Seafood chain's extensive fish menu complemented by inspired sauces

The Chicago suburbs increasingly are attracting spin-offs of big-name restaurants that established themselves downtown.

Naperville is home to a host of Chicago clones, among them Hugo's Frog Bar, Catch Thirty Five and Heaven on Seven. Lombard snagged Adobo Grill and Harry Caray's.

Oakbrook Center houses several concepts from Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, and Hoffman Estates recently welcomed La Strada, a moderate-priced version of the Michigan Avenue original. In Schaumburg, you'll find Morton's Steakhouse and Wildfire.

The newest cases in point are two McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurants -- one in Oak Brook, the other in Schaumburg. They join locations in the Loop and on the Gold Coast in offering extensive fresh seafood and lake fish options in an upscale, clubby atmosphere suitable for special occasions, business entertaining or family outings.

The Portland, Ore.-based nationwide chain numbers 68 restaurants now and no two look alike. I stopped into the Schaumburg location to see if it lives up to downtown standards.

The 7,500-square-foot space is every bit as swank as the year-old Wacker Drive location I recently visited. Dark mahogany mingles here with extensive spans of beveled, leaded glass. Oversized stained-glass light fixtures loom over linen-topped tables.

Extra-cozy booths with plush curtains line the perimeter. Known as "snugs," they are a signature McCormick & Schmick design element. Leave the curtains pulled back for semi-privacy, close them if you're hiding from adoring fans.

The extensive, reasonably priced menu offers roughly 30 varieties of fresh seafood and fish with an assortment of steaks. Sauces range from the classic lemon butter to culturally inspired options such as Jamaican rum butter, cashew curry sauce or Northwest berry sauce.

Most entrees come with mashed potatoes or rice and vegetables, a thoughtful touch for a nicer restaurant.

But quality was inconsistent the night I visited.

More than 20 appetizers cover all the usual seafood bases from fried oysters to crab legs and coconut fried shrimp. Look also for the Albacore tempura roll, Asian cross-cut beef ribs with hoisin-ginger sauce and an assortment of fresh oysters on the half shell.

We started with the crab cake, a disappointing disk of breading with not enough crab. Conversely, the seared sea scallops were wonderful. Two beautifully browned scallops rested fatly on a bed of arugula encircled by wedges of citrus and avocado. These beauties will melt in your mouth.

Soups and salads lean toward classics such as New England clam chowder and Caesar salad, but for a change-up look for the strawberry cucumber salad with mint rice wine vinegar.

More than 40 entrees make ordering a bit complicated.

My server recommended the blue marlin, drizzled with port reduction, but it arrived overcooked and dry in the middle. I focused on the moist but meaty edges, which were tasty but scant. The tender, sautéed Swiss chard on the side was exceptionally good. Buttery rice filled out the plate.

Far better was the generous cut of grilled swordfish atop buttery mashed potatoes and crisp young green beans and carrots. Firm and moist, this meaty seafood gathers a touch of rich sweetness from sun-dried tomato butter.

Among the numerous other options were cornmeal-dusted walleye with sweet potato hash, cashew-crusted tilapia with hot rum butter sauce, and a San Francisco-style stew of mussels, crab, shrimp, fin fish and calamari.

The wine list is long enough to be interesting but still manageable. Most varieties are from California and Europe, with a couple of interesting detours into South Africa, New Zealand and Austria. Of note, a couple of dozen reds and whites by the glass are available in 5- or 8-ounce pours. They start at $5.25 and top out at $18.50.

Desserts are luscious and homey, prepared in-house and generously sized. Smooth cream cheese frosting tops and fills a tender, five-layer carrot cake fragrant with cinnamon. Flourless truffle cake is as dark, dense and rich as its name implies. Look for it again crumbled into the ice cream sundae. Also on offer: an Oreo cheesecake.

Service was friendly and attentive.

Despite a couple of sour notes from a fairly new kitchen, McCormick & Schmick's is well-worth a return visit. With nearly three decades of success and dozens of restaurants to its credit, any kinks should be ironed out over time.

If Schaumburg and Oak Brook aren't in your neighborhood, just wait. Another site is opening in late fall in Westfield Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie, and the company is scouting sites in Naperville.

• Restaurant reviews are intended to provide a detailed look at distinctive suburban restaurants. Reviews are based on anonymous visits. Our aim is to describe the overall dining experience while guiding the reader toward the menu's strengths. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.

McCormick & Schmick's

1140 E. Higgins Road, Schaumburg, (847) 517-1616

Setting: Upscale club

Cuisine: Seafood, lake fish, steak

Prices: Appetizers $5.90 to $12.90; soups and salads $3.90 to $14.85; entrees $13.95 to $37.95

Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; dinner: 4 to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday

Accepts: Major credit cards

Also: Bar open from 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. Sunday. Look for the $1.95 "happy hour" bar menu