Sepia
123 N Jefferson St (between Randolph and Washington)

There's no shortage of reviews on this place, most of them positive, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I wasn't able to get a table for two on a Saturday evening a week in advance. Fortunately the concierge at the W Lakeshore came through and got me in yesterday at 7:30pm.

Decor: I didn't spend much time looking around. There's a small bar as you enter with some tables that look out onto the street, with most of the tables behind the bar area. Walls are mostly exposed brick and there are some funky chandeliers but it's definitely kept a little dark inside. If you're looking to seat four or six, I saw at least one semi-private room with a table inside that would be a great place to sit. We got stuck in the second of five tables for two lined up in a row, about a foot apart from each other.

Service: At first I thought the waiter was trying to turn the table, since he warned us that one of the appetizers was almost sold out and that we should order soon to make sure everything was still available. Although in retrospect I'm sure he was genuinely trying to be helpful, it came off as pushy at the time. Fortunately everything we wanted was still available and that was the only time I felt rushed (we were seated just after 7:30pm and stayed for a little over two hours).

Food: Every review mentions the flatbreads. Yes, they push the flatbreads. The waiter literally said, "here's your menu, and before you start thinking things over, I'd recommend you order a flatbread." I don't get it, but whatever. It's $6 and I'd go with one for every two people. We tried the foraged mushrooms with green garlic and it was quite good. Bread came out shortly after the flatbreads. For $6, get the flatbread instead of busting a tooth on the free bread.

We split two appetizers: the charred baby octopus and the pork rillette. If I had to choose one to order again, it'd be the latter, with my decision being made on the scarcity value of pork p�t� vs. calamari. I liked them both, but I can walk outside my apartment and throw a stone at a number of places that will char a baby octupus for me.

Main course: I was torn between the elk and the short ribs. Again, scarcity ruled the day and I went with Bullwinkle's little brother. The waiter assured me that it wasn't a gamey meat (it wasn't) and advised ordering it medium rare or rare. I went with medium rare which was perfect. Medium would have been silly. I was told that the meats are 8-10 oz in size, but this particular cut seemed a little larger. Very little fat but still tender and not dry at all, and definitely an interesting alternative to the usual steaks.

My date had the skate wing. I was kind enough to let her try the elk, but she didn't return the favor, so no input from me on that dish. That said, I'm confident I made the better selection.

We split the potatoes in duck fat. I was amused by the consistency of the potato slices -- they were all about 5 cm in diameter. Although they were good, my mother used to make them in bacon grease, and I thought those were better. They aren't greasy or oily though; you could put a few down on a paper napkin and it's not going to become translucent as a result.

For dessert, I had an apple tart of sorts served in a hot cast-iron dish with a scoop of coffee (?) ice cream. It's an interesting physics experiment if nothing else; the scoop of ice cream takes a few minutes to melt inside the dish, even though it's hot enough to make you want to dunk your finger in your ice water after inadvertently bumping it on the cast-iron rim a few times. It was good but not great, and next time I'd probably just get the sorbet or ice cream, which is what she had -- I'm just not a fan of huge desserts.

Wine was a bit of challenge with one person having elk and the other skate. We settled on a 2004 Pinot noir from Savigny-Les-Beaune that was no match for the elk, but c'est la vie.

Conclusion: Am I glad I went? Yes. Should it be that hard to get a table for two on a Saturday night? Probably not. I'm guessing that by this time next year, when the buzz has died down, I won't have to lean on the concierge to dine there again.

I did like it though, and wouldn't mind going back to try the short ribs, but there are a lot of other places I'd rather try first. Maybe next year.

Oh, and figure about $80 per person with tip and tax for everything above, wine excluded.

dump her, I'd take that as a sign. Mrs Sweet Willie knows that not offering a bite of her food is grounds for divorce

Thanks for the review^

Good review, thanks. My boss just ate there recently, I'm waiting to hear her review to see if we should visit in January.