Lovells of Lake Forest

Been wanting to try Lovells - anyone have any comments or recommendations? Thank you.

Lovells of Lake Forest
915 S Waukegan Rd
Lake Forest, IL 60045

I have not been to Lovell's personally but The client I am currently working for has launched their website. There is a load of Food programming (none of which I was involved in creating) .

One series is called Real Chefs and there is an episode on Lovell's which can be found here

i've been there once and had a ribeye, it was excellent. of course it's also fairly pricey ($30-50 range, no sides).

Been to Lovell's many many times for both lunches and for a French Burgundy tasting.
Very nice place, look at the wine room downstairs. They do a crusted tuna very nicely and that is what I usually have but have never had anything I was not pleased with.-Dick

I have eaten there several times over the years, and while it is always good, it tends to be very expensive and not particularly special. Recently we have started eating downstairs in the "captain's quarters" bar/lounge which is a lot of fun, with live music on the weekends, and has a less expensive menu. Be careful going late at night because it is also a cigar bar and can get quite smoky.

-Will

WillG wrote:It tends to be very expensive and not particularly special.

Exactly! People go there for the ambiance, the menu doesn't offer any Wow factor. It's more or less a steak house.

Nghe wrote:It's more or less a steak house.

This hasn't been my experience, but I've only been there for private dinners. They were able to create some pretty decent dishes.

We have eaten at Lovells several times and have always found the food to be excellent.
However as others have mentioned it is pricey.
One time my daughters had ordered her steak medium I think? and it came medium rare... she had (obviously) cut into it, and taken a bite of the potatoes, etc. She asked the waiter if it might be possible to get cooked a little more, he said sure, he'd be glad to, whisked it away, and super quick, returned with an entirely new steak cooked perfectly medium, new potato, new everything.

I was very impressed. Most places would just stick it back under the broiler for a minute or two-

On another front- My husband is a HUGE space fanatic, and this place is LOADED with mementos of Commander Jim Lovells career-
and sometimes you can even catch Jim himself who is very gracious and willing to say hello and answer the raving enthusiasts question.

Sometimes after we have had sushi across the way at Sushi Kushi, we will even go over to Lovells for drinks and dessert downstairs in the Captains Quarters-- very comfy- leather couches, etc.

I'd eat there more often if I could only afford it!

irisarbor wrote:On another front- My husband is a HUGE space fanatic, and this place is LOADED with mementos of Commander Jim Lovells career-
and sometimes you can even catch Jim himself who is very gracious and willing to say hello and answer the raving enthusiasts question.

I don't know if Jim told you the story of the huge painting in the front of the house, above the bar. They show it on the website, but don't tell the story. The painting is "The Steeds of Apollo". It was purchased for Jim Lovell by Tom Hanks when he was doing the movie Apollo 13. It was either Jim or Jay who told me that, last time we were there. It's a cool painting.

Yes we had heard the story of the painting- the painting stands on its own as a gorgeous work of art, but the story makes it even better!

They used to serve a drink there called the "Sea of Tranquility"
which is no longer on the menu

After much...ahem ...experimentation
here is my recreation

over ice in a shaker

1 1/2- 2 oz vanilla vodka
3/4 oz blue curacoa (sp?)
1/2 oz or less dry vermouth
3 oz pineapple juice

shake until frosty cold and strain into a martini glass
drink one and you are ....tranquil
Hubby and I love these and they are a very pretty color
If you are downstairs, Scotty can usually make one

CLTV just had a 30 minute show on Lovell's which toured the entire place.

As others have mentioned, the chef / owner of the place is Jim Lovell's son. Being a space junkie, I was taken there for my birthday a couple years ago. The food was excellent, but as others have mentioned, pricey.

The decor was just amazing. It covers Captain Lovell's career in the Navy, as an Astronaut, and finally the Apollo 13 movie about his final space flight. I must have spent almost 2 hours wandering around the place looking at all the stuff. When I got downstairs, I immediately recognized the Saturn V model by the entry way as the same kit that I'd built as a kid, and have several more stashed in the attic. Then I noticed the plaque on it and the matching N1, and realized they were both built by an old friend of mine.

I've got to get back there again, with a group of my space / rocket friends, for a dinner. This time I'll bring a camera.

Movie trivia: Jim Lovell appears in the movie, in one of the final scenes, as the captain of the recovery ship, wearing his old Navy uniform.

And in another strange connection, the chaplain that greeted them after their harrowing flight is the father of another friend of mine.

For you space junkies, if you are in northern Arizona, the Meteor Crater where the astronauts did their training is well worth a trip. It's pretty incredible to stand at the top of the crater and look down on where they trained. We didn't do the guided rim tour but it would probably be worthwhile since otherwise you will only be at the rim. Back to food...plan to eat in Flagstaff or Winslow because there is only fast food at the crater. I seem to remember picnic tables there if you pack your lunch but I also remember the wind being pretty bad.

http://www.meteorcrater.com/index.php

Been to the crater. Yes, it was windy there.

Stood on the corner in Winslow Az. Spent the night in Flagstaff and visited Lowell observatory where the PLANET Pluto was discovered. Can't remember where we ate in northern AZ

The one interesting place we found in the Phoenix area was the Teeter House Tea Room. It's an old house converted to a restaurant near the science museum. We didn't have time to do high tea (also rather expensive), but had a great lunch there before our visit to the museum.

j r wrote:Stood on the corner in Winslow Az. Spent the night in Flagstaff and visited Lowell observatory where the PLANET Pluto was discovered. Can't remember where we ate in northern AZ

FYI, The Planet Pluto was discovered by LTHer DougT's uncle Clyde.

stevez wrote:

j r wrote:Stood on the corner in Winslow Az. Spent the night in Flagstaff and visited Lowell observatory where the PLANET Pluto was discovered. Can't remember where we ate in northern AZ

FYI, The Planet Pluto was discovered by LTHer DougT's uncle Clyde.

A few years ago, Pluto was demoted to a moon.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:A few years ago, Pluto was demoted to a moon.

I think it's officially a "dwarf planet."

stevez wrote:

j r wrote:Stood on the corner in Winslow Az. Spent the night in Flagstaff and visited Lowell observatory where the PLANET Pluto was discovered. Can't remember where we ate in northern AZ

FYI, The Planet Pluto was discovered by LTHer DougT's uncle Clyde.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tombaugh

Continuing off topic...

Pluto was still a planet when we visited Lowell observatory. And IMHO it's declassification was political; Pluto was the only planet discovered by an American.

And to go further off topic, Lowell Observatory is an ASTC member, so if you're a member of either the MSI or Field, you get free admission. As was the Phoenix science museum.

DougT related to CT: cool!

Score! Free admission for me! Now if we can only figure out when Lovell is actually there so Sparky can get his astronaut-photo signed.

I prefer to think of it as Pluto being sent down to the minors for a little seasoning.

I've never eaten a whole dinner there, though I have given gift certificates to others. I've met my two sisters for appetizers and drinks on the lower level a couple of times, and we enjoyed it enormously.

j r wrote:DougT related to CT: cool!

Very cool!

Thanks for the detailed description of Lovell's memorabilia. After reading that and some other comments on this thread I think I will take my husband there for our next special occasion. He will be in heaven.

Now if we had only made it to the Lowell observatory when we were in Northern AZ. It was on the list but we ran out of time.

We were planning to go to Lovell's on Sunday night for Father's Day. Any recent experiences or suggestions?

I have lunch at Lovell's once every three months. We have a group of eight and the round tables can accomodate us nicely. It's very nice but not outstanding. A number of us had the Baramundi about a month ago and it and the accompanying vegetables were very nicely done. I think the specials are the way to go. Good service and if your still hungry, Sushi Kushi is just across in a Mall!-Dick

Confirming rumors that began in the fall of 2013, a Lovell family spokeswoman said Thursday its flagship restaurant — Lovell’s of Lake Forest — is for sale. The three-story iconic building, the more than one acre of land on which it sits and the restaurant business itself are on the market.

“All three are for sale,” said Darice Lovell, wife of Executive Chef Jay Lovell. “It was a tough decision.”

http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/news/bus ... 14:article

Another fatal hit by our pathetic economy.
We had many wonderful celebrations at Lovell's. All were stand-out meals.
It is a lovely property, beautiful restaurant with impeccable service and exemplary food.
We have not been there in awhile, so perhaps we are to blame for their demise <grin>.

They are not closing the restaurant (now); they are selling it.

jilter wrote:Another fatal hit by our pathetic economy.
We had many wonderful celebrations at Lovell's. All were stand-out meals.
It is a lovely property, beautiful restaurant with impeccable service and exemplary food.
We have not been there in awhile, so perhaps we are to blame for their demise <grin>.

So the family told you the reason they are selling is because of the economy? The only "reason" I read was that "it was time" or something to that effect. I, perhaps mistakenly, took that to mean that the owners just wanted to exit the business for some undisclosed reason. I'd be interested to hear your more detailed information.

They're not exiting the business per se.

Jay and Darice Lovell, owners of Lovell’s of Lake Forest, will open a smaller and different restaurant next month across from Ft. Sheridan in Highwood, according to a posting on the restaurant’s Facebook Page.

http://highlandpark.patch.com/groups/5- ... restaurant