Chalkboard

My husband and I have made this our regular place for a nice dinner out. We found it last summer when wandering around North Center and we are certainly glad we did!

We are both vegetarians, but they always have a great vegetarian entree option and our all time favorite dish, the smoked gouda macaroni and cheese is a menu staple. We've also ordered the beet salad, the chalkboard salad and the cookie dough egg rolls for dessert. Everything we have ever had here, we have loved, not liked, loved.

On top of the food, the waiter is amazingly attentive, extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the menu and he's a great bartender!

My husband and I aren't big drinkers, but one evening we were wanting something other than water so my husband asked if they had lemonade. The waiter said that they didn't but that he could mix up a lemon spritzer for us and it was perfectly refreshing.

My only sad remark is that we've never seen it packed. I really hope it is just a coincidence and that this place isn't in trouble. I'm not sure what we would do if they closed. This is by far, North Center's best restaurant.

Every time we walked by Chalkboard and peered in to see the adorable decor, we promised we'd have to dine there some night. A few years later, we finally made a reservation at this local restaurant for a nice dinner out.

Really charming interior - loved the décor, lighting and layout, including the menu on the huge chalkboard. It all comes together to make for an intimate and warm dining experience.
Unlike some reviews posted here, we experienced excellent service all around. From the hostess, the bus boys to our waiter, everyone was extremely helpful and friendly.

To start things off we ordered the crab croquettes and they were excellent - crispy and savory, served with a Dijon and parsley aioli. Also absolutely LOVED the home made biscuit that was still fresh and hot off the oven. So far, things tasted great and I was highly anticipating my entrée.

I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken which is their specialty. It was a HUGE portion, so much so that I only managed to eat about a third of it. It was very crunchy which I liked, but a bit too salty for my taste and nothing special. The chicken was served over mashed potatoes, white sausage gravy and some tasty collard greens.  I would have much rather preferred to have a piece of Popeye's chicken on my plate instead... especially for $25. The entrée made me wish I had just ordered like 2-3 orders of the croquettes we had as appetizers.

After a disappointing entrée, we looked at dessert for redemption. I ordered the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Egg Roll and the disappointment continued. It was a bit stale and the best part of it was the chocolate ice cream. My husband ordered the flourless chocolate cake with strawberry puree and was underwhelmed as well, especially since our server told us it came with vanilla ice cream but it was served without.

Overall we had a pleasant night out dining somewhere fancier than usual and supporting a local business that also uses local, organic and sustainable ingredients. The ambiance and service was great, however for the quality of the food, the prices are a bit too high and we probably won't venture back here again.

The place is very quaint and romantic. The menu is written on the chalkboard which is charming, however, it gives no descriptions, which I found a little annoying because I wanted to know how everything was prepared and what went with it. After asking the waiter to describe several dishes, I gave up asking and it was hard for me to remember what he did say. Perhaps it would be a good idea, if they had a few paper menus available for those like me that have poor memories.

The food was good but had some flaws; the cheese plate had a nice selection, but the crackers were stale, our Gnocchi was a little tough and most likely not house made; however the sauce was very flavorful. The steak in the mushroom sauce was delicious, but could have used less truffel oil and the brussel sprouts were a little undercooked and lacked flavor.

I will definitely give it another try.