This is Disney meets Hemingway plopped down on the fringes of a ubiquitous shopping mall parking lot in the western suburbs. The decor is decidedly over-the-top in trying to create a tropical cabana feel on the concrete expanse of chain-restaurant row, complete with towering palm trees, spouting geysers, and waterfalls aplenty. If nothing else, this busy milieu acts as a welcome diversion while waiting out the inevitable pager distribution on busy weekend nights. Thankfully, the menu is far less blatant in its pursuit of the diner's fawning attention, but alas, with mostly good reason.

The seafood dishes lean heavily toward the Caribbean, with small measures of Cajun and contemporary American influences interspersed sparingly for variety's sake. Pasta dishes and meats make their requisite appearances as well, along with a sizable selection of expensive appetizers and mixed drinks. On the whole, the prices seem to suggest that the conceptual combination of featuring seafood, along with having the supposedly bold vision of not joining the parade of predictable cookie-cutter bar-and-grills in this part of the world, is justification enough for a hefty check as dessert, but only occasionally does the product at hand really measure up to this unspoken mission statement. An ample bar is also featured.

Centerstage Reviewer: Mark Loehrke