While I've liked Lovell's the handful of times I've been there, I've never thought that the dishes were worth the price. Since the restaurant has to be on some very high-priced real estate, it is likely that Jay Lovell can't open his new restaurant concept on that property and have it pay, since it sounds like the new restaurant will probably have lower price points (just guessing there, based on what I've read of the concept). Otherwise, I would have thought that he would have just reconcepted the current restaurant instead of opening in a different space.

Hi,

Lovell and his wife were on WGN-TV promoting their new restaurant menu in December. There was no mention at the time of any changes at the original Lovell's. In fact, they made it sound like they were complimentary enterprises.

If they need this new location to continue in business with a lot less overhead, perhaps this is a smart move.

Regards,

I do not have any information. I jumped to a conclusion.
Obviously erroneously.

We've had our office Christmas party/lunch here the last couple years and I'm not impressed. Some dishes were pretty good and some were pretty awful. The Reuben is solid, but the brisket sandwich is pretty terrible.


Overall I would call this one of the more overrated and overpriced restaurants in the Chicago area.

Hi,

Jay Lovell's new restaurant is where Bacio's once was across from Fort Sheridan. Their signage is now up, though I don't know yet if it has opened.

Regards,

With final clearances from the city council to convert Lovell's of Lake Forest into medical offices, the restaurant has announced its last day of serving customers will be Sunday, April 12.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/l ... story.html

We stopped at Jay Lovell's on Sunday after Pumpkin Festing and a hike around Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. It was essentially deserted in the early afternoon, possibly due to the crowds at Pumpkin Fest. It's a bit of an odd duck, like some other odd ducks in the area, with very casual almost offhand furnishings and decor but excellent food.

2 of us had a Cobb salad, burger+fries, and pie ala mode. The salad was traditional Cobb in a large bowl: bed of romaine with wedge-shaped separate segments of chicken, eggs, tomato, a generous amount of Gorgonzola-style crumbles, blanched green beans, and beautiful segments from a perfectly ripe and massive avocado. The burger was perfectly done medium with a little char on the outside, decent Swiss cheese, the remainder of that avocado on a brioche-type bun. Fries were also very good, skin-on dark with big hunks of salt. What was billed as "mixed berry" pie turned out to be an interesting strawberry rhubarb with very slightly crispy hunks of rhubarb and an absolutely top notch double crust. The accompanying ice cream was different: very fragrant vanilla flavor but not tremendously rich.

The rest of the menu is limited but slightly more ambitious with a few fork and knife entrees and a bunch of soup bowls. Definitely worth a visit - I suspect this is the sort of place that gets overlooked because of its location.

I didn't see the new address in the thread.

Jay Lovells
766 Sheridan Rd
Highwood, IL 60040
(847) 780-3930