Simply delicious

EVANSTON CLASSIC | Chef Hannon's approach to good food done well enhances tradition at Evanston space

We are at Quince in Evanston. The dining room has seen more than a few names on the menus handed out here over the years, and the layout of the room hasn't changed all that much. The kitchen is an entirely different story. And if the kitchen walls in this restaurant space at the Homestead on Hinman Avenue could talk, the bon mots would fill more than a few pages of a juicy culinary memoir. (Cafe Provencal, with Leslie Reis reigning over a magical kitchen. Trio, where impresario Henry Adaniya first latched onto rising stars Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand, followed by Shawn McClain, then Grant Achatz. The downsizing to Trio Atelier, with Dale Levitski as executive chef and Mary McMahon as pastry chef.)

Now it's Quince's turn in the space, and chef Mark Hannon had me in thrall with his simple yet effectively delicious approach to good food done well.

The menu here eats as good as it reads. The fun began with a bountiful (close to being an entree in size) shaved asparagus salad. Some may posit that a salad is a salad, so what's the big deal? The deal is that when you take shavings of tender asparagus and a few whole spears of same wrapped in a light tempura batter, the promise is on its way to being fulfilled. Now add to this some dead-ripe hunks of tomato and some chips of black truffles. Next, gloss the whole affair with a truffle vinaigrette that holds hints of Parmesan. Who needs cooking when you have a salad with this kind of heat?

Heat really arrives in an appetizer like clam chowder (I had to find out why a clam chowder would cost $11). Rich with flavor, not too thick, not too thin, chock-a-block with manila clams, a bit smoky from the bacon, a nice dice of tender potatoes and celery. Was it worth 11 bucks? No, but it was very good.

Gotta give Quince props in every way possible for the sweetbread appetizer known as offal. This offal can be awful when not done right. Quince got it right. I had a hunch, just by reading the menu description ("crispy, with mustard spaetzle"), that it might make the cut. Presented whole (as a top-drawer sweetbread should be), not sliced into medallions, crispy on the outside and beautifully tender (no cartilage to wade through). I was proud of my pick. A smidgen of creamy coleslaw rode atop the sweetbread and a scattering of exquisitely tender mini cuttings of spaetzle bathed in a light mustard cream sauce completed the dish, and it was one to remember.

Entrees are nicely balanced among a dozen choices that include beef, pork, seafood and poultry. Tenderloin of pork arrived in neat slices. The temperature was just a few degrees north of medium-rare -- perfect. Tender, most enjoyable and amply portioned, the pork was partnered with gemelli pasta laced with a light goat cheese cream sauce and broccolini. Flavors beget flavors. I would order this dish again in a heartbeat.

The roasted chicken? Eh! Not great, but decent enough. It could have been cooked a bit less (too dry). Also, the breast (airline cut) arrived sliced (better if it were left whole, I suspect). Saving the dish somewhat was the delicious tagliatelle pasta, laced with earthy grilled mushrooms, residing under the breast. The roasted tomatoes were nice, too.

I am enamored with how the kitchen at Quince bumps up the flavor profile of certain dishes without resorting to piling on too many ingredients. For example, Hawaiian pink snapper (opakapaka). The fillet got a proper pan-roasting and was set atop a palette of "forbidden black rice," with a veneer of basil cream lining the plate. Silky hearts of palm were draped over the fish for added texture and color. In all, from the properly cooked fish to rice and hearts of palm, the enjoyment was as wonderful as the execution was tempered.

Desserts hold up their end of the menu and then some. "Oh, wow!" were the two words my wife spoke after one taste of the cream cheese pannacotta followed by a taste of the chocolate malt semifreddo. I second that wow and add one of my own. Wonderful combination of flavors (the orange curd on the plate adding to the enjoyment).

The white chocolate bread pudding was no less enjoyable. Two high-rise squares of bread pudding that were moist, almost creamy, got a sluice of rum caramel sauce and an escort of white chocolate pudding and sliced blackberries. Add another wow!

Pat Bruno is a free-lance writer, critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com.