Sola Restaurant

Now that I'm working, posting regularly has been a monumental challenge. So much so, in fact, that the restaurant that I'm about to review was one that I visited over a month ago. Unfortunately, our need for money and sleep can interfere with our hobbies sometimes.

A couple months ago, I found a Groupon for Hawaiian- and Asian-inspired New American food. Intrigued, I Googled the restaurant and was shocked to find that it was within walking distance of where I lived. That's when I knew I had to pay Sola Restaurant in North Center a visit.

Image 1. The ambiance

The interior of the restaurant was lit with a grid of those Asian rice paper lamps that you often see at Chinese New Year Festivals suspended from the ceiling. Although you can't tell from this picture, there was also a faux fireplace that added to the aura of warmth. They were also playing Radiohead's "High and Dry" in the background, which is one of my favorite songs by my favorite band.

But if you know me at all, I ain't about the ambiance; I'm all like, give me good food or I'll GTFO. So despite all that, I wasn't impressed just yet.

When I'm at a high-end restaurant, I like to start out with some appetizers, because their inordinately small portions far from satiate my cavernous stomach. We decided on the kalua pork and the tuna poke.

While we were waiting for the appetizers, a waitress came around and served us a sample of candied pineapple with goat cheese and balsamic reduction on an Asian soup spoon. It was good and also a pleasant surprise, since they had already brought us a unique starter dish of what appeared to be rice tortilla chips flavored with ginger and black sesame. These were also good, and rather addicting.

Now, Hawaiian cuisine is entirely foreign to me (I've never even been to Hawaii), so I was of course unfamiliar with the lingo. Luckily, we live in a day and age in which literally anything we don't know can be researched on the magical Internet machine, so now I know that "kalua" refers to a specific Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an underground oven called an imu and that "poke" is a raw salad served as an appetizer in Hawaii.

Image 1. Kalua pork

The above concoction was essentially pulled pork topped with crispy onions placed on - wait for it - a slice of banana bread. WUT. I was both excited and perplexed to see this strange combination, but believe it or not, it was really good! The sweetness of the banana bread really brought out the sweetness of the barbecue sauce in the pork.

Image 2. Tuna poke with the shadow of my camera

This "salad" was a maki roll without the dried seaweed; raw red tuna perched atop a bed of rice which was topped with soft, mashed avocado. The poke was shaped into a circle and secured with a plastic wrapping, ultimately to be served on a square plate with reduced soy sauce and wasabi surrounding it in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Again, none of this plating would have impressed me if the food tasted like crap, but luckily it was delicious as well.

Image 3. Wagyu hanger steak

For the entree, we went with the "wagyu" steak and burger. "Wagyu" is a Japanese term referring to a specific cow that is genetically predisposed to intense marbling. As I understand it, the white marbling in beef is a certain type of fat that makes the meat delicious. That is all that I know.

As you can see above, the portion size of the hanger steak was pitiful and the side of potatoes was equally pitiful. On top of that, it was $29. Much sadness ensued.

Image 4. Wagyu burger

The wagyu burger, on the other hand, had no such issues. It came on a pretzel bun with bacon, which reminded me of my favorite fast food burger of all time: the pretzel bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's. It also contained arugula (my green vegetable of choice in burgers) as well as caramelized onions (yum) and cambozola cheese, which was described to me as a combination of gorgonzola & brie(my favorite cheese). The side of fries was also an all time favorite - truffle parmesan.

As for the taste? Well, it was delicious; how could it not be, seeing as it contained all my favorite burger ingredients? But for $18, I could surely do much better. If I were to make this burger myself, I'd substitute the cambozola for brie, as the gorgonzola was just a tad overwhelming.

I really enjoyed Sola; it was truly a unique culinary experience. I am impressed by the seamlessness with which they incorporated Asian elements into Hawaiian cuisine. Will I be returning? I can't say; I honestly don't have the kind of money to be able to drop $100+ on a meal for two on a regular basis.  Besides, for that price point, I could go to Japonais by Morimoto, which is another Asian fusion dining experience worthy of its own post.

Sola Restaurant
3868 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-3868
http://www.sola-restaurant.com/