Looking forward to the 26th....gonna be a great night ...

The best of success with the Cottage's very fitting, inaugural weekend opening! Your menu's most promising, gourmet cuisine, combined with your extremely well designed and beautifully appointed, upscale restaurant, should be a valuable offering for all of us living in the south suburban region and beyond!

Wishing you the best for your your brand new enterprise and what it may contribute to enriching Chicagoland's suburban diversity.

Brian Zakem, Flossmoor

Good luck guys. Can't wait to come in and sample.

Best wishes for the opening and beyond

can someone who goes give us a review and maybe some sample prices

You know what would be awesome? I just went to their side and noticed they're working with Mint Creek Fard and Nichols Farm- all of their CSA's are too far for me- it would be great if the Cottage was a pickup point for those of us who would like to join, and it would certainly encourage more people to eat there!

Ryan, all but the lamb meatball are on the menu!

Will the wine list be on-line soon?

the wine list, I predict, will be outstanding with price points for for all tastes.

Wishing you a great opening. Can't wait to try it out. Barb Segoviano Zartuche.

Witkus - do you care to explain why you have a bizarre interest in ranting incoherently about this restaurant opening?

I would like to say that I am sorry for using this particular venue for voicing my opinion. It was inappropriate and I suppose I should channel my anger elsewhere as I am sure there are many people who have jobs at the cottage. It is a very difficult time for many out there and I hope that the restaurant does well as it is providing work for persons who need it. I will sign off and not bother you all again. Please accept my apologies and good luck to all

jsun - I'm the one who first challenged Mr. Witkus's comments as odd. He retracted them and apologized. Good for him! Shouldn't we all just leave it at that and wish the restaurant well?

i was going to leave this alone and I have apologized for using this venue COMMANDER 43. However, if you would like to continue this conversation I will ablige you since you have such a strong feeling about politics, which I did not include in my assessment of the "COD". I certainly appreciate that you have also dissected my comments and I really love the abbreviation. Care to speak more formally? Here's my email mwitkus73@gmail.com

Can't we all just get along!!!? :)

I attended the grand opening with my wife. We sat at the bar and ordered drinks, appetizers, and shared the seared duck entree. Here's my quick view of our dining experience:

Ambiance

High marks for the renovations, bar area, and open seating behind the hostess stand. The general dining area tables are somewhat unimpressive for an upscale restaurant (no booths).

Cleanliness

It's brand new and looks it. The ceiling is open with large, wooden beams hence the "cottage" name.

Service

A very busy night and a few food orders were a bit late. Very attentive service at the bar, very personable. Bar staff know the menu and can provide guidance.

Food

Seared duck was excellent. The pork pate appetizer (not the real name) from the Brittany, France menu was excellent. We were not impressed with the blue corn crab fritters and I think they should consider crab cakes. We ordered dessert but they forgot to bring it (but they do their own baking onsite).

We enjoyed ourselves (the bar area was lively and we met people from all over the south suburbs) and plan to return. This restaurant will not appeal to the masses as the entrees are not meant to be shared (we do this quite a bit these days) and there are no menu bargains. I also wonder why there are no local craft beer offerings (Three Floyds or Flossmoor Brewery).

Food - Really ? That's what I deeply wanted to say the entire night. Very nice presentation and all but seemed more suited for a museum type atmosphere. Only good to look at is all. Crispy Duck Angelotti was mediocre in terms of taste. For me it was like a Thanksgiving dinner in a pastry. Think Violet Beauregarde. Warm Forest Salad was like porridge with very sad mushrooms with no flavor at all. The grilled NY strip had to come from an animal that follows Dr. Oz's heart healthy advice. Very lean and without much girth including flavor. Nothing was a standout that came across the table.
For what we regretfully spent Saturday I now wish for that full tank of gas I would have had to go to all the lower scaled restaurants in the south suburbs that are not so pretentious. Au Revoir The Cottage In Homewood !!

Miss O

This was a thumbs down experience with out a doubt. For months during the renovation process we looked forward to coming and discovering a new spot to have date night. What a disappointment !!
Ambiance - Very nice décor with looking like a pottery barn catalog. The lighting was beautiful and interesting to gaze at while waiting and waiting for our order. The curtain type dividers reminded me of the same dividers at the YMCA gym I used to go to many years back. Not sure how practical those would be in some of the high traffic areas but uniformity can be good. The floor seemed like cheap remnants pieced together from a carpet outlet. Cheap on padding it seemed. The tables were way to close which lends itself to conversation surfing. The couple sitting next to us had a hard time having their own conversation because they seemed so interested in ours. I was positive the gentlemen could see my uvula in HD.
Service - Terrible ... Food took forever to come out. Had to ask for silverware after the food came. The silverware size apparently was made for amazon type individuals because I could not get the fork tines and the food in my mouth without feeling the need to unhinge my lower mandible.

Interesting that "The commander 43" could recite and type the entire wine list on the opening night at 8:08 pm? I would suggest that "The Commander" is actually personnel of the management of the cottage "posing" as a Homewood-Flossmoor resident. Just Sayin...