NOTE: Prairie Fire restaurant in Chicago's Near West Loop neighborhood is now closed, but Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook is alive and kicking. This was my experience at Prairie Fire which is very similar to the Northbrook venue.
Prairie Fire restaurant is one of those restaurants you'll want to go back to over and over again. The food and service are that good.
Partners Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris have synthesized what they've accomplished at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, which opened in 2004, and pumped it into this Chicago venture, which opened in 2009. The menus vary a little, but the esthetic is the same.
Prairie Fire and Prairie Grass support Green City Market and local sustainable farms, so you know you're getting the freshest, best-quality ingredients of the season in all the from-scratch items they serve, including sausages, salad dressings, ice creams and deserts (check out the phenomenal homemade pies). Plus, Bill Kurtis' Tallgrass Beef. If you have to put a label on it, they call their cuisine innovative American comfort food in a casual-yet-urbane setting.
An August dinner at Prairie Fire included corn fritters with jalapeno corn butter, River Valley mushroom soup, Nicol's Farm citrus-marinated beet salad with fresh goat cheese and hazelnuts. And then it was on to the Panko-Crusted Wild Alaskan Halibut with Genesis Farm heirloom tomatoes, basil remoulade and pea shoot salad. Our beef choice was a Niman Ranch New York Strip with mushrooms in a red wine sauce. Dessert was a slice of Elizabeth Stegner's (Sarah's mom) blueberry pie and warm sticky date pudding. It was, simply, a palate broadening, belt-busting meal. A quick chat with chef Bumbaris, who was at the helm of the kitchen that night, was frosting on the proverbial cake.
Prairie Fire is open for lunch and dinner daily and brunch on Sundays. Amenities include valet parking, private party accommodation, and full bar with an extensive wine list. On Mondays, bring your favorite bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner and you won't even be charged a corkage fee. Alternatively, buy a Prairie Fire bottle of wine for half price. On Wednesdays, sirloin burgers are buy one, get one free.
Prairie Fire serves affordable five-star cuisine. When did you ever hear those two adjectives together? Affordable AND five-star. It's good. Very good.
Prairie Grass Cafe
Address: 602 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: 847-205-4433
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays for lunch; dinner begins at 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays; breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays; light fare in the bar 2-5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.
Website: http://www.prairiegrasscafe.com/
Price: $$
Address: 602 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: 847-205-4433
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays for lunch; dinner begins at 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays; breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays; light fare in the bar 2-5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.
Website: http://www.prairiegrasscafe.com/
Price: $$
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