When we got through our first anatomy lab practical and the long nights it required, a few of my colleagues and I decided to treat ourselves to an evening out by dressing up and indulging in a fancy dinner. Azkar, Hanin, Reham and I visited Nellcôte, a trendy new restaurant with French cuisine, and the experience was nothing short of memorable.
It was a 15-minute drive from campus to the restaurant, and parking was easy. Nellcôte’s interior was awash with Parisian flair, with twinkling chandeliers and a white-on-white color palette. Humor ensued once we were seated and attempted to order some courses. We didn’t recognize many of the entrée components listed on the menu and we overlooked the concept of “small plates,” so the ordering process was drawn out. We soon decided on five different dishes—organic salmon, buffalo mozzarella pizza, chicken ravioli, basil pappardelle and wood-grilled chicken—and loved how each petite plate made a solo, somewhat theatrical appearance. Each dish was perfection from beginning to quick end. Eating at Nellcôte was a nice break from the everyday at ICO. While we were impressed by the refined combination of flavors—sautéed peaches with grilled chicken blended perfectly in Azkar’s opinion—we could have eaten lots more.
And so we departed from fine dining and stopped by Sprinkles for dessert. The Windy City outpost of the bakery, in the Gold Coast, makes some of the best cupcakes in town. It was a Sprinkles first for Reham and a sweet ending to our meal out.
Would we recommend Nellcôte for dinner? Yes. It’s delicious. Just know that the small plates are, in fact, quite small.