Dream meals

Over the course of the year, I've consumed some pretty pleasant restaurant dishes, some that I would rather forget and some plates that made my mouth sing.

And sometimes these happened at the same restaurant.

It's not often that a chef can produce a meal from start to finish that hits all the right notes with a restaurant critic, or any diner for that matter.

But it's not just the food that we notice when dining out -- the menu must work with the service and atmosphere to get us, or anyone, to come back. A place may have succulent chops and fresh-caught grouper, but if the garlic mashed potatoes were dry and the carpeting frayed, you're not likely to head back.

So myself and the other critics picked favorites from the restaurants we visited in late 2006 and 2007 to create our dream meals.

Jennifer Olvera

Ambience

Kona Grill, Oak Brook Promenade, 3051 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, (630) 515-8395

For starters, it has a hopping bar scene. The glassed-in lounge is standing-room-only during happy hour and extends outdoors to include a fireplace with sidewalk seating for imbibing when it's warm. As for the dining room, well, it's theatrical. There's a sushi bar where you can catch a show while you dine.

Appetizer

Urban Grille, 524 W. State St., Geneva, (630) 262-0100

Shrimp Alyx

The menu -- particularly the shrimp Alyx -- will keep us coming back for more. Shallot and garlic-specked bread crumbs encase super-plump crustaceans, which lounge in a so-creamy-it's-sexy citrus cream sauce. The fried pickles were mighty fine, too, but with a dish like this on the menu, who will notice?

Entree

Maijean, 30 S. Prospect Ave., Clarendon Hills, (630) 794-8900

Seasonal dish of halibut atop warm orzo salad with sweet, warm thyme vinaigrette

While Nadia Tilkian ( formerly of Barrington Country Bistro and Bistro 110 and Zinfandel in Chicago) does execute bistro classics -- garlicky escargots, crisp sweetbreads and steak frites, to name a few -- it's the special dish of halibut with orzo salad and warm, sweet, savory thyme vinaigrette that we cannot forget. Lucky for you, it pops up as a special periodically in some incarnation or another. So, if you're willing to settle for, say, grouper, and a starch like couscous, you're in business.

Dessert

Macarena Tapas, 618 S. Route 59, Naperville, (630) 420-8995

Marshmallows a la Napoleon

The strip-mall location -- and seemingly schmaltzy name -- does little to attract one to this diamond-in-the-not-so-rough. Once you're inside the low-lit space and under the spell of Spain-trained chef John Borras, where you are, what it's called or how you got there becomes irrelevant. Although it appeared as a sweet-salty tapas dish, we cannot help but think the marshmallows a la Napoleon is a fun way to end to a meal. Consisting of two Manchego crisps, which sandwich large marshmallows, they're interestingly strange when swirled in the balsamic and fruit sauces on the plate.

Drink

Masala Yangu, Jefferson Hill Shops, 43 E. Jefferson Ave., Naperville, (630) 922-9999

Blended passion fruit drink

The East African cuisine prepared with a deft hand delivers brow-mopping heat. That's why a dab of cooling yogurt sauce and a glass of bright, fruity passion fruit smoothie are requisite accompaniments.

Service

Johnny Rockets, 2835 Showplace Drive, Suite 115, Naperville, (630) 428-8525

You're not going to get a four-star meal, and you will pull your hair out from all the chaos and noise. But, man, do you ever have to give props to the employees at this place. They weave their way though gaggles of giggling girls and boys who send spitballs sailing across the room. All the while, they smile, bus tables and bust moves -- wherever they can find a free space -- to classic tunes. And they deliver your burgers and shakes at light speed.

Leah A. Zeldes

Ambience/service

Dolce Lincolnshire, 250 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 478-0990, www.dolce-lincolnshire.com

Old-fashioned tableside service

I do love the Old World elegance of tableside service. For instance, order linguine nel Parmigiano and a server sidles up to your table with a hollowed out section of a giant wheel of parmesan and tosses hot, perfectly al dente pasta mixed with crisped prosciutto and butter inside. He then piles the deliciously cheesy, salty melange on a plate over a ribbon of sliced prosciutto and fresh basil leaves and tops it with shaved parmesan.

Appetizer

Flamingo's Seafood, 1590 S. Busse Road, Mount Prospect, (847) 364-9988, www.FlamingosSeafood.com

Crema de langosta (chipotle lobster bisque) or langostinos a la plancha

My one really dreamy meal of 2007 in fact stretches back a month into 2006. But since it was the vision that kept appearing, I'm going to start with it anyway -- or rather, them, since I couldn't decide between two Flamingo's Seafood appetizers: the big bowl of creamy lobster bisque, lightly seasoned with chipotle chilies and garnished with a generous helping of lobster meat, and the garlicky, split and pan-roasted freshwater king prawns. (The latter dish has been expanded to an entree since I reviewed the restaurant, but chef Jorge Alamaraz has promised to bring back the starter as a January special.)

Entree

Chaihanna, Cambridge Commons, 19 E. Dundee Road (entrance on Buffalo Grove Road), Buffalo Grove, (847) 215-5044

Chicken tabaka

Perfectly roasted chicken is nothing to turn up one's nose at, and the chicken tabaka, a Georgian-influenced entree, at this Uzbek restaurant should delight any poultry lover. I loved this garlicky herbed chicken on the bone, roasted to crispy-skinned, juicy-fleshed perfection under a brick. An oily sauce resembling South American chimichurri, filled with more garlic and herbs, accompanies it.

Dessert

Pierogi Place, Marketplace of Rolling Meadows, 1665 Algonquin Road, Rolling Meadows, (847) 734-6811, www.pierogi-place.com

Blueberry pierogi

It may be a quick-service joint, but Pierogi Place's blueberry pierogi -- full of plump round berries, fresh-tasting and barely sweetened -- really sing.

Drink

Zed451, 801 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, (847) 925-0061, and 3008 Finley Road, Downers Grove, (630) 512-0900, www.zed451.com

Cranberry-spiced old fashioned

I really did dream about this old fashioned, which takes the classic cocktail to new heights by infusing high-quality bourbon with hazelnuts and adding fresh clementines and cranberries.

Laura Bianchi

Ambience

Philly G's, 1252 E. Hwy. 45, Vernon Hills, (847) 634-1811

I'm a pushover for charming, historic restaurants like this 100-year-old, immaculately maintained residence. It feels like an elegant Tuscan hideaway, a continent away from the ho-hum suburban scenery. Outside, Italian lights twinkle romantically. Inside, seating is divided among several intimate, stylishly dressed dining rooms, plus a garden-like, honey and white enclosed porch and the bar.

Appetizer

Mike Ditka's, 2 Mid America Plaza, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 572-2200

Nachos

Like Iron Mike himself, the food here is brawny and straightforward, particularly the mega-platter of nachos. More meal than appetizer, slow-braised chunks of Ditka's signature pot roast are piled on chips and topped with melted cheddar, sour cream, jalapenos, tomatoes and scallions. The interplay of fork-tender meat with spicy, creamy and crunchy elements is better than a Super Bowl touchdown, at least in my playbook. Share this one with a couple of linebackers, or fuggedabout the rest of dinner.

Entree

Amore Mio, 1457 Palatine Road, Hoffman Estates, (847) 358-5506

Ravioli

Chef and co-owner Antonio Barbanente has fashioned a mixed menu of standards and more adventurous, contemporary dishes, including some wonderful housemade ravioli. For traditionalists there are the meat or cheese varieties with well-balanced, housemade marinara. For the foodies he might make ground veal and porcini filling with vodka cream sauce, a variation that is seared in my memory.

Dessert

McCormick & Schmick's, 1140 E. Higgins Road, Schaumburg, (847) 517-1616

Can't split 'em

Desserts at this upscale and clubby eatery are homey and big enough to share. I can't decide between the five-layer carrot cake, fragrant with cinnamon and layered with cream-cheese frosting, or the flourless truffle cake, dark, fudgy and rich. So I'll take both.

Drink/service

Osteria di Tramonto, 601 N. Milwaukee Ave., (in the Westin Hotel), Wheeling, (847) 777-6570

With two of Chicago's finest chefs at the helm -- executive chef Rick Tramonto and executive pastry chef Gale Gand -- everything works at Osteria di Tramonto, a ruggedly elegant and spacious Italian trattoria. But for my dream meal I'll import the wine and the service.

The cellar holds 10,000 bottles representing 500-plus selections from every region of Italy.

The servers treat you like the VIP you are.

Deborah Pankey

Ambience/service

ZED451, 801 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, (847) 925-0061, www.zed451.com

Wood, stone and meat; that's what I love about ZED451, an all-you-can-eat protein palace. Its sturdy wood-topped tables, rocky walls, granite buffet and the aroma of meat sizzling over a piping-hot grill combine for a modern and inviting dining experience. Diners set the pace, using river stones to signal when they're ready for a slab of meat to be carved tableside. And the dazzling array of vegetables, salads and breads at the buffet ensures a well-balanced meal.

Appetizer

Pilot Pete's, 905 W. Irving Park Road, at the Schaumburg Regional Airport, (847) 891-5100, www.pilotpetes.com

Hong Kong Louie Nachos

Legend has it the recipe for Hong Kong Louie Nachos comes from Pete's cousin Samarai Louie. Whatever the origin (real or imagined), fried wonton wrappers provide the base for this heaping pile of fusion fun. Prosciutto cream sauce, Asiago and mozzarella cheese and the sweet heat of banana peppers … thinking about it again has my heart soaring.

Entree

Sequel, 44 Yorktown Convenience Center, Lombard, (630) 629-6560, www.sequelb.com

New Zealand venison

Chef Mark Downing hit a seasonal high note with his New Zealand venison. He accompanied the grilled loin with a tart rhubarb and pear compote and sweet potato waffles for a brilliantly flavored composition.

Dessert

David's Bistro, 623 N. Wolf Road, Des Plaines, (847) 803-3233, www.davidsbistro.com

Apple and brie cinnamon crepes

Sweet, spicy, creamy, crunchy. The apple and brie cinnamon crepes offered a sensation for every part of my palate. The bite of crisp ripe apples, the smooth texture and taste of the cheese and cinnamon-infused caramelized brown sugar syrup brought the season's best flavors to the plate.

Drink

David's Bistro, Des Plaines

Chocolate martini

Chef/owner David Maish says a couple stops in every Friday evening for chocolate martinis. If I lived closer, I'd be at the bar with them. The bistro's Cointreau- and coffee liqueur-infused libation can be enjoyed before dinner or after. I vote for after -- I'm always looking for an excuse to have two desserts.