Affection for do-it-yourself stir-fry restaurants depends on how big a role a diner wants to play in meal preparation. For one of our party, at least, filling a bowl from the salad-bar arrangement of raw ingredients and sauces came dangerously close to cooking, though the routine calls for diners to hand over their combinations to grill guys at the end of the line. After the bland finished dish reappeared in front of her, she registered another objection: When she goes out to eat, she said, she’s paying for a chef’s skill at knowing how much of what will make a tasty dish: That’s not her department.
Her biggest problem, though, was that she lacked the hoggish appetite that allowed tablemates to eat their mistakes and go on to commit others. Too much garlic-black bean sauce? Is the broccoli fighting with spinach? For $9.95 at dinner, you can create as many quasi-Asian entrees as you can polish off (no doggie bags allowed, and no sharing). At lunch (until 4 p.m.) the tariff sinks into genuine Cheap Eats territory: $5.95 for the same deal. Children eat for $3.95 anytime.
Ingredients are fresh, well trimmed and well maintained. Representing the allium family are red, white and green onions and garlic; protein sources include pork, beef, chicken and shrimp (for an extra $1.50) as well as catfish the night we were there. Vegetables are varied and appealing: whole leaf spinach, julienned carrots, bamboo shoots, tomato quarters, bean sprouts, peas, broccoli florets, slivered zucchini and so on. You’ll have no excuse for not eating your five-a-day here.
Next, you have to choose from about 20 sauces to pour over your assemblage before handing it over to the keepers of the grill. Some are familiar Asian condimentshoisin, sesame oil, oysterand others are highly seasoned house blends such as “Saigon sizzle” or coconut curry sauce.
However skilled the selection of ingredients, a meal at Stir Fire or its brethren probably will never approach the best restaurant stir-fry dishes because everything, from bean sprouts to broccoli, is cooked at the same time. Either the sprouts come out limp or the broccoli isn’t quite cooked.
For those who absolutely refuse to leave the table, five appetizers prepared entirely by professionals are available: vegetarian potstickers, chicken egg rolls, tempura chicken or vegetables and teriyaki wings. We suspect that the potstickers ($2.50) might taste better with some, ahem, pork in the minced filling. The tempura vegetables ($4.25) are excellent: a featherweight batter over crisp-tender veggies.
Why anyone would want dessert when, if he had room, he could go back and try his hand at mimicking pad Thai is a puzzle, but choices include lemon mousse cake and white chocolate mousse roll ($3.95 each). Chilled cross-sections of rolled cakes, they are decent, as is the coffee ($1.50).
Full bar service is available, and beer specials are offered some weekdays. Inspect the tabletop cards carefully: We merrily quaffed a couple of Sam Adams Octoberfests after reading about the $1 special; turns out it applied only on Thursday, not Sunday, so we paid $3.75 apiece. Ouch.
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Stir Fire Grill
(Three forks)
1729 Benson Ave., Evanston
847-328-2920
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.;11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
Credit cards:
A, D, DC, V
Wheelchair accessible
Ratings: 4 forks: Top of the class
3 forks: Better than most
2 forks: Very good fare
1 fork: Middle of the road
Reviews are based on anonymous visits by Tribune staff members. The meals are paid for by the Tribune.
