Feast

My boyfriend and I went to Feast for the first time last night. It looks really inviting from the outside, so we thought we would finally give it a try. There was a wine tasting going on when we arrived (at 7:00 PM) and a nice crowd had assembled to drink and nosh. While we were seated in the main dining room, the atmosphere of the bar was really pleasant. I definitely would go back on a cold winter night, grab a seat by the fireplace and warm up with some wine. How picturesque!

The decor in the intimate main dining room was also aesthetically pleasing. Brighter than the bar area, beautiful lamps hang from the ceiling. My boyfriend thought they looked retro, but what does he know? The dining room felt surprisingly small--and only about half the tables were full. I imagine that on a busy night it might feel a bit cramped, but I guess that's true of a lot of restaurants.

I started off dinner with a glass of the Riesling and my boyfriend had a Fat Tire (which they had on tap, along with a Goose Island Harvest Ale and some kind of Rogue Ale). I thought the Riesling was good, but not anything special. For an appetizer we ordered the portebello quesadilla, which was more than enough for two people to share. I usually don't like quesadillas, but this one was pretty tasty. Although, I don't think I would order it again. Next time, I want to try the mussels. Yum. For dinner, I had the skirt steak ($19) and my boyfriend had the stuffed chicken with gnocchi ($18). My steak was really good! It was everything a steak should be--juicy, moist, and tasty. It also came with really good mashed potatoes and some delicate onion rings. The chicken was good, but the gnocchi's consistency and texture was just a bit off. They were denser than I usually like them and almost crunchy on the outside, as if they had been lightly fried or toasted. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but either way they tasted a bit strange.  But, it wasn't enough to stop my boyfriend from finishing off his meal and mine! The food was plated nicely and all around it was an enjoyable dinner.

I do, however, have three criticisms. Firstly, the service wasn't superb. While it wasn't by any means bad, our waiter was a bit scarce. I would guess that on busier nights the service would be even slower. Secondly, some of the dishes were slightly pricey. While I thought that my skirt steak was fairly priced, my boyfriend's chicken dish seemed expensive for what it was. Thirdly, and this is purely opinion, I thought a lot of the descriptions on the menu sounded really unappetizing! I'm not a picky eater at all and usually I can find numerous things I want to order at any restaurant, but not many items on Feast's menu grabbed my attention. A lot of them just seemed . . . off.

Complaints aside, I'm sure I'll end up back at Feast one of these days. It definitely warrants a second tasting and it is just so damn close! For those who have to drive there, they have valet parking for 10 bucks. If you are going on a weeknight, don't bother with it! Look for parking on the near by side streets instead!