Clark Street between Belmont Avenue and Wrigley Field is distinguished by a motley assortment of ethnic eateries. You’ll find Japanese, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Ethiopian, and Philippine restaurants along that stretch. American food tends to be limited to hot dogs and hamburgers with one interesting exception–Joel’s Theatre Cafe.
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The decor suggests a 1940s supper club. Dark gray predominates on walls, on the ceiling, and in the carpeting. Here and there purple neon tubes snake behind molding and brick glass, casting a dim violet glow over the main room, which contains the bar. Photos of some of Hollywood’s more prominent denizens, including a young Humphrey Bogart complete with slicked-down hair, adorn its walls. The small outer room, a few steps up and to your immediate left as you enter, sports posters of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, and looks out onto Clark Street through floor-to-ceiling windows. Dusky rose oilcloth covers the small tables, and squared-off tubular steel chairs provide comfortable, no-nonsense seating. When the weather is good, one can dine amid the shrubbery of a very pretty back patio.
The soup and pasta dishes come with a house salad. Ours consisted of romaine lettuce, fresh mushroom slices, and strips of roasted red peppers doused in a soupy, sweetish, undistinguished vinaigrette. Sprinkled with overly roasted pine nuts, it was a nondescript version of the genre.
The pleasant house wine, Olarra Anares, comes from Spain and can be had by the glass ($2.75) or bottle ($11). A small wine list is available along with a small selection of beers.
