Gio of Evanston

Gio in Evanston was mentioned in the Professional forum but not reviewed.I searched LTH,egullet and CH.CH provided barebone info.If you visited Gio,what did you think?

TIA,
hattyn

hattyn wrote:Gio in Evanston was mentioned in the Professional forum but not reviewed.I searched LTH,egullet and CH.CH provided barebone info.If you visited Gio,what did you think?

I remember walking past Gio just as it opened and looking at the menu. It sounded like pretty standard Italian, so I didn't rush to go there. But I did finally go there a few months ago - I don't remember what I had, but it far exceeded expectations. Don't quite expect Va Pensiero, but it's not that far away. It's owned by the same people who own Tapas Barcelona, right down the street.

Here's some info from obvious sources:

http://www1.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/r ... &numb=2574

http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/3 ... rofile_2_1

I hate all the advertising on the latter site. (And that from an ad guy ...maybe someday they'll get it right.)

Gio's is pretty standard Italian (more Northern than Southern - like Dave's Italian Kitchen nearby). They are known for their "creative" pizzas - crispy crust with the standard nouvelle toppings. It is a convenient place for Northwestern faculty and students, especially for lunch. Their food is pleasant enough, but nothing worth going out of the way for. I would not place Gio anywhere near Va Pensiero in the quality of the food, but, of course, the prices are nowhere near the same either. If you need to eat near Northwestern, it is not a bad choice.

As GAF says above, Gio cannot be compared to Va Pensiero--for price or quality. Given their prices, I'd say the restaurant is trying to take away some business from Dave's Italian Kitchen next door, although Gio's preparations and ingredients seem more "authentic" than Dave's. On my only trip there, I tried a pasta with Italian sausage in a creamy tomato sauce. While the pasta was overcooked and the sauce a bit too rich, the dish was pretty good. My wife's pasta with bolognese sauce was decent as well, though the meat to sauce ratio was too high. Overall, my initial impression of Gio was that it is a much better value than Dave's--but then I don't hold that establishment in very high regard. I am curious about the quality of the pizzas--does their taste match their attractive appearance? Also, has the recently reopened Campagnola reinstituted its bifurcated status--that is, are they serving an expensive menu upstairs and a cheaper one downstairs? If so, I'll be heading there to satisfy my pasta cravings very soon. The downstairs incarnation of Campagnola was a great place--an inventive menu that was well executed at a reasonable price.

Thanks.The only establishment in this thread that I have visited is Dave's so I have nothing to compare.

I've been to Gio's three times, but can't say I walked away really impressed any of those times (a friend worked as a waitress there, which explains two of the visits...the third was b/c the wait at Tapas Barcelona was too long for our large group).

The pizzas are pretty tasty, but the two times I ordered entrees, they weren't particularly good. I had a salmon entree that was too dry and a chicken dish that I wasn't too fond of either. (Sorry can't be more specific, but it's been awhile since I was last there). They do have a mussel appetizer in a saffron? broth, that was quite good. If I went back, I'd stick to the pizzas.

Gio seems the opposite of Dave's.I seem to like the pastas and calzones more than the pizza at Dave's.

Had dinner at Gio's tonight. I have only been there once before and I had the Cioppino then. I was going to have that again, when one of the specials caught my attention.





Black Pepper Parpadelle with Arugula, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Octopus, Shrimp and Scallops

Long description, but that is what the waiter called it... word for word.... It was a really good dish. Generous amounts of seafood, the bitterness of the arugula was nicely complemented by the sweetness of the asparagus. Pasta was perfectly cooked, sauce was light... And like something out of the movies, when the waiter set the plate down, the sunlight shone upon the plate...

CrazyC wrote:And like something out of the movies, when the waiter set the plate down, the sunlight shone upon the plate...

Making for a really nice picture!

I went to Gio for dinner last month and it was just not very good. The mixed grill consisted of three items: a beef sirloin ordered medium and served rare; a veal scallopini that was overcooked; and a bland whitefish. All were overpowered because they were sitting in unidentifiable juice (au jus from the beef, perhaps). Just not very good. Someone else had one of their thin, crispy crust pizzas, which you might like if you like that style of pizza (I didn't and I don't). The desserts were actually pretty good, the high point of a not very good meal; they consisted of a very good white chocolate panna cotta, a very good flourless chocolate cake, a very good crostata which appeared as a pear crostata on the menu but was actually apple instead of pear; and overly tart chocolate-covered frozen grapes. The service was slow and indifferent.

Gio was at the top of my list for "worst meal in 2007" until I ate at Dave's Italian Kitchen last week, where everything was dreadful.

Evanston has enough very good Italian restaurants (e.g. Campagnola and the more upscale Va Pensiero; I haven't yet been to Trattoria DOC) that there's no excuse for a mediocre one.

I ate at Gio about a month and a half ago. I don't remember what we had, but I do remember leaving with a feeling that confirmed my previous impression of the place - bleh.

But I don't think the comparison with Dave's Italian Kitchen is apt, even though the two places are virtually next door to each other. Gio tries to be more upscale; it's certainly pricier. Despite that, I think Dave's has a comparable or even better wine list, with lower markups.

nr706 wrote:I don't think the comparison with Dave's Italian Kitchen is apt, even though the two places are virtually next door to each other.

I agree. They are different kinds of places. Dave's is an inexpensive family restaurant, whereas Gio is a medium-priced restaurant with a more creative menu. Based on my recent dinners, the one thing they have in common - aside from location - is that the food is terrible.

nsxtasy wrote:the one thing they have in common - aside from location - is that the food is terrible.

I don't mean to be a pain, but I think "terrible" is a bit harsh. I go into Dave's with low expectations (justified based on their pricing, vibe, etc.) and they meet those expectations. I go into Gio with mid-level expectations, and sometimes they almost reach them, sometimes not. But I've never had anything at either place that I'd call terrible - everything has been edible, maybe not as good as I can make at home, but not terrible (which, according to my dictionary, means "causing terror or fear" or "unpleasant; disagreeable").

nr706 wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:the one thing they have in common - aside from location - is that the food is terrible.

I don't mean to be a pain, but I think "terrible" is a bit harsh. I go into Dave's with low expectations (justified based on their pricing, vibe, etc.) and they meet those expectations. I go into Gio with mid-level expectations, and sometimes they almost reach them, sometimes not. But I've never had anything at either place that I'd call terrible - everything has been edible, maybe not as good as I can make at home, but not terrible (which, according to my dictionary, means "causing terror or fear" or "unpleasant; disagreeable").

The last two dinners I've had, the food at both has been terrible, meaning "unpleasant; disagreeable". I already described my bad food at Gio above. While my expectations for Dave's were lower, due to the low price, I expected edible, but that would be a highly generous and undeserved characterization of the food there. We had two dishes. One was veal in lemon sauce, which consisted of a few slices of veal with no breading and no taste, served over rotini in a liquid that I can only guess was the water in which the pasta was boiled. The dish had absolutely no lemon taste whatsoever. The other was a special, grilled chicken and provolone ravioli, in which the ravioli (including filling) had absolutely no taste, and were submerged in a tomato sauce that might have come from a jar at the supermarket (and from the cheap brand, too). Also, from the Department of Ewwww, I'd also like to know what the green-colored liquid in the olive oil dispensers on the tables is, because it sure doesn't taste like olive oil (although the serving of undistinguished bread without butter would lead one to expect it to be real olive oil).

I don't eat at expensive restaurants every time I eat out, and I don't expect the same thing when I'm paying $10 or $14 for an entree (the veal at Dave's is $13.95) as when I'm paying $20-30 or more. But I expect it to be better than, say, what I find in the frozen food department of my local supermarket. At both these meals, it wasn't; it was worse.

nsxtasy wrote:... (although the serving of undistinguished bread without butter would lead one to expect it to be real olive oil).

Were you served the sundried tomato olive oil spread with the bread? I really like that spread... A little different from regular butter...

I have liked the food both times I have been to Gio. First time was carpaccio and the seafood stew, and the second was posted above... I notice that the specials tend to be better executed though (from observations of my dining companions' meals). I agree about the mixed grill though. Even the waiter's description was not enticing.

What a terrific pair of photos. If only I could eat Crazy C's photos when I am brought to Gio's. For me, it has only been good enough for a nearby lunch, and this is based on a half dozen lunches. They have been the kind of meals that allow you to focus on the conversation.