Seven Saints
My friend Shirley asked our server what the significance of the name of this new downtown Champaign bar was, and the server said that the "seven" was because the place is "the seventh endeavor of the Nieto brothers." She didn't know what was behind the "saints" portion of the name, but it's catchy.In case you weren't aware that a new bar-restaurant had opened, it's just east of the Esquire. The Esquire is on the corner of University and Walnut, and Seven Saints is on the corner of University and Market (Mike & Molly's is around the corner on Market). They don't have a Web site or you know I'd send you there. I did attempt some photos of the menu, so you can make do with that till they get a snappy site like they have for Jupiter's and Cowboy Monkey.
We were there right at five o'clock on Sunday, and they had just opened for the day ( a notice on the door indicates that they'll open for lunch "soon"). The inside is all dark wood and big windows—definitely a good date place.
The specialty cocktail menu looked good; the usual martinis, plus Manhattans (Maker's Mark and sweet vermouth; you don't see those on the menu often) and a "lemon shake-up"—lemons, sugar, vodka, and raspberry puree (kicked myself for not trying that one; I adore lemon shake-ups and the addition of vodka and raspberries could never be bad).The appetizer menu was varied and extensive; of the beet chips with goat-cheese sauce, our server said that it was unique, that she didn't think anyone else in the area had them. Clearly, she hasn't been to Crane Alley in Urbana, where that exact item has been on the menu since Day 1. Still, they are great, so why not have them available in Champaign as well?
There are also sandwiches and a whole page of various flavors of "sliders" (2.5-ounce burgers):
many salads, including a smoked-salmon one that sounded delicious,
combination plates, and entrée specials (salmon and two filet of beef offerings the night we were there), so you could go for a small bite or a pretty elegant dinner. There is also outdoor seating; cut-above-average tables line the University Ave. side.
I ordered a combination plate consisting of a slider (the "Black Jack," with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, and fried jalapeno slices), a cup of soup (tomato bisque that day), and a half-salad ("black and blue"—blue cheese, steak slices, portabellos). The little burger was tasty; the salad was rather heavy,
although what do you expect when you order a salad that has blue cheese and steak on it (I don't think I chose the right salad for the combo; should've ordered a lighter one with the burger), and the soup, once I sent it back to be heated, was deliciously creamy.
Shirley had a divine-looking sandwich of grilled sourdough bread, chopped portabellos and red peppers, and two cheeses (didn't get a decent photo, unfortunately). And Esther ordered the salmon "slider"—a mini salmon fillet on the burger bun, with ruffle-cut sweet-potato fries (not all sliders are burger-based; there are chicken ones as well as a brat...?).A nice bar that seems to aspire to be more restaurant than cocktail lounge. I didn't have a dinner special, so I can't vouch for the entrées, but obviously, with the wide variety of nontraditional bar food, it's not just a drinking destination. I found myself wondering if the ribeye sandwich, at $9.95, was that much better than my usual favorite, the Esquire's, at $6.75, but, you know, if you want the more elegant atmosphere, you're going to pay for it.
At the rate they're going, pretty soon we'll probably have a Nieto venue called "The Ten Spot."
Labels: restaurants
posted by Lisa at 6:27 AM
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25 Comments:
The girl who cuts my hair is also a bartender there and she was raving about the food. It's definitely on my summer to-do list. I love sweet potato fries ...
Giggle on the "The Ten Spot."
Thanks for the heads-up about their open status and the lovely pics! Charmed and I have been waiting for this to open ever since we saw the article in the NG (I think?) Looks lovely....
Mmmm, beet chips with a goat cheese sauce. Oh goodness, I want those now.
Lisa... wonderful review!
How does one contact you about an interview about your blog? I can't find an email address on your site.
LBOTP, I'm with you on sweet-potato fries. Good stuff.
Lucky, I'll be looking for your review.
Hi Peabody: I hear you!
Anonymous: If you click on "View My Complete Profile" in the About Me section of the right sidebar, you'll find my e-mail address.
I can't wait to try this place. My husband will love trying every single one of those sliders and that salad has my name written all over it.
By the way--thank you for the Jim Gould's breakfast review. At your suggestion, I took my husband there for his birthday and it is hands down--the best breakfast in C-U. He had the eggs benedict. I had the smoked ham and cheddar omelet. Perfection!
Thanks for the review! A friend of a friend is on waitstaff there and she claims it has the best food of any of the Nieto Bros. places. Looking at the menu you posted, she might be right...
Stephanie, I'm so glad you enjoyed the JG breakfast. As someone commented in my post about it, it's the best kept secret in town.
Hi Neel, that may be true. Next time I go, I want to try the fried cheese curds with marinara.
The buffalo chicken slider is AWESOME! Someone asked what my favorite slider was, I replied "The one I'm eating at the time!" They are all so good!
Thanks for the review...can't wait to check it out.
Have you been to Escobar's yet? Its on our list.
Jenna, it's my pleasure to do these reports, believe me! And yes, I have been to Escobar's, as it happens. If you click on "More Champaign Taste" in the right-hand sidebar, you'll find a list of all my reports on restaurants (the list is near the bottom, under all of the recipes).
Any vegetarian (i.e, black bean) sliders? That would totally get me there.
Want to hear something truly bizarre? I'm allergic to beets. Found this out when I had a CSA share and ate one. My throat started to burn. Called my allergist who said to definitely not eat them again. Its weird because I always noticed a tickle in my throat when I ate a particular organic yogurt that was colored with beet juice.
I'll try this place out when I return to work after my maternity leave. I am sure I can talk some coworkers into giving it a try.
This definitely sounds like a place I want to try out this summer.
The chicken fingers description is funny, as it says you have a choice of two sides, and then proceeds to list five. :-P
At any rate, thanks for once again being the guinea pig for the rest of us, and for providing such an awesome account of your experience there, replete with photos!
Leeanthro: I called, and they do not have any veggie sliders, unfortunately (the girl on the phone offered that they have turkey, salmon, and chicken ones, obviously hoping that somehow I could think of those as vegetarian!). There are a couple of veggie (grilled cheesey) sandwiches, but no slider.
I don't believe I've ever heard of another person who was allergic to beets! Obviously, you'll choose a different appetizer.
Matthew: Pleasure is all mine, thanks!
Great article! My friends wanted to go there, but I hadn't heard of it. A quick Google search came up with your site - I've now bookmarked it. Love the photos, and thank you so much for clueing me in as to what a slider was. Hope you get a little something when they really do open a Ten Spot!
Went for lunch yesterday...not crowded (I had a kind late lunch). Attractive servers (surprise), but service somewhat slow. Sliders were good, best I thought was the buffalo chicken one, quite spicy. Sweet potato fries the best I have had in town. Price point pretty good, slightly high for pub food. Nice atmosphere. Lotta places downtown!!
In case no one realizes: the fried cheese curds are made with fresh all natural cheese curds from the Ropp Jersey Cheese Store in Normal, Illinois. Their panache for insisting on using only their Jersey cow milk (higher in clacium and protein content, which I have found is why it makes fabulous cheese)with no preservatives, anitbiotic's or hormones, along with Seven Saints great recipe makes for a winning combination !!!
FYI, they now offer the sliders with veggie burger patties. I tried the one with the fried jalapenos with a veggie burger and it was yummy! Plus, they give you a full size veggie burger, so a single slider ends up being pretty filling.
Anon1: Thanks for the kind words about the blog.
Anon 2: I'll have to try the buffalo chicken slider...
Miss Christy: Thanks for the info; I did know that they use the Ropp dairy curds. And the curds are GOOD!
Anon 3: Thanks for the tip on the veggie slider; many other people will be interested in that, too. Not sure how the full-size burger is fitting on the little bun, but . . . the fried jalapenos are great. I had those on one of the sliders I've tried -- yum.
Funny that people should leave claims of wonderful curds when the aforementioned fried cheese curds are the reason I won't enter this bar again. If your definition of good cheese curds is a large glob of cheese with random breading intermingled throughout, then this is your place. As for me, I'll stick with culver's subpar cheese curds when I'm stuck with a craving south of Chicago.
Ajna: Sounds like the curds were not having a good day when you had them. Admittedly, I'm no fried-cheese-curds connoisseur, but I found them to be delicious.
The food is pretty good, but I've been twice now, once at night and once for lunch, and the service both times was SLOW SLOW SLOW. Like 45 minutes from ordering til we saw food slow. At LUNCH. Unacceptable for a weekday lunch when people are obviously on the clock. Each time they also got something about orders wrong (didn't bring appetizer, or brought wrong food, or forgot drinks or a combination of the three). They really need to work on service.
Anon: Wow, that is not good. I haven't been in for a while, but the times I've gone, the service has been fine—no food mix-ups, no long waits. Bad service at any time isn't acceptable, but especially at lunchtime . . .
We used to LOVE love love this place. Went to it whenever we were in town. The last two times we've been there have been really bad. The house wines by the glass are awful. Really. The food is not even close to it was when it first opened. The wait staff - unattentive. I'm sorry. I really want this place to be good. It's such a cool place to hang out. Maybe we'll give it one more try before we write it off forever... PS - last time I was there was November 2008
Anon, as it happens, I was there this past week for lunch. My California turkey burger slider was delicious, the tomato bisque was the same as always, and the waffle fries were great. Our server was also very good; she was right on top of things. And our food wasn't slow in coming to us. So, maybe there were strange glitches the last couple of times you were there? Don't know, but I'd say give it another chance, because while I'm not at all a regular, my recent experience was very good and it made me want to go in more often. (I didn't have wine at lunch this week, though, so I can't speak to that, only the food and service.)
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