You want creme brulee? At lunch, that’ll be three dollars more. This is not a typo.
When we paid the check and left, I paused at the door to look behind us.
No one was chasing us. We’d gotten away with it.
Twelve dollars for steak frite and an appetizer of clams with sausage. Or lamb chops with a first course of risotto. Robbery.
But that’s what the lunch menu at O’Connell’s American Bistro (981 Kenmore Ave., 716-877-8788) says, bold as brass. A first course and a main for $12. Two can get that deal for $20 on Tuesdays.
It’s madness. Tasty, tasty madness.
Before chef Kevin O’Connell comes to his senses, or runs out of money, you really ought to try his place for lunch. Perhaps the pricing scheme is a loss leader to entice you into a higher-priced dinner engagement.
Who really cares? Don’t look a gift steak frite in the mouth.
Come along for the ride, after the jump.
Matthew chose the onion soup. When the server bore it to the table, I sagely said: “Mmmmmmm.” All that crusty Gruyere just sprawling everywhere with abandon. Once we got through the crouton, the soup was packed with onions that probably could have been caramelized more, and the broth was decent but not stunning.
We traded erudite criticisms of the soup’s infirmities until we devoured the entire serving. Then we set to work chipping browned Gruyere off the crock.
Lauren got the “Pan roasted clams, soffrito, garlic confit,” which turned out to be another eye-catcher. (Her review of O’Connell’s is here.) Was it sausage or salami that added its pork fat to the white wine and garlic sauce? I couldn’t tell you. And I would have asked the waiter, but my mouth was busy.
The risotto arrived in a dainty portion, but the rice still held firm to the bite and the Parmesan was right. Polishing it off allowed me to help Matthew chip the onion soup crock clean as a whistle.
Matthew’s steak tartare arrived with a sigh, another tidy portion of edibles. Scoop a bit of meat onto the crostini, swipe it through the Dijon sauce, crunch a cornichon, and all thoughts of portion size are jackhammered to death by the knowledge that you are eating a lunch of this quality for twelve dollars.
Lauren chose the Scallop St. Jacques, a creamy mushroomy, bacony gratin with a scallop or two at its heart. It would have been noticed if she or a member of her party licked the plate, and I can report that did not happen.
This is about halfway through the “Truffle Mac N Cheese,” which turns out to be how a crackhead would make macaroni and cheese, if they were addicted to truffle-scented cheese sauce instead of cocaine. The gnocchi were tender but not particularly light in texture. Which didn’t matter to me much, because I would have eaten a pair of my oldest socks in that truffled cheese sauce.
Without friend, I might have eaten the entire dish myself, which would have clearly required a nap for dessert.
If you are a person who eats in restaurants, chances are sometime in the next few weeks you will spend $12 for lunch. One time you ought to drop that money in O’Connell’s. His experiment can’t last – but your memory will.
8 Comments
December 14, 2007 at 8:50 am
MUCH more fun (and tasty) than robbing a bank! Thanks for being such an enthusiastic partner in crime.
December 14, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I just wanted to “delurk” to tell you that I really enjoy your blog. I have been meaning to try OConnell’s for awhile now, and this post was just what I needed. I will be there next week for sure. Thanks for your great blog.
December 14, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Boy, am I sorry I turned this one down. Well, lunchies soon.
December 15, 2007 at 10:28 am
Thanks for reading, Julie. Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts if you have suggestions or comments.
That goes for the rest of you lurkers, too.
December 15, 2007 at 4:49 pm
The restaurant is beautiful, the service is great, and Chef’s O’Connell and Buckley sending out wonderful food at a nice price. A smart idea for stocking stuffers for the holidays, or a birthday gift, or a hostess gift.
December 17, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I also have to say that I love your blog. I eagerly wait for each new entry. It’s too bad that the great food blogs go as fast as they come. Another great one is http://syllabub.blogspot.com/ but she doesn’t post frequently any longer. Still, great great writing
December 17, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I like my daughter’s blog, too, but she also posts infrequently: http://withrelish.wordpress.com/.
To answer your question, she got the looks from her mother, not me.
February 29, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Great headline. Completely apropos. Better check your credit card receipts.
Article published Feb 29, 2008
Indigo co-owner pleads guilty to credit card fraud
By ZACHARY FRANZ
Tribune Staff Writer
A former co-owner of the now-defunct Indigo Lounge admitted Thursday in federal court to stealing thousands of dollars from restaurant patrons.
Kevin O’Connell, 33, flew to Great Falls from Buffalo, N.Y., where he lives, to appear on a felony charge of credit card fraud. He pleaded guilty to the charge, acknowledging that he made $44,209 in unauthorized charges to the credit card accounts of several customers. He said he saved receipts from credit card purchases made in the restaurant, and later used the card numbers on the receipts to make additional charges.
“They were done by me and solely by me, and I take full responsibility,” O’Connell told U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong Thursday.
O’Connell said he made the unauthorized charges to pay costs for the struggling restaurant.
“It got to this point because of financial irresponsibility, as well as financial instability,” he said.
O’Connell also appeared in state district court in Cascade County on Thursday morning, where he was arraigned on a felony charge of issuing bad checks. In that case, O’Connell pleaded not guilty to writing six bad checks worth $7,672.
O’Connell and two business partners opened Indigo Lounge in the Lobby Bar building in October 2003. O’Connell also was a chef at the upscale restaurant.
In early March 2005, a corporate credit card registered to a pharmaceutical sales representative from Eli Lilly and Company was used to pay for a banquet dinner at the Indigo Lounge, and was legitimately charged for the cost of the banquet. A few days later, O’Connell charged the card for $3,142.
Later that month, an employee of BNSF railroad used a corporate card to pay for catering service from the restaurant. O’Connell later charged an additional $5,120 to the card without authorization.
In May 2005, the credit card processing company used by the Indigo Lounge canceled their contract with the restaurant because of the unauthorized charges, according to court documents. The restaurant then contracted with another card processing company.
Later that month, a local businessman paid for lunch at the restaurant. Over the next month, O’Connell made nine unauthorized charges — totaling $30,000 — to the man’s card.
In June 2005, shortly before the restaurant closed, O’Connell made unauthorized charges totaling $5,000 to two other credit cards.
In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to not charge O’Connell separately for each instance of credit card fraud, and to not pursue any other charges.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 2. O’Connell faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, in addition to restitution for the fraudulent charges.
He is scheduled to stand trial on the state charge of passing a the bad check on the same day. If convicted, O’Connell faces possible additional penalties of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.