Review: A Day in St. Charles Is Only Completed By a Night at The Lewis

We drove about 10 minutes outside of town to get to Pinot's Palette for our paint-and-sip class. The studio was packed with eager artists, and we had loads of examples on the wall of successful creations. Though the class went a bit slowly for our taste, we enjoyed the layering process of painting the canvas black, blow-drying it, then introducing new colors over the background, step by step. We brought a winter wonderland to life with an imaginative streak of northern lights and galaxies. Our final products didn't look exactly like the model, but we are proud to have these dreamy night skies hanging in our home.

We had a glass of white wine with our painting experience, which left us perfectly primed for our dinner reservation at The Graceful Ordinary. The restaurant had an immediate atmosphere, like a cozy lodge you happened upon on a snowy night. The restaurant sits right beside the river, providing stunning views for patrons in the enclosed outdoor dining area. The ambience gave us high hopes for our dinner, and we ordered a bit ambitiously. My partner opted for a cocktail, the Orange en Fuego, which was unfortunately a disappointment. It fell flat for her, tasting a little syrupy and not well-balanced from the configuration side. My red wine was delicious, a Côtes de Rhône that went nicely with the warm wintry atmosphere. 

For appetizers, we ordered the PEI Mussels, with lobster butter broth, frites, dill, and the Chicken Liver Mousse, with toasted corn bread, smoked Mission figs, Marcona almonds, and black cherry sauce. This is where things went terribly wrong. The mussels were served under a bed of fries, making you work your way through them before reaching the seafood and broth below. The mussels were average tasting, but the broth was unnecessarily spicy. The real problem among the appetizers was the mousse, which came out like a less solid pâté. Both my partner and I started feeling ill within a few bites and left the entire dish unfinished. The cherry sauce was sickly sweet and somehow also tasted like a soy sauce, and the mousse tasted like the meat had turned. The side of corn bread was oily and inedible, and even the fresh figs on the side couldn't keep our stomachs from doing full flips. We immediately had to call over our server and change the rest of our entrée orders, because there was no way we were risking seafood with what was happening to our bodies from this mousse.

We originally ordered branzino and seared scallops as our main dishes, but we subbed these out for the least offensive dishes on the menu: the Dry Aged Bolognese with ricotta gnocchi and grated parmesan, and the potato and caramelized onion pierogies, with duck confit, apple fennel puree, and creme fraiche. The bolognese was a well-cooked gnocchi dish with bits of beef, and it was a small portion, about a cup of pasta overall. The pierogies were a bit mushy and the duck confit was overcooked to the point of crunchiness. Our server clearly felt bad about our experience, so he sent over Brussels sprouts (which were sadly too salty) and fingerling potatoes (which were serviceable). We were up front about the fact that we would probably just be picking at the rest of the food and grabbing to-go boxes. Thankfully, what we brought home with us wasn't as offensive as what we'd eaten earlier. Before leaving the restaurant, we tried the signature dessert, which has been served since the restaurant opened. The butterscotch pot de crème, with sea salt caramel and pecan florentine, was salty and sweet, as promised, and we were pleasantly surprised with this solid dish after a haphazard evening.

Our evening, and our entire trip to St. Charles, was saved by The Lewis. This super playful take on a luxury '70s bar was the best possible place to wind down, with delicious and complex cocktails that immediately had my bartender partner excited. We were greeted warmly by our server, Dominic, who had hands down the best vibes of anyone we met that day. That is, until we met Dan, the bar's owner, and we were blown away by his exceptional care and enthusiasm for the community he's created at The Lewis. Besides having fantastic cocktails that washed away the less-than-pleasant memory of our evening's cuisine, we were treated to a disco medley from the DJ, which had us toe-tapping all night long. I told Dominic about our upset stomachs, and he recommended that I order the Penicillin, which came with Loch Lomond Single Malt Scotch, honey, lemon, ginger, Laphroaig Mist, and a candied ginger garnish. The ginger and lemon immediately settled my stomach, and I was at ease and back in the flow of our evening. My next drink was The Ripley, with Hendrick's Grand Cabaret Gin, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Aperol, strawberry, lemon, and a lemon wheel. Though I usually keep away from Aperol, this was the perfect suggestion from our bartender, since I'm a fan of gin, and the other herbal flavors took center stage.

My partner ordered off the Disco is Dead special menu, You Don't Like Fernet—Fernet Branca, honey, ginger, and lemon. Like a Fernet penicillin, it was sweet, bright, and light, and the bitter notes of fernet only came through on the back end. It was an approachable drink for people unfamiliar with Fernet, and if you already like it, you'll be happy to see this on the menu. On our bartender's recommendation, she next ordered A FEW Old Walnuts, which is FEW Bonded Bourbon, luxardo cherry syrup, black walnut bitters, mole botters, expressed orange, and luxardo cherry. With an Old Fashioned she usually avoids cherry syrup, or even a cherry on top, but with the bitters in this drink, it was balanced really well—stiff, smooth, and just bitter enough!

Overall bartender's opinion, the drinks were well balanced and the team seems to choose high-quality ingredients, from the booze to the bitters and syrups, all with appropriate pricing. It's clear that The Lewis boasts an affordable and approachable menu for anyone hoping to learn more about cocktails. At the end of our night, we both enjoyed a nice digestive Amaro with a blackberry aftertaste. And because we're from Chicago, we took shots of Malort out of upside-down pineapple shot glasses, just for the fun of it. We left the bar and walked the bridge over the half-frozen river, taking in the Christmas lights at night before we headed back to the city.

Though we didn't enjoy every moment of our trip to St. Charles, we are lifelong fans of the Lewis and would haul our butts an hour-plus out of Chicago all over again to loop our friends into its groovy energy. St. Charles didn't have quite the Hallmark appeal we were promised—it felt more like visiting your parents' hometown that's trying to make itself feel metropolitan. With the Lewis' help, though, downtown St. Charles might just be the next big thing.

Gait + Main is located at 221 W Main Street, St. Charles. Pinot's Palette is located at 3823 East Main Street, St. Charles. The Graceful Ordinary is located at 3 East Main Street, St. Charles, and you can make reservations on the website. The Lewis is located at 106 East Main Street, downtown St. Charles.

All photos by Row Light.

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