The Reel Club

So last night I had the best meal I've eaten in months.  Four girlfriends (hi Patty!!) and I met up at a relatively new LEYE restaurant that opened in Oakbrook, right below Wildfire.

Reel Club calls itself a "steak and seafood concept place", and executes it well.  The waiter waved "red" King Crab legs in front of our faces that were longer then my own, with a good pound of meat hanging off each end.  Slightly disconcerting, if not delicious.  We were started off with complementary dishes of hot, cheesy popovers sprinkled with sea salt and fresh pepper.  Looking back, ONE of those would have been a wise and mature decision, not the THREE I inhaled over the course of the meal.  So good.  And free!  

Their signature drink is a $9 hibiscus martini, strong but delicious, as well as a ton of smartly priced wine options, the most fun being wine flights that range from $12-$14 for three, 3 oz. glasses.  

The menu has a wide range of options, most of us went for salads and sandwiches.  The fish sandwich, seen above, was to die for.  Flaky, fresh cod in a hot and crispy beer batter, accompanied by sweet pickles, a tangy lemon tarter sauce and homemade grilled brioche bun, had every detail done well.  Other items that went off well were the breaded scallops (the appetizer portion was plenty as an entree), fried calamari, clam chowder, and two salads.  I will say, the fries were different, more like crisp chips then soft french fries.  My two buddies enjoyed them, I would have opted for perhaps the truffled mac and cheese had I known.  And brought it home to Scott.  Maybe.  Ahem.

Dessert may have been the best part.  They make all their ice creams and sorbets in house and BOY, you could tell.  We tried the Taffy Apple, green apple sorbet perched on a bed of creamy, salty caramel ice cream with a homemade caramel sauce poured on top.  Phenomenal, refreshing and the perfect end to the meal.

Another nice touch was the "Just a Bite" option for a recession-friendly $1.  The waiter brought out little mounds of chocolate mousse on spoons, the offering changes nightly.

All in all I can't wait to go back.  The quiet, cool interior was well suited for a group that wanted to talk, and the quality of the food and service makes it a nice addition to Oak Brook Mall.