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A Place To “Dine”

Smack dab in the heart of Greektown is an American restaurant themed after a 40’s-style diner. Tucked into the Crowne Plaza, Dine is an anomoly in this neighborhood of gyros and baklava. But that’s OK, because Greektown is known for its food, and in that respect Dine fits right in.

I’ll let you know right off the bat I was there for a media luncheon. Their PR company invited a bunch of us newsy-types to check out the restaurant. Since the idea is obviously to generate buzz, everyone is on their best behavior. Frankly, if you’re not impressed at one of these the restaurant should never have been given a license.

That being said, I knew I was in for a treat when I walked in and saw the woman who’d hired me two days after I moved to Chicago five years ago. The grilling she gave me during the interview was an indication of the exacting boss she would be. During my year and a half tenure, I knew I had better be on time, in complete uniform, know my menu back and forth and be able to recommend a wine with each dish.

For the first few minutes, she and I caught up on the last few years and laughed about shared memories and where our lives had taken us. Then they got down to business.

The first course was a pan seared crab cake with rock shrimp corn chowder. It was heavy on the crab, light on the filling, and the curry spice was a pleasant surprise and the chowder was a cute and appropriate accompaniment. Most telling: one of the women at the table said she’d just been in Boston and this was better than any crab cake she had there.

The second course was Atlantic Salmon, grilled a perfect medium, and topped with a corn meal crusted Oyster and served over white polenta mixed with ham-hoc jus. The salmon was excellent, but we all agreed that the oyster was over the top good.

For the main course we had Chef Chris Turano’s twist on the typical midwestern pork & apples dish: roasted pork tenderloin, barley black truffle rissotto, green apple, rutabaga cubes and cipollini onion. I am always leery of eating pork in a restaurant because it’s usually overdone. Not here. It was filet-mignon tender and juicy and oh, I can still taste it. The barley rissotto prepared with black truffle oil was hearty without being too heavy (although by this time I knew I shouldn’t eat any more), and the onion & apple were a great sweet/sour counterpart to the savoriness of the meat and starch.

We were all ready to raise the white flag, but then they put these cute little souffle dishes filled with chocolate raspberry pot pie and chocolate-mint ice cream with a shot glass side of chambord sauce in front of us. Who would think chocolate, raspberry, and mint would make such a heavenly combination? Apparently Pastry Chef Kate Milashus. She used fresh mint in the ice cream so it wouldn’t be overpowering.

Because it was a media luncheon, I can’t speak specifically about the service. We were the only diners in the restaurant and the entire staff was focused on serving this one large group. As I mentioned, they’re rolling out their best. But, knowing my former boss the way I do, with her at the helm of the restaurant group that owns Dine I have a pretty good idea the luncheon was an example and not an exception.

Dine
733 W Madison
(312)602-2100

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