Courtright's

Rack of Lamb

Amuse Bouche

As a continuation of Natalie's birthday celebration, we went by ourselves to Courtright's in Willow Springs. We had heard about them a few months ago from them receiving a Michelin Star. They have also been featured on Check Please and we checked out that video before making a reservation.

You can order food a la carte, but most people (including us) seemed to order prix fixe menus. We had the 3 course meal where you can choose an appetizer, soup or salad, an entree and a dessert.  Monetarily it works out to be a slightly better deal to order this way - unless you choose the least expensive appetizer and entree available.

Baked Brie

Before the courses came out there was an amuse bouche of gorgonzola cheese and figs.  Also they brought out a bread basket with prezel and ciabatta rolls, and other breads.

First Course:

Baked Brie and Pistachios with Raspberry Coulis - the crunchy pistachios were nice with the smoth brie.  Nick felt the Raspberry was a bit tart, but overall the combination was nice.

Marinated Shrimp

Passion Fruit Marinated Shrimp with Summer Salsa and Vanilla Corn Coulis - a nice combination of flavors - interesting to have the fruit, vegetable and seafood flavors all at once. Nick felt it was a bit small, but at least we each got to have a shrimp.

Second Course:

Australian Rack of Lamb with roasted tomatoes, baby zucchini, eggplant caviar, french beans and a rosemary lamb sauce. Very tasty. The lamb was tender and Nick loved the zucchini.  The eggplant caviar was really just an eggplant puree.

Buffalo Strip Loin

Grilled Buffalo Strip Loin with truffle creamy quinoa, roasted baby beets, grilled asparagus in a red wine sauce. We both like this dish best.  The buffalo obviously tastes a lot like beef, but much leaner.  Natalie absolutely loved the quinoa (probably because of the truffles).  The vegetables were also great.  Overall the whole dish was complex and satisfying.

Third Course:
Creme Brulee - with peaches, raspberries and nectarine sorbet.  It was a pretty typical creme brulee, but it was presented in a not so typical fun bowl (with a candle to celebrate Natalie's birthday),

Blueberry and Brioche Bread Pudding with mint ice cream - the bread pudding wasn't too heavy.  Natalie thought the combo of the blueberry and mint might be a bit strange, but they complimented each other.

Creme Brulee

In order to celebrate Natalie's birthday they put a candle in her dessert. We noticed that pretty much every other table had one (or two) candles in desserts as well.  So this seems to be a special occasion restaurant more than anything.  I guess with the higher prices you might not be frequenting this place all the time.

Blueberry Bread Pudding and ice cream

Final thoughts on Courtrights:

Food - the food was definitely a step above other American/European restaurants. All of the dishes were well thought out and creative. Very rich and indulgent food without feeling too heavy. We noticed a lot of other tables were ordering the 4 course meal (where you get a soup or salad and an appetizer), but we felt the 3 course was more than enough food.

Service - our waiter was nice enough but he seemed a bit stiff. There was another server that brought all of our food to the table and described it for us.

Atmosphere - beautiful setting with big windows looking out to a lovely garden. The restaurant itself looks almost like a home. It is located across the street from the infamous Willowbrook Ballroom.