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Camille
Stagg
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
Branmor's American Grill opened May 7 in
Bolingbrook. With no other independent restaurant in the vicinity,
and located minutes from Naperville, Plainfield, Joliet and Downers
Grove, this new kid on the block has a good crack at the local
dining market.
As we celebrate the Fourth of July, it's
appropriately
patriotic to wave our flag for an all-American restaurants competing
in this Italian culinary wave. The menu and wine list are domestic
here, with a few exceptions. On the same menu with New York strip
steak, Ahi tuna steak and Southwestern-style pork chops, a
Portuguese Veal Madeira sneak in. And the pasta section and lunch
menu have strong Italian flavor.
But then, American cuisine is a melting pot of all the ethnic
populations here, and it incorporates many foreign influences. We
no longer question
seeing Tomato Basil Bruschetta and Calamari Fritter next to Crab
& Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms.
And so a grilled flank steak-Monterey Jack cheese sandwich named
'The Ben Franklin" (how patriotic can you get?) can feel as
comfortable next to a Branmor Burger as next to Chicken Schnitzel,
as it does here. I'm not sure if Mr. Franklin enjoyed flank steak,
but it's well known that he enjoyed wine. He once wrote, "Wine
is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.' '
The wine list here is largely Californian, with two entries
from Washington and two French champagnes. Seventy choices are
offered as well as a special reserve list. Although it's
impressive, it's a bit long for a casual restaurant
of this type, and the
wine-by-the-glass list is far too short. Some happy medium would
be better. Since nothing appealed to us from the trio of
by-the-glass wines, we chose a bottle of 1994 Caymus Barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Napa,
818, a good price. Since we didn't know Caymus,
we asked our waitress, who was under legal age; so she called
Chris Birck, a manager and one of four co-owners. Birck went
"the extra mile" for us and walked the room to ask
opinions of several other customers who ordered this wine. She
came back with the report that everyone was satisfied, and that
it was more fruity .than the typical Sauvignon
Blianc.
And it was -
almost
perfumy; it was a Sauvignon Blanc that had Chardonnay
characteristics from the wood aging, and it proved to be a good
choice for our food.
The dining room was designed to pay tribute to Frank Lloyd
Wright's Prairie Style, with an airiness from spaces over tops
of walls and room dividers. There's much light, comfortable
booths, blond wood, plants and windows overlooking
the outdoor patio
and the front of the building. A distinctive mural of Chicago's
skyline is on the back wall
of the cheerful pub. When there's time for a more leisurely
drink before dinner, consider the front porch with charming
rocking chairs.
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A
nice welcome at the table was a loaf of warm bread arriving on a
cutting board with whipped butter. We requested olive oil instead of
butter. Salad cruets were brought, and although we were skeptical
about that being salad oil, the young server disappeared to ask
someone and returned to assure us it was olive oil. It wasn't. Our
waitress apologized, and after asking the chef, said "No olive
oil for bread, just for cooking - sorry."
Sauteed bay scallops in mustard sauce appealed to us as an
appetizer. They Were properly cooked; the sauce, however, was
overpowering with mustard and out of balance with the garlic - it
needed a lighter hand.
Cappelini is a good test of the chef, since this thinnest of
pastas can be overcooked in seconds. The one on the menu is served
with rock shrimp, crabmeat, bay scallops and mussels sauteed in
garlic, then covered in a tomato basil sauce. Unfortunately, it
didn't pass the test. It was badly overcooked and served clumped
together. The seafood in it fared better, and so we rescued the
creatures from drowning in the sauce and waterlogged pasta.
The best dish was a house specialty Veal Madeira (misspelled on
the menu), $17.95, despite its Portuguese roots. Sauteed with
shiitake, oyster and button mushrooms, the cutlets were tender in a
flavorful, deep red-brown Madeira sauce. Branmor's house sauteed
Vegetables, also available as a side, were a colorful and delicious
accompaniment. Soup or salad comes with entrees. The house salad was
fresh but busy, including tomato, shredded cheese and fried onions
that were limp, not crispy.
Other specialties include Walt's BBQ ribs, and Chef Walter
Dobrovolny puts his name on 'them. They're pork back ribs rubbed
with barbecue spice blend and served with barbecue sauce, a baked
potato and Lime Jicama slaw. Lemon Herb Lamb shank with rosemary,
served with white beans, orzo and porcini is an unusual item and an
intriguing combination.
Several signature desserts are on the list and we opted for
Bananas Foster. Although they are not flambeed here or served in the
traditional New Orleans fashion, the result was very good. It was a
large portion of the fruit sliced crosswise in a generous amount of
sweet caramel sauce topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and two
dollops of whipped cream and the top of a profiterole (puff). It was
rich enough and large enough to share. Another signature that looked
lovely is a Flourless Chocolate Waffle with vanilla ice cream,
drizzled with caramel and strawberry sauces. Profiterole is yet
another specialty. Other desserts
change
weekly.
This new venture is owned and managed by Christopher and
Christine Birck and Walter and Haydee Dobrovolny, Walter has a
decade of experience with a banquet and catering facility in the
western suburbs. A friendly and accommodating attitude prevails
here, and that makes the restaurant enjoyable even though the
service and the cooking needs some fine-tuning - not a major change.
The menu selections are well balanced, the ingredients appealing and
we were told consultants have been hired to assist with soothing
this baby's growing pains. There's every reason to believe that this
restaurant will succeed because it's trying so hard.
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