Comfortable ambience meets couture prices at Hunter's

Hunter's

305 W. Main St., St. Charles; (630) 444-1835

Cuisine: Steaks, chops and pasta

Setting: Wood-accented space with wood-slat blinds, butcher-paper-topped tables and a small bar in front

Price range: Appetizers $7 to $10; soups and salads $5 to $7; entrees $15 to $39; desserts $7

Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday; dinner 5 to 9 p.m. (or until the last table is seated) Monday through Saturday

Accepts: Major credit cards

Neighborhood spots are, to be fair, held to a different standard than destination dining rooms. They might be super-casual and basic, or they might aspire to offer something between an everyday and fine dining experience.

The latter is the case with Hunter's, a St. Charles storefront with ceiling fans, gleaming wood floors and wine-inspired paintings on distressed walls.

The question is, how do you strike a balance between a comfortable ambience and couture prices so as to justify the special-occasion price tag? Here, it's done through approachable -- OK, downright chummy -- service and cuts of beef that rival what's served at top-tier steakhouses downtown.

Upon being seated, warm bread arrives. This, of course, isn't unusual in and of itself, but the fruity cabernet-infused butter that comes with it is a memorable touch. It's tart with a lovely red hue, and it gets our meal off to a good start. You know what they say about first impressions.

The menu reads like that of a steakhouse on the surface, but there is more going on, for sure. Appetizers, limited to about half a dozen, include a nicely satisfying veal osso buco ravioli filled with tender, pulled meat in savory, salty brown butter sauce with fried sage leaves on top. Our only gripe was that, of the three pillows of pasta, one had popped open, revealing its interior. While this didn't compromise the taste, the presentation (and size) did make us question the $7 price tag.

In contrast, the dish of three so-large-they're-shocking, sautéed, smoky Italian bacon-topped sea scallops on potato pancakes probably ought to be shared. It was great, but we ran out of steam toward the end.

You'll also encounter options such as New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp with a petite biscuit, chicken-apple pate with cornichons and toast points and a peekytoe crab cake with pureed corn sauce.

When considering salads, nothing caused us to drool -- think a Caesar with homemade croutons, mixed greens with creamy garlic dressing, arugula with pine nuts, shaved Parmesan and shallot vinaigrette -- so we moved on to the next course.

Curiously, entrees are listed by price, from low to high; we think it would make more sense to categorize them (for example, pasta, meat and seafood).

Of the pasta selections, we'd suggest steering clear of the chicken Florentine, a breast stuffed with a spinach-cheese mixture that suffered from limp skin. The accompanying red sauce was fine, but it didn't meld with the white truffle oil used to accent the agnolotti alongside. Moreover, the accompanying baby broccoli was overly salty.

We liked the tender, well-marbled Kobe sirloin, however. Unfortunately, we found the three-cheese macaroni gratin it came with needed a few too many dashes of salt.

Other entrée selections range from chicken Marsala with risotto and pappardelle with exotic mushrooms and crème fraîche to barramundi with soy-miso sauce, snap peas and couscous, roasted duck breast with a logical-sounding mandarin orange sauce and roasted potatoes and tournedos of beef with Madeira sauce and potato puree.

You'll also find venison chops with green peppercorn sauce and Kurobuta pork chops with calvados sauce and sautéed greens. Specialty steaks might be among the evening's specials; when we dined, both a Kobe rib-eye and New York strip were offered topped with truffle butter.

Desserts are appropriately decadent, the fluffy tiramisu as fine as any rendition, the flourless chocolate cake rich, moist and dense enough to put a kink in well-intentioned diets. Other sweet finds include red velvet cake and crème brûlée.

The wine list is lengthy and ranges from affordable finds to those that would be considered cost-prohibitive by most. A martini list includes usual suspects such as the lemon drop as well as house-made concoctions sweet enough to be considered a dessert.

Our server was a nice guy who kept referring to us as "friends." That certainly added to the neighborhood feeling; we're just not sure it melds with the vibe of a place that has entrees hovering around $40. Still, we appreciated the approachability factor and had a hard time holding it against him.

In the end, Hunter's has the potential to deliver a dining experience; we'd just like to see the seasonings and overall experience be more consistent given the cost of meals. Consider first checking it out during lunch when the sandwich-centered menu includes a PB&J, grilled chicken saltimbocca sandwich, Kobe burger and Monte Cristo. You can take in the atmosphere without the sticker shock.