Sinatra and Catch 35

Back to Chicago restaurants. A New York friend who had gone to school in Chicago recommended Catch 35 http://www.catch35.com/. He said the seafood there was superb. Alright, determined to be open-minded, B and I ventured out to the Loop location.

It was a nice early Sunday evening, the place was half empty. The decor was grandiose - like in a few other Chicago places I've noticed. I always feel a bit uncomfortable in places like that. There's just too much space, too much show - perhaps it's the New Yorker in me, used to cramped surroundings. No matter, the place was nice. Big pretty bar, tall ceilings, big ugly paintings on the walls, big tables... big big big. The service was very attentive - made us feel like we were tourists who'd come in for a show. Not my cup'o'tea, but we went with it.

But can I ask - what's with the music? The old Sinatra songs about New York, 50-60's extravaganza of elevator music playing non-stop at this and most of the other restaurants around the Loop. It must be a requirement in the city ordinance that compels them to all play the same old tired tunes over and over again. Either that or they're using the same report from some wacky consumer research agency that thinks tourists (the obvious target market for this place) have to be bombarded with Sinatra or else they'll leave.

Back to the food. Since this was a seafood place, we ordered Crab Bisque, Seared Scallops (szechwan glaze & chive pot sticker), Stir Fried Shrimp & Scallops (chinese broccoli, mushrooms, carrots & peapods), Pan Roasted Boston Cod w/ Seafood Newberg (king crabmeat, baby shrimp and cape scallops in Newberg sauce). What can I say - for the not so little amount this place charges, it was a total waste.

The crab bisque tasted like something out of a can - too buttery and thin; the scallops were so overdone that I thought they must have kept them in that wok for an hour; the Cod was drowned in the sauce to the point where you couldn't tell where the fish was. Ah! And Zagat's gives this place a 23?! I've had better scallops for half the price at a dozen New York hole-in-the-walls. Disappointed yet again.

I know there must be good places to eat in this city. Somewhere. The search continues, but the following exchange that B overheard at work really makes me wonder. Some woman on his floor was complaining that she'd gone to a restaurant that weekend only to be severely disappointed by the rude service. She was indignant because as she put it - "what's the point of going to restaurants if the food I make at home is better?!" Gloomy prospects indeed.