2 restaurants make debut in Naperville

Freedom Commons continues to take shape along the Reagan Memorial Tollway in north Naperville with this weekend's openings of The White Chocolate Grill and Morton's The Steakhouse.

Mayor George Pradel will cut the ribbon at 12:30 p.m. today at White Chocolate, 1805 Freedom Drive. Morton's opened its 79th location Friday at 1751 Freedom Drive, joining the 25-acre development that includes Maggiano's Little Italy and LA Fitness.

The dining and retail complex eventually will also include Fidelity Investments, Subway, Taco Fresco, Einstein Bros. Bagels and a bank.

White Chocolate co-owner and founding partner Bobby Fitzgerald said Friday that Naperville will be the perfect fit for his self-described "Honest American Restaurant."

"We have an affinity for Naperville and we believe the people of Naperville reflect how we run our restaurant," Fitzgerald said. "Our take on American fare is bold and innovative, approachable luxury indulgence, and that's what we think Naperville is looking for."

When it opens for dinner Monday, the restaurant will feature an exhibition kitchen, an oak-wood grill and a rotisserie oven. And all entrées, salad dressings and soups are made from scratch in the kitchen.

"The best part," Fitzgerald said, "is that I get to make all of the foods I love the most and share them with our guests."

The menu offers a full range of appetizers, sandwiches and entrées, including signature dishes such as Spit-Roasted Turkey, French Dip, Parmesan Crusted Filet and Tomato Gin.

But it's the dessert menu that earned the place it's name, featuring White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, White Chocolate Brownie with Callebaut Chocolate and French Vanilla Ice Cream, French White Chocolate Bread Pudding and White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie.

"The three (owners) were sharing our dessert specialties and discussing some of our favorites that we've encountered in our travels and we discovered a theme," Fitzgerald said. "So we voted on it and nobody vetoed it. So we hurried up and trademarked it."

Morton's The Steakhouse, which opened Friday, features Morton's new Bar 12-21. In addition to the dining room and private boardroom, it is the first Chicago-area location to have courtyard patio seating and a temperature-controlled wine room.