Stillwater's menu chock-full of choices

Pretty much every town has one, so wine bars are becoming a dime a dozen.

So, it's with that skepticism that we headed to Stillwater Restaurant & Wine Bar. Located in the adjacent former homes of Trucchi and Comida Bebiba, these separate-but-connected spots allow for upscale-casual cocktailing and fine dining at once.

The dining room retained the swooping, curvaceous wood-trussed ceiling of its predecessor. But now the space sports a more modern feel with studded metal wainscoting that offsets dark wood details, black-clothed tables and walls adorned with mirrored sunbursts.

Next door, the dark wood theme continues, but here it's punctuated with chartreuse paint on walls.

The menu doesn't go out on a limb, but it also doesn't feel tired. We found plenty to order, particularly on the small plates end of the spectrum, and our experience proved this was the way to go.

A hands-down standout was the roasted garlic with feta -- a simple-sounding but unusually satisfying selection. Warm, crumbled-cheese-heaped crostini encircled a bowl of creamy, nutty spreadable roasted garlic for smearing at your discretion. The blend of salty and sweet, creamy and chunky just worked.

Tender, slow-roasted baby portobellos filled with spinach, artichokes and feta were another of our considerations, but we went for the mint, olive and crushed red pepper-accented marinated mozzarella bites instead. They proved to be particularly refreshing and light.

These dishes shared space with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears with "limon" mayo, crab and crawfish cakes with Romanoff sauce, and "slow-roasted" beef tenderloin spring rolls with soy, ginger, carrots, zucchini, scallions and red cabbage encased in rice paper.

There's plenty of room for noshing (and enough ways to compose a meal) with nearly 20 starters to choose from.

Salads are a good bet, too, and we were more than pleased with the bistro Cobb. While it contained the typical assemblage -- diced tomato, sliced egg and avocado, shredded cheddar and crumbled blue cheeses, and grilled chicken -- it was ratcheted up with top-notch, thick-cut bacon, tender mixed greens and an interesting, lightly creamy house-made cilantro vinaigrette.

We're pretty sure the signature salad with that aforementioned bacon, Gorgonzola, grape tomatoes and chives with lettuce and buttermilk blue cheese would fare well, too.

Entrees run the gamut, making this a good place to come for a business meeting, bring out-of-town guests or dine with family and friends.

The filet, while maybe not best-in-show, was of good quality (and worthy given its under-$30 price tag). Other meaty cuts include a porterhouse, bone-in ribeye and strip steak as well as a rack of lamb. We opted to top our medium-rare, seared beauty with peppercorns and blue cheese; other choices include horseradish, roasted garlic, Gorgonzola or sautéed mushrooms, but at $2 a pop, that quickly can add up.

The mashed potatoes we had alongside the steak were fine, although they were nothing special.

Also not particularly memorable: the country penne with capicolla and Italian sausage in familiar (but not memorable) tomato cream sauce.

The menu lists by-the-books selections like ribs, as well as an eclectic blend of dishes like chicken rotolo filled with ham, provolone and asparagus in white wine-herb sauce; veal medallions with wild mushrooms, herbs and hunter sauce; grilled prawn satay; and lime-marinated chicken cilantro topped with pico de gallo and sour cream.

There are a number of sandwiches, too. Some of the more interesting-sounding selections were a prosciutto, arugula and tomato sandwich on ciabatta and beef tenderloin on multigrain bread with blue cheese mayo.

You're likely to find something likable on the dessert menu, if you're so inclined. The crème brulee was a perfectly acceptable rendition with a crisp sugar top and fresh berries. The sugar-dusted flourless chocolate torte was as rich as can be. Keeping the first-course small plate mentality in mind, diners can order six fresh-baked chocolate chip, oatmeal-raisin or macadamia nut cookies, a dessert sampler of brownies and bars or a brownie trio with triple chocolate, turtle and double-chocolate-caramel varieties.

In retrospect, we wish we had tried the s'mores, which are already prepared for you.

Wine, not surprisingly, is a focus. This list has California leanings. Although smallish, the list offers a fair number by the bottle and glass.

There also is a specialty martini list with concoctions like the Day Dream with Van Gogh citrus vodka, Cointreau and OJ.

Our server was friendly and helpful, although the pace of the meal was rather out of whack. We waited about 20 minutes for our first course to arrive, and then the salad was presented before we finished the small plates. Not the worst offense imaginable, but still…

All in all, we liked this place. It's a nice neighborhood spot, one that's worth coming to if you live in Downers Grove and even beyond.

Stillwater Restaurant & Wine Bar

5141 Main St., Downers Grove; (630) 324-4292

Cuisine: Small plates and contemporary American fare that's wine-friendly

Setting: Modern and sleek with a separate, just-as-plush wine bar

Price range: Small plates $5.95 to $12.95; soup and salad $2.95 to $8.95; sandwiches $7.95 to $10.25; entrees $11.95 to $32.95, desserts $2.95 to $5.95

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday

Accepts: Major credit cards