Still Life Cafe enlarges the palate
Enter the Still Life Cafe in Wrigleyville, and you'll find your eyes flitting in several directions at once: at the wall clocks made of random objects (including a diary and even a shoe); at the walls themselves (one brick, the others painted a funky mix of yellow and purple); and at the restaurant's namesake series of still-life paintings, including a fifty-year-old lithograph with a dramatic personal history for co-owner Bronya Katarovich.
But of course, you came for the food, and you can even look at that before you order instead of read- ing about it on the menu. Spread out within a series of glass cases are virtually all of the restaurant's unusually eclectic menu items. Whether you're craving a seven-layer tortilla pie or blackwing ostrich meatballs à la Moldova, Hungarian pork paprikash or Southwestern meatloaf, this is one restaurant where you don't have to worry about finding something to suit your taste. "I always had a passion for food," says Katarovich, who emigrated from Russia in 1979. "I could never cook on a daily basis, just dinner, dinner, dinner. I've always liked cooking for friends, family and guests."
Bronya and her partner, fellow Russian immigrant Slava Fromkin, have been serving their guests for a year now at 3647 North Southport. They opened the cafe last April, after she spent fifteen years as a systems analyst for an insurance company. "Now I can apply my skills to the cash register," she jokes.
The partners met after their families entered the United States, and Slava's wife baby-sat Bronya's daughter, Sara. Sara has chipped in plenty at the restaurant, waitressing some nights and weekends after hitting high school during the day. And Sara's not the only family connection. Bronya's husband, Anatoly, designs the loopy wall clocks as a hobby, and the aforementioned lithograph--displaying a bowl of fruit--has been in Anatoly's family since 1946.
"The lithograph was bought by his mother right after the war from a soldier who brought it back from the battlefields," says Slava. "She bought it in times of hunger and impressed that on him, so he always saw how vital art could be and now he does the art on the walls." The other major player at the Still Life is 27-year-old chef Sergey Tabachnikov, who attended the Chicago Culinary School on the prestigious Charlie Trotter Scholarship. Although it takes a fine-dining tack, the restaurant prompts patrons to take a chance on unusual dishes by keeping prices affordable. The ostrich meatballs, served over pasta with caramelized carrots and sautéed wild mushrooms, run just $11.95. Everything else on the menu is under ten bucks, including chicken Wellington with mush- room sauce at $5.25 and the tortilla pie at $5.95. Even the sodas come in 20-ounce bottles for 95 cents.
The Still Life also offers weekend breakfasts ranging from Russian blini pancakes ($4.95) and spinach
quiche ($5.25) to the more-traditional omelets, cereals and French toasts. In the summer, diners can
enjoy outdoor seating while selecting from both the dinner menus and an equally creative sandwich
selection. Sesame-cilantro chicken and sun-dried tomato are two of the options available for $5.95,
with a host of unusual veggies mixed into each.
"I think it's a perfect place to have dinner in a casual atmosphere. I come from a family where serv-
ing food for people was an enjoyment," says Slava. "It's giving pleasure to people in some way."
by Carl Kozlowski
Souk, 1552 North Milwaukee, (773)227-9110 is open daily for dinner and Sundays for brunch. Entrées are $15-$22. A five-course prix fixe dinner is available for $35. Most credit cards are accepted.
copyright 1998 New City Communications, Inc.