Had a nice meal last night at Parlor.
In the former Soju space on North Ave - very warm, exposed brick, fairly casual but classy. Four or 5 beers on tap (I had a De Koninck, also had Goose 312, Sierra Pale...) at the small bar up front, also seemed to have a decent bourbon selection, although other spirits seemed to be the usual suspects. I didn't check out the wine list in detail, looked to be pretty reasonable price range, some bottles in the upper $20's.
Tho the term is nearing meaninglessness, I'm gonna go ahead and genre-fy the food as "upscale-comfort." Perhaps a soul food lean. Among the choices where chicken wings, onion rings, smoked pork chops, a few steak selections and a burger (fried egg was an optional topping) that looked quite nice from afar...
We started with fried oysters (one of the specials was a Fried Oyster Poor Boy) - nice airy breading, small, but tasty oysters. I ordered the Chicken & Waffles entree. The thigh and leg were marinated in sweet tea- which gave it an overt sweetness up front and matched well when doused in maply syrup. Thin, tasty skin fell off onto the waffles, mixing with butter, chicken grease and syrup... making the last few bites fantastic.
Side of Mac n Cheese: Homeade, creamy, crisped w/ bread crumbs on the top.
The wife ordered the meatloaf. Blend of beef/veal/pork and topped with an onion marmelade, maybe with apple (? could be wrong, something of that nature).
She was too full to finish, but did mention the topping was very good. We also ordered a Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding to go, which I have yet to eat. It smelled fantastic, and very much like a krispy kreme donut. I'm not sure if this is a copyright issue or a joint venture, but I'm looking forward to eating tonight.
Entrees ran from $13 to mid-20's for the steaks. Service was very professional, befitting the price point. I'll return, it's an enjoyable, warm place with tasty food. Food is served til last call (3am!) on Saturday's, so I'm sure this will become/is quite the late-night dining option.
Parlor
1745 W. North Ave.
773-782-9000