A memorable meal at One Sixty Four North
By Karyn Bowman
As March moves closer and closer to spring, I have to report that I saw a robin today as I walked the kids to school.
My far-away vision is not good so my daughter looked and reported it indeed was a robin. That is when the bird turned towards me and I saw the bright red-orange chest. Spring cannot be too far away now.
This has been a long winter filled with too few breaks in the weather. One came early on around Valentine’s Day. It was a break that saw temperatures in the 30s without a whipping wind. When a person can call a day like that a break in the weather, you know we have had a hard winter.
Well, on that day my husband and I took our Valentine’s celebration. We made plans to have a lunch at One Sixty Four North in downtown Kankakee. However, our first stop was at Gar Prairie over be KCC. We decided to have a walk first to get our appetite stirring.
As much as we wanted to do the prairie path, it was much too wet and soggy that day so we stayed on the main trail. There is a babbling brook on the east side of the road that became louder as we went farther down hill. However that disappeared as the road curved to the right.
Then we picked up the sound of fast moving water again but this time to our left. There the creek was moving rapidly over stones in the creek bed. As we moved further down the path we saw this huge tree that looked to be six feet wide. I am not sure what type of tree it is and would appreciate someone telling me. There were no leaves or seed pods left on the branches to give a clue. Whatever it is, that tree is a beaut. My husband wondered if it is on a list of great trees. Perhaps someone else knows and would like to share.
We went all the way to the river bank and back again. That is when we headed over to One Sixty Four North on Schuyler Avenue. What a meal! Perhaps because we were hungry everything on the menu looked wonderful. The bread that was brought to the table was soft and wonderful, especially after spread with the lightly garlic-flavored butter.
We choose the wild mushroom soup, which was incredibly creamy and tasty. Larger than normal pieces of mushrooms were in the soup and I loved it. Then there were our entrees. I had the veal picatta, which was sprinkled with capers and absolutely worked with the red skinned potatoes that were mashed with garlic. The two flavors balanced nicely without being overwhelming. Plus, the asparagus was the right amount of steamed so the stalks were crisp but not woody. My glass of house Pinot Grigio worked wonderfully with the meal.
My husband had the chopped steak that was served with mushrooms and a bordelaise sauce. The rich dark color was matched only in its rich dark flavor. The meat was tender and cooked to perfection. Again the garlic mashed potatoes was a good match. My husband went with a house Pinot Noir and was pleased with its hardiness.
We finished the meal off with Key Lime Pie for myself and cheesecake for my husband. The Key Lime was presented with a lime sauce and strawberry sauce drizzled on the plate. While both were nice compliments, I preferred the dessert just as it was – creamy, sweet and a touch of sour lime. You don’t pucker from it but it is enjoyable. The cheese cake was perfect for my husband – rich and smooth.
It was a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We easily spent $50, not hard when you consider we ordered wine, desserts and an appetizer. We plan to return, especially when my parents come to town looking for a good meal. You can read the menus for lunch and dinner on the website at www.164north.com as well as find times and look at the picture gallery.
~ Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her husband and four children.
Do you have an opinion or story to share? Email it to me at drenckens@daily-journal.com.
