My third and final 2015 Restaurant Week meal was lunch at Nightwood,  the Pilsen restaurant owned and operated by the Lula Cafe team. Located on an out-of-the-way corner — hey, at least there’s street parking — Nightwood is a pleasant spot with exposed brick walls, a windowed front wall and deeply 70’s leather chairs. I gather the outdoor patio is nice as well. I had wanted to try Nightwood for several years, but had not had a chance until now. That’s the great thing about Restaurant Week: I remember all those restaurants I have been meaning to try and then I get to try them for a bargain price.

Of my three Restaurant Week lunches, Nightwood was my least favorite. Not that it was bad; some of the dishes were very tasty. But of all three meals, this one was the least special and demonstrated the least creativity. Plus, it was by far the heaviest, which may have been in part the fault of my ordering. But when two of the three entree choices are a burger and a po’boy, both of which come with fries, you are likely to end up leaving with a guilty conscience.

My dining companion and I both started with salads. I quite like my grilled beets with blood orange segments, radicchio and goat cheese. It balanced sweet, bitter and earthy flavors with a welcome creaminess from the goat cheese. It definitely felt very seasonal and wintry. My friend was less enthusiastic about her spinach and endive salad with pear and fried sunchokes in a buttermilk-hemp seed dressing. It all sounded more interesting than it was.

Again the entree choices were a fried oyster po’boy, a double-patty cheeseburger or pasta. Woof. That’s a lunch that is guaranteed to have you asleep at your desk by 2 pm. Maybe I should’ve had the house-made cavatelli but I was too tempted by all the foodie buzzwords in the description of the fried oyster sandwich, including coppa, pickled ramp mayonnaise and cauliflower-pepper slaw.

The sandwich was delicious but it seemed light on oysters and heavy on bun. The cauliflower-pepper slaw was a bright spot, however, briny and crunchy. And the accompanying fries were outstanding. My friend and I both agreed that these were fries worth seeking out. But…I just don’t want to be tempted by delicious fries any more. Give me a nice piece of fish and some squash puree instead and let me go home in peace. Moreover, the Italian beef place near my house makes amazing fries. I do not need to drive to Pilsen for fries.

My dining companion ordered the double-patty cheeseburger and truly could not figure out how to pick it up. It was an impressive sight, no doubt. She liked it well enough, but it did not change her life. The fries on the other hand….

Dessert was where Nightwood, I thought, phoned it in for Restaurant Week. A scoop of ice cream or cookies? Really? After the amazing desserts at Blackbird and GT Fish & Oyster, these rather ordinary sweets left me cold. Sure, the honey goat cheese ice cream was tangy and rich, but the cookies were very ordinary. I make cookies as good as those were. They did not even warrant a photo.

The other problem with our meal at Nightwood was the pacing. The time between when our appetizer were cleared and our entrees arrived was too long and then I had to tell our server when we were ready for dessert. Lunch took two hours and I think both me and my friend would have liked it to take more like 90 minutes.

Nothing I experienced at Nightwood — maybe with the exception of the fries — made me want to rush back and that is a shame. Restaurant Week is a restaurant’s chance to tease a new diner with a small taste of what it can really do, and make that diner want to come back for more. Nightwood wasted the opportunity to land me as a customer.