White Chocolate Grill gives diners reason to eat dessert first

If you've ever been tempted to order dessert before dinner, The White Chocolate Grill in Naperville will test your willpower.

Open the menu of most restaurants and you're greeted with a lineup of appetizers and salads. Yet at this new eatery on the city's northern edge, the list leads off with decadent-sounding treats, such as the white chocolate brownie, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and French white chocolate bread pudding.

Did I mention this is The White Chocolate Grill? Understandably the chefs thoroughly infuse the dessert menu with this house-made cocoa cousin, yet they thankfully keep the signature ingredient out of the salad, burger and entree selections, focusing instead on the "grill" portion of the moniker.

The restaurant, the first suburban outpost of a Scottsdale, Ariz., favorite, opened earlier this year in a new retail development off the Reagan Tollway and Naperville Road (a Lombard location also is in the works). The Prairie-style facade and interior of rustic, dark-wood tables, leather-topped chairs and low-level lighting project a calming presence that keeps The White Chocolate Grill from becoming a rowdy Friday's clone. The bar, alive with splashes of color reflecting through ceiling-high shelves of liquor bottles, provides ample space to sample a dessert-worthy white chocolate martini or fruit-infused vodka concoction.

Prepare to spend some time at the bar, especially if dining on a weekend. The White Chocolate Grill doesn't accept reservations, but does allow diners to phone ahead, at which point the hostess will ballpark the wait time and add the caller's name to the list. I called ahead, hoping to secure a table for two around 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday and we were seated by 6:45 p.m. - an impressive feat considering the groups congregating in the foyer and outside when we arrived. Parties showing up without phoning first were quoted wait times of an hour and more.

The White Chocolate Grill offers much to wait for.

Starting with the starters, there's the AZ eggrolls; a nod to the original locale, these spicy chicken wraps come with a jalapeno-flecked salsa. While it sounded quite impressive, the parmesan-dusted artichoke failed to deliver. The grill imparted nice smokiness to the leaves.

On the flip side, the tomato gin soup was smooth in taste and texture. The Tanqueray-spiked spoonfuls held bits of bacon and mushrooms in the roasty, creamy soup. The menu designates this dish for those of legal age, though I hardly caught a buzz from the bowl.

The salad menu offers options for first or main courses. The filet mignon Cobb salad gets dressed with a Zinfandel vinaigrette, while a Champagne vinaigrette tops the seared tuna salad with mango and avocado. The signature salad is a pleasing heap of mixed greens, candied nuts, smoked bacon and a Maytag blue cheese dressing.

The restaurant prides itself on its wood-fired items - as well it should. The pork tenderloin was moist and flavorful, glazed with an apricot barbecue sauce. The chunky mashed potatoes make the perfect complement to the well-seasoned medallions; I believe the honey-roasted carrots would have been too sweet a side and the steamed broccoli too bland an accompaniment for this well-balanced plate.

Other grilled specialties include blackened mahi topped with crab, blue-cheese-crusted filet and rainbow trout in a creamy herb sauce.

The wine list held a nice selection of reasonably priced glasses and bottles to fit the fare.

The White Chocolate Grill also offers a nice array of sandwiches (a separate children's menu is available). You'll find typical fare such as blue cheese burgers and a club sandwich, but the prime rib French dip is hardly standard issue.

Shaved sheets of juicy medium-rare prime rib nestled between a tender, yet stable bun. The seasoned au jus provided the perfect dip for this sandwich, and I was impressed that the waiter packed up an extra cup of the jus with my leftovers. Maybe he was trying to make up for forgetting my side of horseradish.

Catching back up to dessert, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options. The portions are shareable, yet it would be a sin to order only one. The white chocolate brownie was dense and chewy with chunks of Callebaut dark chocolate throughout. Don't worry if you can't finish it; paired with a glass of milk, it makes a yummy midnight snack.

The white chocolate banana cream pie in a homemade graham cracker crust provided a creamy counterpart to the chewy brownie, but is harder to transport home, so grab a spoon and devour it before leaving.

The missing horseradish was the only hiccup on the service front; our waiter was friendly, the busers attentive.

On a packed Saturday, we didn't feel rushed or like we were sitting on top of other diners. All in all, The White Chocolate Grill is a sweet place to eat.

Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. 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.

The White Chocolate Grill

1803 Freedom Drive, Naperville (630) 505-8300 whitechocolategrill.com

Cuisine: American

Setting: Prairie-style architecture with dark wood and muted lighting

Entrees: $9.90 to $29

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Accepts: Major credit cards