Chicago-restaurant-reviews-Sola

This new venue from Carol Wallack, formerly of Deleece, is a real find. Although the address is Lincoln Avenue, the restaurant is located around the corner on Byron St. The room is large and open with a comfortable feel. The wine list is manageable in size but a little pricey. We started with two appetizers, the artichoke fritters with a white truffle sauce and their verson of Hawaiian poke which was a ceviche of shrimp and squid. The fritters were artichoke hearts in a cornmeal crust but the truffle sauce was excellent. The ingredients in the ceviche were very fresh. We shared an excellent pear and blue cheese salad as well as a crispy trumpet mushroom salad on arugula. . For an entree I tried the lamb chops, served on sauted fennel with roasted tomatoes and stuffed with a creamy cheese that ran out of the chops when you cut them. I particularly liked the pan roasted grouper special on black sticky rice. For dessert, we shared the pecan molasses cake and the braised pineapple with coconut sorbet.