 Jilly's Cafe
I found myself a late-coming guest at a going-away dinner for a friend's sister, who is moving to San Francisco, presumably to pursue "alternative lifestyles," unless she plays professional football. The rest of the party had already ordered and begun eating, but fortunately the server was quick to get our orders to us so as not to create a huge social imbalance between the fed and the feeding. Jilly's is a strange little place, a fairly posh place masquerading as the dining room of a country inn, tucked into the building of a roadhouse. From the outside, it looks kind of like a diner, but stepping inside you get the impression of a bed-and-breakfast, and upon being served you realize you're in a pretty swanky place. I'm not sure what the prices were like, as the bill was footed by our hosts, but it seemed like entrees were around $12, with some dishes soaring toward $20 and beyond. The menu was full of interesting choices, weighted toward meat, poultry, and seafood, but with several good veg. choices as well. I had a vegetable linguine sans cheese (it arrived with cheese, but we sent it back and the server brought a new one with no pouting whatsoever), as did the celebrated sister; everyone else seemed to be eating veal, as far as I could tell, not that I'm so nosy!
The food was quite good indeed, and I slurped it up with much enthusiasm. I was impressed to receive a honeydew sorbet to cleanse the palette between the salad and entrée – fancy. When the time rolled around for dessert, everyone chose from an insanely tempting assortment of sweets, mostly pies and cakes, mostly chocolate related, and all looking damn fine, like a street lady. I indulged in a slice of apple cobbler sans la mode (is that the way you say "without the shittin' ice cream"?), while others had various types of pies, cakes, and what have you. Everyone seemed very satisfied. Wine, water, and coffee flowed freely, and the atmosphere was very comfortable despite being noticeably cramped. Normally I would have fled in a claustrophobic panic, but somehow Jilly's really works its space. Service was very professional and, especially for Evanston, attitude-free. And there were complimentary peppermints provided after the meal. If I have any complaint with Jilly's it's that it is hardly the sort of place you could go very often unless you were loaded with money from stocks or drugs or however you fucks make your money. Meanwhile, I'm struggling to make ends meet! What is the deal. Well, anyway, it's a nice, out-of-the-way, hidden gem to enjoy once or anytime it's on someone else's dime.
Review by Nickels S. Tailored , September 1998 |