Hello My Fellow Foodie,
If you’ve been around here for a while, whether you follow me on my Social channels or subscribe to my blog, you know that I have an obvious love for fashion. My other true love though comes in the form of food. As happy as I would be to dive into a freshly steamed pile of Christian Siriano dresses, I’d be equally as happy stuffing my face with medium rare lamb chops and truffle mac n cheese. My mouth is just salivating thinking about it.
That’s why when I was asked by a coworker to cofound a lady’s supper club, it was a true no brainer. And then I thought, well this would be a perfect opportunity to document my (hopefully) delicious endeavors and report back to you as to whether these hot spots are worth your hard-earned dollars. So here I am, reporting out on my first supper club experience. Read on to gorge yourself with my Band of Bohemia review.
Band of Bohemia was the first restaurant we all wanted to explore. A hop skip and a jump away from the Loop, it is strategically located in Ravenswood right off the Metra train stop. You can’t miss it as soon as you step out on the platform. Location was convenient and there’s even some parking if you wish to drive. At this point, it was so far so good.
Walking into the joint was surprising. It is ginormous in there. It was dimly lit but decorated to the nines. Think warehouse shabby chic with a variety of seating options, an inviting bar area and open kitchen. There was candlelight, soft, jewel-toned couches, drapery and an expansive bar top area. While waiting for our table, our group situated ourselves at the bar to grab a drink. I would say the inside itself is a great selling point. Okay, still so far so good.
To be completely honest, I think the drinks were, in my opinion, the best part of the entire experience. Band of Bohemia is actually a brewery as well as a restaurant. Not only do they have a fully stocked bar, but the menu offers up a wide array of specialty cocktails and craft brews. Inventive, innovative and imaginative is how I would describe these colorful concoctions. Out of the box ingredients complemented the more usual cocktail combinations. I had the Lazy Daisy, Magic Wand and I indulged in one of their locally-crafted Pale Ales. All were spectacular. Another really high selling point for this place.
Food wise. This is where the place missed the mark for me. It was what I was gearing up for the entire planning period. It fell flat. I guess going into it, given the name, I expected the cuisine to be either Middle Eastern or Asian. In reality, it was kind of a mix of a lot of things. A more gastropub of global eclectic food, which I really appreciated. Regardless of what you want to call it, what we had was fine, some of it amazing, but it didn’t completely blow my socks off. Some of the items we got off the menu included: Walleye Crudo, the Octopus starter, I ordered the Halibut with Pineapple three ways as an entree and Garam Masala Ice Cream dessert , but I would say the best taste any of us took that night was the Dill dessert. It was refreshing and something that I’ve never tasted before. That’s coming from me, someone who doesn’t even like sweets and my favorite thing on the menu was their dessert.
Portions were also pretty insubstantial. I think I actually left there and went home to eat some leftovers because I was still hungry and maybe that’s where I left not fully satisfied. Perhaps if I left feeling sufficiently full, the food would have been better perceived. Like I said, the food was not terrible, it was good, but just okay. If someone planned a night and picked this place as their dinner spot, sure I’d join (mainly for drinks and dessert) but would I voluntarily go there again myself…probably not.
Overall, I would give Band of Bohemia a 5 out of 10. It was fine, there’s really no other words I can think of to describe it. If you are choosing between a few options and this Ravenswood spot is one of them, I’d advise maybe considering elsewhere first. This joint does have a Michelin Star and a very high-rated Brunch menu though and that means something to me, so maybe I need to give it another shot.
Sincerely,
