Opening: North Pond, For Lunch

We apologize if you think it’s cheating for us to categorize the seasonal return of lunch at a nice restaurant as an opening, but we thought it would be worthwhile to draw your attention to relaunch of lunch at North Pond. Chef Bruce Sherman was nominated this year for a James Beard award (he lost to Greg Achatz; what are you gonna do?),

and lunch is an excellent opportunity to sample his handiwork without completely blowing your food budget. Appetizers include a salad with cold-smoked Wisconsin trout, minted semolina, and pistachios over baby arugula; sandwiches like the open-face Great Lakes Walleye pike Reuben run $10 to $12; and main courses such as herb-crusted halibut, served with frik with almonds, glazed baby carrots and snap pea coulis top out at $20.

Unless you read that quickly or are seriously worldly, maybe you thought, “what the frik?” Turns out frik is a lot like bulgur (and given how we discovered this, Sherman must be one of the few chefs in the country who uses it). Personally, we are huge fans of exotic cereals. Not to mention firm but thin whitefishes, featured in all three dishes we highlighted - so nice for late spring. Add sophisticated service and the beautiful setting in Lincoln Park to the stellar cuisine, and you’re really starting to talk about a nice lunch. No wonder Chowhound thought this would be a good place for a marriage proposal. Ladies and gentlemen, start preparing your vows.

North Pond [MenuPages]
North Pond [Official Site]

North Pond Cafe [LTHForum]

Marriage Proposal [Chowhound]

[Photo: North Pond]

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Opening: North Pond, For Lunch