Rick's Café

3915 North Sheridan Road, Chicago
773-327-1972
Broadcast  July 22, 2005

CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio 780) -- Rick's Café, at 3915 North Sheridan Road draws on the imagery from the classic film Casablanca, with a decor that suggests, but does not dwell on its inspiration. The menu in this small storefront, with pleasant outdoor dining space, features South Mediterranean influences, largely French, but with a few Italian and Spanish selections, too.

For a good first course on a warm summer evening, chicken and duck mousse can hardly be bested. It's creamy smooth and nicely seasoned. Grilled mushrooms were agreeably dressed with oil, garlic and pine nuts. But, sadly, this was nothing but a collection of common button mushrooms, instead of morels or more interesting varieties. Among salads, caprese follows the tried and true with flavorful tomatoes and rounds of mozzarella and the requisite fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Entrees run a gamut from pastas to fish, poultry and meats. That includes Rick's version of Paella, which requires at least a half an hour preparation time. Other selections at our table included a very generous linguine with mixed seafood including shrimp and other shell fish in white wine sauce, as well as a similar linguine with clams.

Tuna coated with crushed black pepper is beautifully presented with a rare, but not raw center. Creme fraiche tops the fish which is first grilled and flamed with Cognac. Among pastas, ravioli is showcased with a sauce or filling de jour. I was at first doubtful about a jalapeno pepper filling, but came to like it, though I preferred another option of artichokes and spinach. But, the ravioli, which I expected to be house made, was, on balance, disappointing.

Rick's Café is a BYOB restaurant with a $4 corkage per bottle. Otherwise, you can expect to spend about $70 a couple for three courses, which I think is a bit overpriced considering the overall ambiance and style of the restaurant. Rick's Café is at 3915 North Sheridan and has a K/RATING of 16.5/20. 

AMBIANCE/DECOR  3/4     
HOSPITALITY  4.5/5      
FOOD 8.5/10   
VALUE  .5/1
K/RATING 16.5/20