Tivoli - yet another place I want to like

In looking for a place to eat a couple of weeks ago, I ran across an ad for Tivoli Ristorante in West Chicago. Appeared to be a somewhat upscale Italian joint that has been open for about a year, but "relaunched" this summer with a new chef who they got from the kitchen of Tru. Checked out some online comments that were generally good, tho no one I know had ever been.

So, last Friday we went. I did not realize West Chicago extended so far north, as I think this place is really in South Elgin.

Big place with a bar and decent size and pleasant enough dining room. Maybe 20 tables, of which no more than 3 or 4 were ever full on on the Friday evening we were there. Now I see why they already needed a re-launch, and I have to admit to some real doubts as to whether the place will survive very long.

Okay wine list with a small number of interesting Italian options, though we brought our own. $10 corkage is reasonable. Good bread and olive oil options. For first time customers, they provide a complementary bruschetta combo - traditional, alla margherita and caponata topped. They were good.

From there we moved on to the Mussels Diavolo appetizer. In the spirit of disclosure, I must admit the attraction of the diavolo preparation has always eluded me, as have most spicy Italian dishes - I love chiles in most cuisines, but I have never liked them much in Italian food. In this case, the heat level was not the problem, though the thick sauce sort of overwhelmed the mussels, and the mussels themselves were a bit rubbery.

The Bride and I had agreed to share courses, and she wanted the Rigatoni alla Vodka. This was also pretty good, properly cooked pasta, decent sauce, and the order was not too large when shared. Generally enjoyable.

I got to choose the meat course, and went for the Pork Chop Calabrese. I ordered the chops medium, and was very pleased when they arrived with a touch of pink in the center, prettily surrounded by multi-color peppers and onions, and roasted potatoes. The chops had a nice cross-hatch of char, a slight whiff of wood-smoke to them and I was excited. Disappointed, too, as I chowed down - seasoning was minimal, to say the least. No salt, no slight touch of vinegar or olive oil in the vegetables, and not even salt or pepper shakers on the table (which I admire in principle, but not so much when I feel in need of salt). Pretty well prepared, but the seasoning was not there.

We moved into the bar afterwards for dinner and some drinks, while a young lady performed professional karaoke (singing sweetly over recorded backgrounds). Decent but overpriced port selections, some good whiskey and a pleasant room. To my surprise, Judy Roberts performs there on Thursday and Saturday.

We had an unmemorable, but okay dessert. So unmemorable, in fact, that I cannot remember what it was.

I think we will go back to the Tivoli, probably on a Thursday night. There is an attraction in the dinner/lounge concept and not a lot of other places are doing it. My guess is that the menu is a collection of hits and misses, but the worst of it was mediocre, not awful, so I bet we can find a few winners and have a good time. Prices are reasonable, as you can see on the web site. Go soon while you still can if you are interested in dinner and entertainment in West Chicago.

Thanks for posting this. Tivoli has been on my radar for a while so I'm glad you tried it for me! I also recently read that Judy Roberts was performing there so I think I'll give it a try.

Hubby and I had an absolutely fabulous dinner at Tivoli a while back when we went to see a friend, Heather Moran sing cabaret songs.
We went for Heather, and said, well, what the heck, we'll eat something while we're in the bar. OMG It was awesome- I had a breaded veal chop special that had to be the best veal chop I've ever had, and I have had more than a few! I think Hubby had something more traditional, (I can't remember, because honestly all I can remember is the veal chop, (and how far a drive it was LOL) but I do remember everything we ate was wonderful, even the bread and oil were first rate.
We haven't been back because it is such a schlep from Deerfield, but I sure wouldn't hesitate to recommend the food!