First Look: Soul

A dynamic city duo brings color, comfort and cool to Clarendon Hills

By Lisa Arnett

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What does it take to bring a scene to quaint and quiet Clarendon Hills?

Or rather, who does it take to bring a scene to this west-suburban village? We’ve got a couple names for you: Bill Kim (exec chef of Le Lan) and Howard Davis (a partner at Opera, Red Light, Marche and Gioco).

After months of preparations (and delays), this pair has created a place where everyone suddenly wants to be—whether romancing a date at a cozy curtained-off table for two, gabbing with girlfriends over showy cocktails on the picturesque patio or wining and dining with family in front of the bustling open kitchen. It's called Soul.

Serving a menu of gussied-up regional American faves from pot pie to Texas toast, courtesy of chef Karen Nicolas (of NYC’s Gramercy Tavern), Soul is the first joint (and suburban) venture for Davis and Kim under their new company, ChefCorp. They have built it, and the people have come. After all, there’s money to be made in this affluent area, loaded with locals who want to open their wallets at someplace besides the ever-growing glut of chains dominating the commercial corridor that carves through Lombard and Oak Brook.

A new idea this isn't—there are a smattering of hip eateries centered in the tiny historic districts that cluster along the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe railroad (maybe Vie in Western Springs rings a bell?), but it's taken until this past year for Clarendon Hills to catch up with its neighbors, with classy French bistro Maijean opening last summer—and now, Soul.

You need only look at the cars parked on the street (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, repeat) or the building in the works behind Soul (The Pointe at Clarendon Hills, an “urban senior living center”) to get clued into this town’s old-money reputation. That’s why we were pleasantly surprised to find an opening weekend crowd wildly diverse in age—everyone from barely legals to blue-hairs lined the bar, sipping on $11 cocktails concocted with ingredients such as rose water, black sea salt or hibiscus.

Not only is Soul so close to the Metra tracks that you can feel the rumbling of trains passing by, but the vibrant restaurant is divvied up into different environs inspired by '20s and '30s-era train stations, with art deco details from handmade subway tiles to wrought-iron rails. The main dining room is alive with the clatter of a huge open kitchen and flanked by quirky Americana-inspired murals, like Captain America proffering a platter of produce and a more colorful take on “American Gothic.” Take a seat at the black granite-covered bar and look up to take in a constellation-studded zodiac mural, a nod to the much-larger one in Grand Central Station.

If you’re looking for intimate conversation, request one of three “cabins,” semi-secluded tables for two draped with deep burgundy curtains. Though my date and I were glad to be shielded from the din of the main dining room, the back portion of the curtains were left partially open to a stairwell—which made for an ambience buzzkill every time someone clomped down the wooden stairs to the restrooms.

The menu zig-zags the U.S. map, from roasted Alaska halibut to New England cod chowder to bacon-wrapped Wisconsin trout ($23-$28). We tried a solid short-rib pot pie, served in an adorably miniature cast-iron pot and laden with veggies and melt-in-your-mouth chunks of meat ($19). Our bourbon-glazed duck breast was tender and tasty, served with chunks of orange-tinged candied yams and bitter rapini to cut all that sugary sweetness ($28). And a side of baked-to-order biscuits ($5) became salty-sweet perfection when slathered with orange blossom butter.

Pastry chef Stephanie Prida (most recently from San Diego-area George’s on the Cove) dreamed up the half-dozen or so desserts here (all $9), and though we weren’t wowed by the buttermilk cake with banana ice cream and roasted pineapple, the hot chocolate affogato reminded us of something we’d order at Hot Chocolate—minus the hour-plus trek from the ’burbs to Bucktown. After our server poured hot chocolate into a tall glass of cocoa-nib ice cream and marshmallow cubes, we proceeded to make a complete mess out of the result by drizzling the melty mixture over the puffy beignets that accompanied it—and slurping down the milkshake-like leftovers.

There’s a hefty wine list and plenty of American craft beers, but nearly everyone was ordering from the cocktail list, which includes imaginative signature cocktails like the very pink, very sweet Adoration (strawberry vodka, rose water and rhubarb topped off with cava) or the Johnny Apple Seed (Calvados apple brandy and gin muddled with cucumber and basil), plus a roster of classics such as the Manhattan and Side Car ($9-$12).

Though the flavors on our plates didn’t knock us out of our art deco-style chairs, they were satisfying—enough that we’re already planning to return to make our way through myriad options on the menu we couldn’t possibly touch in one evening. You can’t deny the wide appeal of down-home eats with a bit of gourmet panache, from smoked cheddar-spiked mac and cheese to caramelized-apple bread pudding with gingersnap ice cream. But a place where we can be just as comfortable bringing our grandparents as our friends? Now that’s appeal.

[ Lisa Arnett is the Metromix suburbs and shopping producer. lmarnett@tribune.com. Meals are paid for by Metromix and reviewers make every effort to remain anonymous. ]