Copper Creek Grill: Reborn in Vernon Hills

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This past weekend, my wife "kidnapped" me and forced me to not do any work. While "bumming around" in the Vernon Hills area, we came across the "Copper Creek Grill: The Great Outdoors - Indoors!", in a building that some time ago had been a "Hamburger Hamlet". We don't get up into that area all that often, so Copper Creek Grill was totally new to us. As it turned out, the company that had owned the restaurant went bankrupt and some of the managers and other employees at this restaurant had bought it. It just re-opened about three weeks ago with a new menu. Our waitress, Jessica, was very enthusiastic about the restaurant, very friendly, and helpful.

My wife and I started with two items from the Appetizers section of the menu. Items in this section range in price from $5.25-7.25. There are about 4 vegetarian choices. While waiting, were were served two kinds of bread with butter, a crusty sour-dough and a loaf (warm) with carmelized onions sprinkled through it.

The "Crab Medusa: Fresh crabmeat, cilantro and red pepper wrapped in angel hair pasta with soy and chipotle aoili" ($7.25) was very tasty, and not at all what we expected. It was served in three pieces. Each piece had been deep fried, so that the pasta formed a crisp exterior to a warm moist interior that was similar to a crab cake. We will certainly be having this again.

The "Wood Grilled Hearts of Romaine: Balsamic syrup, pickled onions and crumbled feta cheese" is somewhat more complicated. First, I would have listed this as a Salad, rather than an Appetizer. It consisted of an entire half of a large-ish head of Romaine lettuce that had been lightly grilled. We both preferred the sections of Romaine that were nearer the bottom, where they were still crunchy to the ends where the leaves were fairly well wilted from the heat. The Balsamic dressing was very good and went well with the slightly smokey flavor of the lettuce. However, the Feta cheese really didn't stand up to the other flavors in the dish. My wife suggested that a blue cheese would have been a better match, and I agree (perhaps a gorgonzola?). We will probably forgo this in the future, to try some of the other appetizers. However, someone looking for more of a salad (big enough for two) could really enjoy it.

Our main courses followed. The prices here (for dinner) range from $12.95 to $18.50. There are also a couple of sandwiches at $7.25. (We overheard another table really praising the burger, made with Black Angus beef.) The special was a Prime Rib (also highly praised by that other table) that was served with a twice baked potato. We saw this served, and the potato looked good (and big) enough that I could have made a meal on two of them alone.

I ordered the "Southwestern Roasted Chicken: Slow roasted Free Range Amish chicken marinated in hot chili peppers, cumin, garlic and cilantro, served with shoestring potatoes" at $13.50. This was a very flavorful and moist half chicken served with skin on. (I generally remove chicken skin to try to reduce fat.) My wife ate the wing, and reported that it was *very* spicy. I ate the parts where the volume to surface area ratio was not so extreme, and found the spiciness (from the hot chilis) to be fairly tame, with a similar lack of substantial flavor from the other marinade components. Those who are really sensitive to spicy foods might not find it as mild as I, however. Anyone who eats Buffalo Wings at any level above "mild" will be fine. The shoestring potatoes were "home-made", very crisp and flavorful. (BTW, in the waiting area, and I think the bar, they had "home-made" waffle-cut potato chips -- Yum!) While the chicken was quite nice, it was not quite as interesting as I had hoped, so next time, I will be trying something else.

My wife ordered the "Garlic and Potato Crusted Halibut: A fillet of Halibut topped with roasted garlic and crispy potato served with potato-onion hash and chive oil" at $15.95. Wow! If you like garlic and fish cooked to perfection, then this is the dish for you. The roasted garlic is the stuff that you get after roasting a whole clove of garlic, then squeezing the cooked garlic out of the buds. It has lost its "bite", but not its aroma. This was a bit much for my wife, but right up my alley, though it did tend to over-power some of the more subtle flavors. In addition to the items in the menu description, carmelized onions (one of my wife's favorites) were also present. It will be hard for me to decide whether to order this next time or (as I usually like to do) try something different.

Other items on the menu included a handful of pasta dishes at $11.50 to $13.50 (including a couple of Vegetarian dishes) and salads (each with some kind of chicken, steak, shrimp, or salmon) at $7.25 to $11.95.

For dessert, my wife ordered the Pecan Pie. The crust was good -- not totally soggy as is so often the case. The filling was light, both in flavor and texture. It had a hint of some kind of booze, probably a whisky. I felt that the pecans could have been a bit crisper. However, my wife thought it was one of the best pecan pies she has had in quite a while.

I had the creme brulee, which was superb. It had a few raspberries on top, which were totally unnecessary. The carmelized sugar top was done just right. It was served in a dish about twice as deep as we usually find, and we were concerned about its consistency. Our fears were soon laid to rest, as the flavor and texture (thick and creamy) were perfect from top to bottom. BTW, the bottom is where you will find the flecks of vanilla bean that have settled. Definitely a keeper!

Each of the desserts was $4.95.

They have a nice, though not extensive, wine list. Of interest is that all but the sparkling wines are available by the glass. Several beers and a full bar are also available.

The lunch menu has many of the same items as the dinner menu at slightly lower prices, plus a more extensive sandwich selection (with prices mostly in the $7-8 range).

Although we no longer get up to Vernon Hills all that often, Copper Creek Grill will be high on our list when we do.

Copper Creek Grill
950 Lake View Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847-573-1507

(This is just West of the strip mall that is just West of the Hawthorne Shopping Center at Milwaukee and IL-60.)

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Someone wrote:

>SYKoppel wrote:
>> This is getting much too self-important.
>...
>> Really too bad it's been carried beyond that.
>
>I agree.  The original posting occassionally gushed in the manner of a
>typical suburban newspaper dining reveiw (eg. *Wow! ...cooked to
>perfection*), but did include a couple of mild suggestions for
>improvement (eg. *I felt that the pecans could have been a bit
>crisper.*)
>All that followed took the original post much too seriously.  The guy
>really liked the place. Let it go.
>
>So, has anyone been out to eat recently?

We were at the Bistro in Lake Forest (Upstairs from the Southgate Restaurant) last night. Highly unremarkable. Expensive prices and so so food. I had the Boula Base (sp?) and my wife had the Margarhita Pizza from their wood fired oven. Neither was very good.  Also quite expensive.

I was surprised as the Southgate downstairs is one of our favorites.