Food: Devon Seafood Grill

Location: Wabash and Chicago

Visited: November 12, 2013

Service: Friendly but not well informed

I’ve perused this menu several times in the past while looking for the ultimate seafood joint, but the fancy look has always deterred me from entering. I decided to call in an order from my hotel a few blocks away since Yelp told me that they do take-out…exactly what I’m looking for when I’m travelling on my own! The person that answered put me on hold several times, which led me to believe they must have been quite busy. When she finally took my order and I asked for suggestions, she didn’t seem to know what to recommend, so I made my own choices after obsessing over the menu and many Yelp reviews.

Atmosphere: Dark and contemporary

I walked over after about 15 minutes to pick up my order and was told to inquire at the bar. The bartenders tried to serve me cocktails immediately; after all, it was $7 signature martini night. I passed on the temptation of an Asian pear martini since they will also be available on Friday evening! The dining area was moderately busy with lots of business types milling about. The bar area was empty (other than me), but featured a nice looking cocktail menu and smooth white countertop that I found very appealing.

Order: Lobster Cobb Salad w/ side of lobster mac and cheese

By the time I got back to my hotel, the curly macaroni was luke warm, and was fairly absent of lobster. I could have easily passed on this $5 side order; I knew I should have opted for the highly recommended lobster bisque! The cobb salad was full of large succulent piece of lobster…far more than I anticipated. The bits of applewood smoked bacon were a plenty and avocado and dressing really smoothed everything out. A very rich salad which had high moments (lobster) and low moments (ranch dressing)… generally a delectable salad, although trying this once was enough for me.

lobster cobb salad

side of lobster mac and cheese

Prices: Medium-High

Seafood and steak restos run up a high tab rather quickly in this city. The entrée sized salad ($23) and side order of mac and cheese ($5) came to $30.94 with tax and no tip for takeout.

Deliciousness: Above average

Both dishes tasted like they had less salt than the average resto meal – I know that’s a sad statement, but my salt expectation is now at a dangerously high level when I eat out in Chicago! Otherwise, the taste-rating for the salad was very high with the absence of the hardboiled egg halves thrown in. The lobster to salad-bite ratio was greater than one-to-one, which is unheard of. I didn’t have to ration my lobster pieces, and each fork had a good amount of each ingredient. The combination of the bacon and lobster was the clincher… I would recommend this as a meal to try, even though it is quite rich. Not a bad choice, but I’d like to try something else next time – especially that lobster bisque.

Overall rating: Good

The concierge mentioned that Devon would be a preferable choice to McCormick’s across the street, although I’m not sure what that statement was based on. While I enjoyed the salad, I must say that Devon can’t compete with Shaw’s Crab House in the seafood arena. On a positive note, Devon was slightly more affordable and offered generous portions of lobster in my entrée. I would return after further investigation of other seafood options in River North, and there are many!