My wife and I decided to go out Saturday and give Bite Bistro a try. I have heard really good things about Bite Bistro and have wanted to visit them for awhile but I am never down that way. I have to tell you if I drove by this place and didn't know that they served good food I would keep driving. There is a tiny chalkboard on the sidewalk and sign in the window that says Bite Bistro and that is it. The interior didn't look much better, some random pictures and paintings on the wall with no real purpose, it just has that dive feel to it.
We had reservations for 6 but got there early at 5:30 and they sat us right away which was nice rather than having to wait. They have a chalkboard menu at Bite and everything on it sounded great. I must say that they have a lot of vegan and vegetarian options which is different than most places that have the one vegetarian dish and that's it. We took a risk and got the four course tasting menu. Everything I got was different than what my wife got and our waiter told us that was to make sure we shared to get all the flavors, so really it was like an eight course tasting.
Our salad course came out first and I got the beet salad and my wife got some type of deconstructed salad also. The beet salad was okay, everything was pretty much one flavor. The pickled beets were great they had a sweet flavor and were nice and crunchy. The rest of the beets on the plate really had no flavor, the sliced beets, beet pure and the beet powder were all just one flavor and really mild flavor at that. My wife's dish I really didn't taste it, it had pickled bets also with cauliflower and olive dust on it. The dish looked good and my wife liked it but I can't comment on the taste of it. 
Second course was the soup course, I received a miso soup with parsley oil and my wife got a carrot soup with diced apples. My wife loved the carrot soup after wanting to switch me before she even tasted it because she thought she wouldn't like it. It was a thick carrot soup with a nice natural sweetness and the apples paired well with the carrots. The thickness of this soup I would almost compare to a porridge. My miso soup was so salty it was hard to get past a few spoonfuls. The soup had wonderful flavors especially when you got a drop of the parsley oil in your spoon. The salt killed the soup though it was overbearing and it took almost a full glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth. I know miso is supposed to be salty but this was like someone dropped the box of salt in the soup.
Our main course was next and I got the seared duck breast and my wife got something that wasn't even on the menu, braised pig cheeks. My duck was some of the best duck I have ever had. The skin was crispy, it still had a thin layer of fat underneath, and it was cooked perfectly. The duck was juicy and tender and like I said it was the best I have had. Under the duck was granola, brussels and a carrot pure. The granola was strange but was awesome, it was almost like rice under the breast because it soaked up the juices and the carrots but it was crunchy where it wasn't touching anything. The brussels were firm and still had a nice crunch, they were not over cooked at all. The carrot pure gave the dish the sweetness it needed to pull it all the elements together. My wife's dish was different but really good. On her dish was three pig cheeks over a potato and white bean hash topped with wilted kale. The cheeks were fork tender and tasted just like a pork roast would. The has was something that you would love to have at breakfast and worked great with the cheeks. It was a new twist on a classic meat and potato dish. The kale was coked in the miso soup which added a very nice salty aspect to the dish along with the bitterness of the kale. What really pulled the dish together was the pan gravy that was under everything, again it was just like a deconstructed pork pot roast classic dinner with a twist.
Lastly was the dessert dish, I got the grapefruit sorbet while my wife got the cheese plate. When I think of dessert I think of sweet and sticky. Needless to say we were a bit disappointed with the chefs choices but oh well that is what happens when you get the tasting menu. The cheese plate was a blue cheese topped with thinly sliced apples, honey and candied walnuts. The cheese was creamy but it wasn't a really strong blue cheese. The sweetness of the honey and walnuts complemented the pungent taste of the cheese. Overall it was a pretty good dish for a savory dessert. My grapefruit sorbet was very tart. I have never been a fan of grapefruit so this dish wasn't my favorite but I will do my best to review it. It was tart fresh red grapefruit topped with the grapefruit sorbet with a grapefruit foam on top. It was all the same flavor the whole way through just different textures. The sorbet was nice it wasn't overly frozen so it wasn't like a slushy. The foam was different, it was hard but as soon as it touched your tongue it melted. Would I go back? For sure, all of the dishes didn't impress me but the duck shows what they can do. When we go back I think we will just order off the menu, that way I know we are getting something we will like for sure. The tasting menu was an experience for sure and if you are adventurous this is the way to go. The decor leaves a lot to be desired but the food makes up for that. It is a bit out of the way but it was worth the trip.
Overall 8.5 of 10
Price 9.5 of 10
Food 8 of 10
Service 8 of 10
565 Lincoln Ave
