Say, I met the love of my life at Philander's in 1995 although I didn't know it at the time (married in 2000). Whenever in Oak Park a bunch of us will head over to the Carleton ...
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The SceneThough it sounds like a sports bar for wayward husbands, Philander's is an oasis of clubby gentility in Oak Park's historic Carleton Hotel. Turn-of-the-century decor embraces guests in dark wood, with a magnificent oak and marble bar and photographs of the restaurant's namesake (the late village historian Philander Barclay). The welcoming setting is ideal for casual fine dining and quality live jazz nightly. The FoodTry a wicked starter of three sizable macadamia-crusted shrimp in lobster-vanilla sauce, with a baby sweet potato cake for a bed and a kiss of port syrup. Crisp mesclun with grilled apples and pears, walnuts, figs and Maytag blue is perfectly dressed in balsamic vinaigrette; smoky, classic tortilla soup is chock full of goodies. Rock lobster tagliatelle carbonara is creamy and rich; thick-cut blackened rib eye is cooked to order and sauced with wasabi butter.