Fishing for customers
Harry Caray's has some seafood hits but strikes out too often at Holy Mackerel!
Holy Mackerel! has joined sister restaurant Harry Caray's on the ground floor of the Westin hotel in Lombard, part of the restaurant eruption that has taken place along Butterfield Road and in and around the Yorktown shopping center. There are more restaurant seats in that neck of the woods now than there are seats in some major league ball parks, so eateries are really slugging it out to bring in customers.
Regardless of my thoughts about Holy Mackerel! or why the Harry Caray's brain trust deigned to open what is practically a restaurant in a restaurant, the fact remains that there are a lot of seats to fill between those two ventures. And just in case more is not enough, you can order off the Harry Caray's menu while sitting in Holy Mackerel!
Holy cow!
Yes, as the name implies, Holy Mackerel! is six fathoms deep in seafood (and the menu changes frequently). Other than a couple of cuts of steak and two chicken dishes (including the venerable chicken Vesuvio, of course), the menu is mostly about "On the Half Shell," "Fresh Catch," and "Shellfish." On the other hand, why a seafood restaurant would list "Daily Artisanal Cheeses" is beyond me.
There are too many dishes on the menu at Holy Mackerel! The result is the food isn't always what it should be, which is not a good thing considering the steep prices.
What were they thinking when they decided to plop a perfectly nice, deftly cooked fillet of Alaskan halibut on a bed of squishy mashed potatoes? That's an insult to both the fish, as it wallows in the potatoes, and to the potatoes, as they are weighed down by the fish. And those steamed yellow wax beans that were stuck between the fish and the potatoes? Did those beans ever see any steam at all? It was like chewing on icicles. And it's a lazy prep cook who doesn't even trim the beans.
The "Fresh Catch" is made up of about six choices. The lineup might include some of the usual suspects -- tuna, tilapia, sea bass, halibut, salmon. Nice choices, but nothing out of the ordinary. It's in the preparation where the kitchen gets a bit weird. For example, a beautiful fillet of grilled Copper River sockeye salmon really didn't need that mango honey glaze, which was so sweet it turned the fish into a piece of candy. The teardrop tomatoes and the sauteed spinach were good accompaniments. Even the coconut rice, which at first I suspected would not do justice to the fish, was fine. But that sweet lollipop glaze did in the dish. (In fairness, the menu does state that any of the fish can be ordered simply grilled or with lemon butter.)
An appetizer listed as "Grilled Vegetable Salad" missed the mark a bit. In fact, there weren't any grilled vegetables in it at all. The menu description was "heart of palm, baby bella mushrooms, white asparagus, avocado." It had nice presentation, the thin slices of avocado arranged to hold in (a "bowl" effect) the vegetables with the hearts of palm cuttings outnumbering everything else by a wide margin. The citrus oregano vinaigrette did a lot to further the enjoyment of the salad. I am not saying this was a bad dish, but the menu description is totally inaccurate.
The clam chowder was a little thicker on the cream than I like, but that's a personal preference. The flavor was fine and there were plenty of bits of clam lurking in the cream.
The lump blue crab cake was terrific. A hefty puck (large enough for two to share) of enjoyment that was, indeed, all crab (if there was any filler, I didn't detect it), and perfectly seasoned. The smart little salad on the plate alongside was a nice addition.
The goat cheese macaroni was interesting. I liked the extra tang from the cheese that got wrapped up with the cavatappi pasta. I would have liked to have had it a bit creamier, but I would order it again.
The Alaskan king crab legs were great, 1½ pounds in all (price: $42). A rubble of legs -- pink and white -- were splayed across the plate, all cracked open and ready to dive into. Drawn butter for dipping, chunks of roasted potatoes and an ear of sweet corn rounded out the dish. Call it a crab bake of delicious proportion.
For dessert, we tried the banana cream pie. A little more of the custard part and less of the whipped cream would have made it better. Overall, though, it was a delicious treat.
Pat Bruno is a local free-lance critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com. Listen to Pat Bruno talk about food and wine Tuesdays at 6:23 p.m. and 10:23 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 7:53 p.m. on WBBM News Radio 780-AM.