photo: courtesy chef's station

Enjoy the summer weather on Chef's Station's pleasant patio. 

Chef's Station (915 Davis St., Evanston. 847-570-9821). Continental.

(one star)

$$$

Like the decor, which dates back to 1998 but looks a decade older, the cuisine here reminds one of what dining out was like over a decade ago.

Those in the mood to revisit the pre-small-plate era will find dishes like roasted beets with goat cheese mousse and candied walnuts, scallops with celeriac and apple, salmon over lentils, and that now rarely seen warhorse, rack of lamb, here with quite tasty quinoa and caramelized onions.

For dessert? Soufflé, bien sûr. The ample wine list puts many others to shame.

Dishes We Liked: Beet salad ($14), pork belly with spaghetti squash ($14), rack of lamb with quinoa and caramelized onion ($33), mushroom risotto ($22), salmon with lentils ($27), soufflé with Grand Marnier chocolate sauce ($8)

New restaurant reviews, updated to reflect critics’ recent visits, appear each month in Chicago magazine, in Dine, as well as on our website. Listed restaurants are rated from one to four stars, where one is good, two is very good, three is excellent, and four is superlative. Chef's Station was previously two and a half stars. The review appears in the August issue.