deleece.

the southport corridor has a ton of great little restaurants and bars. since we moved, my new route takes me from southport and addison to southport and clybourn, where it ends. so i feel like i've got a pretty good grasp on what that street has to offer ... lots.

one restaurant that we've been hoping to try for a while is deleece. they recently moved and/or did a bit of a renovation ... it's very cute & chicago-y inside. my only real complaint is that it was so loud. i think it's because there is a whole wall of exposed brick (not very sound absorbent)... i could barely hear our server as she explained the specials. but we were also there the night of a street fest. so that obviously affected it as well.

anyway, their menu features "contemporary american cuisine" and an "innovative, seasonably inspired menu." here's what i had ...

watermelon gazpacho :

this was a special that night that i just had to try. definitely seasonably inspired!

unfortunately, it was only okay. tasted exactly how you might expect ... cold watermelon soup.
i did have some dried cherries (maybe?) in it, which were good. but other than that ... sadly, not much to write home about.

roasted poblano pepper :

stuffed with spanish rice and squash, mole verde with pepitas, black beans & pimenton tortilla strips. (no queso fresco or sour cream, obvi.)

this was definitely more of a hit than the soup. the crispy crunchy tortilla strips with the kind of mushy texture of the pepper, rice and beans created a perfect balance. and the pepper had a kick, which i obviously enjoyed. this dish had lots of delicious fresh ingredients, so i felt very satisfied at the end. 

so to sum up ...

1. great location, cute interior.

2. loud! 

3. meh watermelon soup, yum roasted poblano pepper.

if you're in the hood looking to eat somewhere nicer than a bar ... try deleece.