Lucca's review

We tried out Lucca's last night, after it started pouring and we realized we wouldn't be eating outside. (We had earlier been wandering around trying to find an outdoor spot in the Wrigley area.) But Lucca's is so airy, with their doors and windows open, the moist air was just fine with us.

Tuesdays are 1/2 price bottles of wine! We didn't know, so this was a nice surprise. The list isn't huge, but we had a normally-45$-priced bottle of CA CigarZinfandel for 22 bucks. High alcohol content, & a very nice heavy taste and feel.

I was surprised at how much the menu is Mediterranean-influenced. I went in there expecting Italian. For example, the pasta dish we shared was Tagliatelle, mixed with melted brie, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and spinach. Funny ingredients, but it worked well. A bit salty, probably from the olives, because there were many (crushed and already pitted). Stood up well to the wine.
We then shared two appetizers, one was proscuitto with parm. cheese, fresh peaches, almonds, arugula, and honey-thyme dressing. This was difficult for me to share, I liked it so much. The other was mushroom 'pancakes' with balsamic syrup. One or two bites was enough for me, they were completely soaked with the syrup, but the extra on the plate I dipped my salad bites into, making a great combination.

We left pretty full, content, and tipsy

I've also had good experiences at Lucca, especially regarding the appetizers. I've been there a number of times due to its proximity to the Athenaeum theater (where Mrs. JiLS is frequently on stage). The reason I am writing, though, is to thank you for tipping me off to the presence of the Cosentino CigarZin on Lucca's wine list, which is one of my top 10 all-time favorite wines (and wineries). Not sure if it was there at my last visit (about 10 months ago). The wine's odd name reflects the almost port-like fruitiness (you could drink it with a cigar, if you liked that sort of thing). And the high alcohol content is not unique to Cosentino -- a lot of Zins I've had lately have been running extraordinarily hot, some up above 16%. CigarZin is a bargain at $45 in a restaurant (it's been retailing somewhere around $30 to $35 lately); $22 was an absolute steal!

JimInLoganSquare wrote:extraordinarily hot, some up above 16%. CigarZin is a bargain at $45 in a restaurant (it's been retailing somewhere around $30 to $35 lately)

I think Binny's has it for under 20 bucks.