Prairie Grass Cafe

07/26/10

avoid this place

by martab1 at Citysearch

OK my red wine came in a white wine glass and when asked why I was told that they only serve red wine in a red wine glass when you order a bottle or if you 'ask' for it. I actually saw the lady at the table next to me be served white wine in a red wine glass. Also the lightly breaded pork cutlets were heavily breaded and swimming in butter and olive oil.

To be fair the corn fritters were good as was the heirloom salad.

The restaurant is good for those that do not know what a good restaurant is.

• Pros: none
• Cons: bad food and service

10/21/08

Nice decor, food bad

by Redlem at Citysearch

Stopped in on a Sunday night while driving around trying to find someplace to eat with a group because I had seen this in the Trib. Bad call on my part.

First the title "cafe" is misleading as this is not priced as a cafe.

The interior was very nice and inviting.

OK I will start with what I got; the citrus marinated beet "salad" and the pate. To be considered a "salad" you need more than 2 slices of beets. While they were about the radius of an apple it was still only 2 slices. Also the color was PINK, my first reaction was "who ordered the Tuna?' , I had to look very close and poked it several times to finally determine it was the beet salad. Probably the most disappointing item I have ever eaten at any restaurant ever! The pate was unoriginal and uninspiring in taste and presentation.

Next would be their signature dish the "un-traditional" sheperds pie. As I watched my brother pull out large pieces of fat from this dish and as he struggled to finish off 1/3 of the dish saying it was very boring and just plain inedible we just questioned how this could be the signature dish. And at $17 not a cheap doorstop.

My mother had the "burger", which came with no bun. It was a very large patty w/cheese and came with a very large grocery store tomato (I know because I at it, no taste) slightly roasted, and 2 large potato wedges. She said she would rather of had a Wendy's burger or the burger we had at Mimi's Cafe the next day.

The smoked salmon pizza was declared very good but that was no surprize since no cooking was actually involved. Also the phyllo wrapped spinach was declared very good.

Overall I would never go back again and will recommend to all my friends to avoid this place. Very disappointing.

• Pros: decor
• Cons: food

10/17/07

Overpriced and underwhelming

by aorichter at Citysearch

Such a disappointment. I'd wanted to go to PG for some time, so this was my choice for my birthday. We were able to get reservations the day of for 7pm.

I had the crab cake as an appetizer. One very small crabcake of no real crab taste, covered with something orangey red of no particular taste, accompanied by a cucumber salad on the side. The crabcake had no texture. Just a lightly fried blob. The cucumber salad was good, tho it had way too much cilantro. I should have sent this back, now that I think about it. A single small crab cake that costs over 10 dollars should look and taste like a crab cake and look nice on the plate.

Our entrees were flet mignon and NY strip, both accompanied by a some onion, a tiny bowl of sauce, and twice baked potatoes. The steaks were tender, tasteless and dry. I couldn't tell any difference between the filet and the NY strip-one would like the NY strip to have a little more chew, some character, some texture. They could also have been served hotter, right off the grill.The sauce was something brown, liquid and salty tasting. The onion was...some mushy onion pieces. The twice baked potato was nearly inedible-made way too many hours earlier and reheated. For those magnificent entrees, we paid 29 dollars each.

The overall theme of this meal was lack of texture. The ' fried 'crab cake was a tan colored blob, the meat had no slightly crusty exterior, the onions were mushy, even the potato was over processed. Not one thing I had was well done.

I had the muk muk because it was my birthday. Was ok, again, lacking in texture.

Service was exceptional, but very speedy. No lingering and savoring at PG. Not that you'd want to because the place is incredibly loud.

Next time we'll just go to a chain....The Cheesecake Factory would have been tasty and half the price.Or Morton's, which would have been the same price with good food.

• Pros: Very speedy service.
• Cons: The food is miserable.

05/26/07

Awesome everything!!

by sprocket19 at Citysearch

The owners Sarah and George have really created a fabulous restaurant. The service the food the fabulous hostess. The skirt steak is to die for and Sarah's Moms pies are out of this word. There isn't anyting I didn't like at Prairie Grass Cafe. Oh yes I know - We need one in Chicago!!! THANK YOU for a great meal!

• Pros: EVERYTHING IS GREAT
• Cons: THERE AREN"T ANY!

06/01/05

User review by steferin

by steferin at Citysearch

This restaurant is obviously doing something right. It is packed to the gills night after night. The food is always simply attractive and delivers above and beyond our expectations. The value for such an eclectic menu done so well is unsurpassed in my experience as a foodie in Chicago. Service at the PGC is always very friendly even in circumstances where my guests make very extensive requests to change menu items. Overall, this is one heck of a concept and is definitely worth a drive out to the 'burbs.

• Pros: menu diversity, great for kids, very accomodating
• Cons: rather loud