for a spoon and treated it like dessert before my meal. After dinner I tried the Kentucky Blues: Maker's Mark, housemade ginger ale, and blueberries, a great idea. This drink was darkish purple but I could barely taste the berries. The ginger ale was very strong and sweet and dominated the drink. Maybe increase the blueberry proportion by 10% and the bourbon by 5% and decrease the ginger ale accordingly for a truly excellent cocktail.
I realize I risk a backlash from the folks who rate Sola otherwise, but...after what I'd categorize as a "nice" dining experience at Sola, I can't say that I'm in a rush to go back.
After reviewing such rave reviews, a friend of mine and I had looked forward to trying a couple of starters in particular -- the truffle parmesan fries and the kalua potstickers. The potstickers were very good, although as I ate them I wished that the pork itself had more flavor -- I found myself trying to scrape every last drop of the mango kumquat salsa and cilantro oil off the plate. I'd recommend them, but again...wish the potsticker itself had more going on. As for the truffle parmesan fries...well, they were...just fries. As I ate them, I couldn't help but think that there really wasn't much there and that I would have appreciated them more had I had a hot dog or burger to accompany them. Of the other sides and appetizers, I'd skip them.
My friend had the beef tenderloin special and I had the scallops with wild mushroom/leek risotto. Scallops had the slightest flavor of wasabi, complementing the clear Asian influence in the rest of the dish. Good, but not spectacular. My friend liked her beef but again...good but not something to rave about.
The highlight of the meal had to have been dessert, where we split the blueberry lemongrass creme brulee. A different spin on something traditional, we didn't leave any of it behind. Delicious.
What I loved about this place was the decor -- a true modern/minimalist ambiance creates a welcoming atmosphere as you enter. It's in a quiet part of Lakeview, which also makes it attractive. That said, while Sola didn't do anything "wrong," it just didn't dazzle me to a point where I'd include it on my list of places to send friends nor the list of places I'm in a hurry to get back to. With all the places in Chicago to visit, Sola, while admittedly good, just doesn't make the shortlist.
I was thinking yesterday about the places in Chicago that I miss the most now that I no longer live there, and over and over again *truffle oil and parmesan fries* kept creeping into my head. Notice how almost every one else mentions those damn fries, too? Yeah, because they are just stupidly good.
It does have a gorgeous look. I used to live just a few blocks away and often walked or drove past and always remarked how warm and glowy it looked. And the times that we did eat there, it did feel elegant and cozy at the same time. There is a real attention to detail in the design and look of Sola.
The food was delicious too, although honestly I don't remember the specifics of the couple of meals that I had there other than I always loved it, and of course those ridiculous fries. Eventually I just succumbed to the siren call of the truffle oil and parmesan fries and made a meal out of them with a couple glasses of wine. I highly recommend it.
My husband and I had ourselves a lovely dinner here a couple of weeks ago. We ordered the truffle oil & parmesan fries to start, which were quite delicious. I think the presentation is very attractive (they come in a paper-lined pint glass) but they stuck together a little more than I would have liked. Not really a big deal though. The pretzel roll was my favorite selection from the bread basket.
I ordered the scallops with soba dumplings and mushrooms, and oh my god was it delicious! The scallops were perfect - sweet and fresh and perfectly seared. Yum! Hubby ordered the short ribs, which he devoured with gusto. The flavor was amazing from the couple of bites I stole.
To finish off the meal we shared a blueberry lemongrass creme brulee, which was great as well. The lemongrass gave the dish a light, refreshing taste that we loved.
Overall, this was an excellent splurge meal for us. We had a coupon from http://Restaurant.com ($25 off, which we paid $2 for), but our bill with tip was still $85. Definitely not an inexpensive place, but it was a fabulous meal. The ambiance of the place is somehow both fancy and relaxing and we never felt rushed or out of place.
I'm knocking sola up to 5 stars, with the clear understanding that 1) it's probably not a "5 star" restaurant, and 2) there is room for improvement.
BUT ... I always have a great time here. You know those places where you can just go and relax, where you feel comfortable bringing friends because you feel confident they'll enjoy it? That's my experience with sola. Everything about the place is so professionally run, and the food is so good and (god help us) creative, that I trust them to take care of me.
I stopped in this week with a friend and her mother. Both mother and daughter can be picky, and both were happy as clams. It was chilly, but the fireplace was roaring, so that got us off to a good start. I had the house Manhattan, which was a delight. Mom had a special drink order, and it was delivered flawlessly. For dinner, I had the lamb chops which were on special, and they were cooked perfectly. If you've had lamb chops that were not cooked perfectly, you know what that means. Mom had the short ribs -- braised with an Asian touch, with hoisin and lemongrass, I cannot recommend these enough. I started off with the roasted beet and pineapple salad, which sounds strange, but turned out to be a lovely blend of sweet, earthy, and sharp, from the manchego cheese. This is the way in which the food is creative -- interesting combinations, without being too cute or clever.
For me, the one flaw is dessert. They're either too pedestrian -- molten chocolate cake -- or too odd -- sweet potato and beet tart, jasmine rice pudding spring roll. I recommend opting for a flight of the ice creams and/or sorbets, which are consistently good.
sola is not inexpensive. But my experience there is on par with places that charge twice as much. And that makes worth 5 stars.
I went to sola this week for the second time in just under a month. The first visit was with a group… Read more »
10 things I love about Sola (and that you will too):
1) The Asian-Hawaiian influence manifests itself in their cooking, but never overbearingly or underwhelmingly. Sola is amazingly consistent and skilled in creating new dishes for their menu. It seems as if they always use fresh, seasonal ingredients to create unconventional but delicious pairings.
2) Being part of their mailing list. I love getting e-mails about the latest food competition they've entered a classic dish in, or about the latest prix fixe and wine pairing, which brings me to...
3) The latest meal I had there: an Artichoke prix fixe of 3 courses for $30 with wine pairing at $15. A steal of a deal in terms of quantity/quality.
4) An appetizer staple: Artichoke fritters with a white truffle honey sauce that made me consider being totally indecent and drinking the leftover sauce.
5) They made a candied artichoke tart with goat cheese mascarpone and meyer lemon that was amazing. I'll be honest, I was hesitant to think of a sweet artichoke/goat cheese dessert, and boyfriend was outright cynical about it, but it was sheer bliss - one of the best desserts I've had the privilege of indulging in at this city. For the less adventurous, their regular desserts (such as their molten center chocolate cake) are just as orgasmic and palate-pleasing.
6) Dale Levitski - A Top Chef Season 3 highlight who waits at tables here, Dale is engaging and charming to all who ask about his plans to open a new restaurant (and I hear at least one table ask every time I visit).
7) Brunch. I can't get over it. Whenever we have people from out of town for brunch, we take them to sola. It's classy, understated, yet reasonably priced...and there's always something for everyone.
8) Parmesan truffle fries: enough said.
9) Drinks: For the oenophiles, trust them with the pairings, they will bring a great compliment to your meal. And for the rest of the lushes: the drink list is great. Martinis, mimosas, bloody mary's, beers, oh my, the wizard of (bo)oz(e).
10) Attention http://restaurant.com users, they honor their coupons with subtlety - it's incredibly easy so don't hesitate to visit with one.
A meal here is an unregrettable decision.
I like Brunch, I am Asian, and I am a huge Top Chef fan.
These three qualities make me a frontrunner…
Read more »
We live in the neighborhood and although we've been to dinner there on numerous occasions we decided we needed to try brunch before moving. So yesterday we headed over. First off, I must say that every time we've eaten there I've been blown away by the food and the terrific cocktails. This restaurant has a nice relaxing atmosphere which is beautiful not not stuffy. It's a neighborhood place that folks bring their kids to, but it's not loud and obnoxious. The kids seem to know to behave, or the parents are actually good parents (that's a whole other story). It's peaceful.
The brunch menu is really very extensive and offers a lot of great choices. We started with the yummy Portugese donuts which we loved. We also had two different mimosa's, one with pomegranite and mango the other with pineapple and passion fruit. Spectacular! Fresh fruit juice with decent champagne. Sola always has unique drink offerings on the menu and brunch is no exception.
I had the Short Rib Benedict. I've had the short ribs before so I knew they would be killer - and the dish did not disappoint. The cheddar corn biscuit that replaced the english muffin was delicious. Sola always uses the best fresh and local ingredients, which really makes the difference. The hollandaise was light and tasty as well. The hash browns were crunchy golden with a dash of spices.
My girlfriend had the Big Kahuna - Waygu hamburger with 2 eggs, potatoes, cheddar cheese and house-made bacon. This was HUGE and very, very good. Frankly, we could have split that item alone. I ended up helping her with it and it was delicious. The hamburger was just outstanding.
The service was impeccable the waitress was attentive but not annoying and was ready to answer any question we had. It was a very relaxing meal - we ate outside this time because it was such a nice day. We were a little to close to the prep station, which may not usually be a problem, but this day the bus boy seemed to be dropping things every couple of minutes, he seemed a little off his game, so it was pretty loud. But all in all it was a great experience and we'll definitely be going back. The food is just wonderful!.
The restaurant was somewhat hard to find, since it's not technically ON Lincoln, but off of it, and the entrance is on Byron. Either way, the place itself was quite chic, and the hostess at the front was quite pleasant and seated us right away. The place was jam-packed on a Sunday for brunch, and the place has a special menu for that. I had their 'Short Rib Benedict' (I'm a sucker for benedicts). This was a plate with two cheddar biscuits (a little salty, a little mushy), a swipe of a pesto, hollandaise, and poached eggs with short rib bits all over. The short rib reminded me of gogi gangjang, a Korean short rib dish that's infused with soy sauce. I actually liked this dish. A lot! It had the right amount of seasoning, the right amount of cheesiness, and a right amount of sauce. A dash of black pepper only made it more appealing. It came with a side of togarashi potatoes, which were basically your fried 'scalloped-style' potatoes. It was stated that it was more peppery (which I couldn't detect). I didn't really care much for it, and would have opted for more crunchier ones, or even baked ones. Either way, I would definitely come back for the Short Rib Benedict again and probably get another side dish to go along instead of the potatoes. My fiance had the Short Stack, and they were your regular joe pancakes (doesn't beat the prime ones over at the Golden Nugget; not even close). Service could have been a bit more efficient, and parking can be found on the local streets around.
Atmosphere: Modern, Contemporary, I liked it!
Service: Excellent
Food: Excellent
Price: $45pp w/tip
Bathroom: Very clean
Location is a bit confusing address is on Lincoln, entrance is on side street....?
I ordered two appetizers as my meal, Black Cod and Halibut Cheeks both were excellent. Fries were amazing. Pineapple French Onion Soup, sounded strange but it worked.
The tables are a little tight, our location was near the bar so lots of traffic going by the entire dinner.
I'm a fan!
One of my only other 5-stars, Scuba Steve took me here and I cannot WAIT to go back with friends!
It really is a foodie dream, but to those who don't care about presentation and creative ingredient pairings, it's still a great place to eat.
We started with a glass of wine at the bar, and I was duly impressed with their selection. I personally think wine is such an important part of a good meal, so having an excellent selection offering shows me that the restaurant really knows their food.
We started with the Tuna Poke, which was absolutely perfect. I ordered the Scallops, of course, and was rewarded for my choice. The Soba Dumplings were amazing too! Scuba Steve had the Cobia, not only because he is a fish fan like me, but an even bigger bacon fan. It was a tough choice for him because their short ribs came highly recommended (which I almost ordered) but since he had had them there before he decided to try something new, and he also loved his dish.
To top it off we ordered the Jasmine Rice Pudding Spring Roll, which came with a Black Vinegar Sorbet - the juxtaposition of the sweetness and richness of the Spring Roll and the tanginess of the sorbet was incredible - it amplified the flavors of both items without detracting from either one of them. They had several other offerings as well, but I was extremely happy with our selection!
Our server was also incredibly well-informed and helpful in selecting our choices, and while the service was a wee bit slow, it was understable since it was a Saturday night!
My second-favorite restaurant in Chicago by far!
The Girlfriends and I got together for our monthly brunch and Sola was the restaurant of choice.
We'd heard about these Portuguese donuts and chocolate chip pancakes...they were worth the price of admission. Those donuts (or MALASADAS, as they are known on the menu) were amazing. The
chocolate chip, macadamia nut pancakes with nutella sauce...yum.
I ordered the spare ribs benedict with cheddar cakes and pesto hollandaise. Heaven. The meat was very tender and the biscuits were divine. The chilaquiles were also a big hit at the table.
The restaurant itself is pretty modern and has a lot of great light in the morning. Our server was ever so kind as he dealt with our unruly group.
Highly recommended!
The name sola is a feminine take on the word 'solo'. I found it cute.
I'm cutting straight to the main dishes. sola serves up their Cobia (oily, meaty fish) wrapped tightly in bacon. When the dish came out, I thought that I'd have a difficult time cutting it up while keeping the fish and bacon intact.. bc fish is usually flaky and bacon almost never cuts well for me. To my surprise, both the fish and bacon obeyed the commands of my knife. Nothing fell apart.. unbelivable! =) And the taste? Absolute perfection. My friend had the pork chop trio (which I think the server mentioned is their signature dish) and loved every bite of it. It's stuffed with cheese so it almost has to be good.
Although the main dishes were amazing, I think my favorite part of the meal was the appetizer- Tuna Poke. It's big enough for two and the tuna is delicately layered between a sheet of pressed rice and avocado. It's a perfect blend of flavors and an excellent way to start off your meal.
Service was flawless and our server was a total sweetheart! She was knowledgable and offered some great recommendations.
The ambience is nice- minimalistic, sepia tones, contemporary.. but my friend and I both agree that there's something kinda missing..
warning: If you're watching what you eat, do not get the fries. I guarantee that you won't stop eating them.
Delicious food! Attentive wait staff! Charming atmosphere! I love this place!
The truffle fries are AMAZING.
Any place that serves an amuse-bouche and also has it taste like heaven is my kind of place... plus then I can say amuse-bouche over and over the rest of the night.
Sola is now my perfect example of elegant dining. As soon as you walk in you are greeted warmly plus we were seated right away, so bonus. Though we did have reservations but regardless we didn't have to wait for a table which is very unusual (though they have a beautiful bar area so I wouldn't have minded). The decor and table settings are perfect, not to intrusive but very stylish. I don't know if anybody else has noticed but the flatware was from IKEA**, which is really funny to me (I was admiring how cool they were and then I flipped them over and went Nooooooooooooo). My only complaint is that the tables are a little too close to each other (the girl at the next table got up and we got full shot of her ass and it almost dragged on our table as she went by... she was very tall) and that it gets extremely loud.
Sola seems to really wHip their servers into shape. Not only was it great service but I would give a star for actually remembering all the specials, which took almost 5 minutes to go over all of them. Very attentive without being overbearing. Just a note for the water-boys, let my glass go down at least halfway before refilling. I swear this dude just stood be hind me the entire night filling my glass after each sip.
Again as I said elegant, their menu is creative and executed wonderfully. We started with the Calamari tempura with a saffron aioli sauce, it was a hard choice for the apps but we were more then satisfied with the pick. Actually the whole menu is really hard to pick from because you want it all. For our main course she had the Tuna hoisin-mustard-panko crusted, bamboo rice, avocado tempura, soy-wasabi buerre blanc and of course I HAD to have a bite or two or four. I went with the 1/2 chicken shallots, spinach, minted yogurt, Chinese black rice. The chicken was tender and gone in no time. And last the dessert ( I have to say that I'm a little pissed off at their dessert menu... there is WAY TOO MUCH AWESOME desserts to pick from), we finally after much debate chose the mai'a hot fudge sundae, banana ice cream, hot fudge, macadamia nuts, bruleed banana. It was the perfect ending.
I'm going back to try their lunch and brunch menus as soon as I can!!
**IKEA = HELL on Earth
i love sola. it's not far from my house and is consistently good. and the wait staff is always friendly and helpful. usually pretty crowded on weekends but that's a sign of a good restaurant, no?
What, you may ask, brought my girlfriends and I out to Sola on a chilly Thursday night in February? Well, if you do ask that, then clearly you have no clue about Sola's "Burger's, Beer, and Bacon" night. The lure of excessive amounts of bacon (along with the insistence of a bacon-obsessed friend) may have brought us into Sola but it wasn't what made me want to go back.
Yes, said bacon-obsessee did love her burger but the varied wine list, my delicious scallops on green apple crab risotto, and the awesome hot fudge sundae with banana ice cream and macadamia nuts were all insanely good. Sola serves up great food in a relaxed and friendly environment and I will certainly be back for more cozy nights by their fireplace...bacon night or not.
The food was decent, service was nice but it was a little over priced. We had 1 appetizer (the fries), 2 entrees and 1 drink ... after tip and taxes, it was $94 bucks for dinner on a Monday night.
We ordered the fries because other people raved about them on this site and I was really looking forward to them. However, I was a little disappointed. They are good fries but nothing special about them. Other than salt, I didn't taste the Parmesan or truffle oil.
I had the short ribs and my husband had the NY steak. When I ordered mine, I thought they would be small pieces of ribs but instead, it was a big chunk of meat. It was very good and it actually tasted very similar to a dish that my mom makes. But if I told her how much I paid for it, she would think I was wasting money. My husband's steak was also good and they got it done exactly at the level he likes it.
This is a good place for a date but not somewhere I would go back soon.
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