Soprano's on Sheffield

Has anyone ever been? My husbands class reunion is there and I wondered what kind of place it is. Mine was in a Marriott ballroom so this place just sounds small. Just wondering.

I have dined there a few times, and also have been to a wedding post-rehearsal dinner there, in the private party area. The food is okay -- not great by foodie standards -- and there certainly are better Italian places even in Lincoln Park and Lakeview. However, you probably are not expecting to get a great meal at an event like that anyway. The banquet/private party room (which is relatively secluded, in the back of the restaurant) actually is quite nice, and the servers do a pretty good job with handling a good-sized crowd. That said, it's not a large room by any means -- hopefully your husband either went to a small high school or they aren't expecting much of a turn out.

I had 1000 in my graduating class and my hubby probably had around 300 or so. Thanks for the info!

JeanneBean wrote:Has anyone ever been? My husbands class reunion is there and I wondered what kind of place it is. Mine was in a Marriott ballroom so this place just sounds small. Just wondering.

Few years ago, we had a reunion in a big room at Steven's Steak House in Elmhurst -- frankly, I think a smaller room would have been more appealing (enforced intimacy, etc.). That said, just based on the name and my suspicious mind, this place sounds like a Disney-type Italian joint, and I'm amazed HBO hasn't rained charges of licensing violations upon it.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:That said, just based on the name and my suspicious mind, this place sounds like a Disney-type Italian joint, and I'm amazed HBO hasn't rained charges of licensing violations upon it.

I went to a wedding there a few years ago, and it's not Disney-type or too overly theme-y. No red checked tablecloths, for instance. I don't know about how they came up with the name, but I had the same suspicians and they were not borne out. It's a nice place, lots of sunlight, high ceilings and dark wood in the back, and the food is edible, which is more than I could say for a lot of the weddings I've been too. Would I go there just for dinner? No, I would have no reason to. But I think it's a great place for a high school reunion.

kl5 wrote:I went to a wedding there a few years ago, and it's not Disney-type or too overly theme-y. No red checked tablecloths, for instance. I don't know about how they came up with the name, but I had the same suspicians and they were not borne out. It's a nice place, lots of sunlight, high ceilings and dark wood in the back, and the food is edible, which is more than I could say for a lot of the weddings I've been too. Would I go there just for dinner? No, I would have no reason to. But I think it's a great place for a high school reunion.

Well, that's good to know -- I like edible food.

You ever been to the BadaBing in Berwyn?

Hammond

Here is a link to their website, with pictures of the private party room. The food isn't bad, but not great...It is kind of a Disney-type environment, but it has more character than a strip-mall Olive Garden, for example. The restaurant used to be called Vinny's when I lived in that neighborhood, and actually was pretty good.


http://www.sopranosrestaurant.com/

David Hammond wrote:You ever been to the BadaBing in Berwyn?

No, as my car steers on autopilot to White Fence Farm whenever I'm in the area. Is the BadaBing is an outfit-theme-Disney-Frank-playing-portrait-of-Noni-type joint of the type we've discussed here before?

Edit: Alright, I completely take back what I said about red checked tablecloths and the lack Disney-ness about the place, now that I've looked at the pictures on the website. It does look pretty over the top, way more than I remember from a few years ago. It wasn't too much like that when I was there for the wedding, but I guess they would lose some of the kitch for an event like that. Ouch.

kl5 wrote: No red checked tablecloths, for instance

First line on the site Ron linked to: "Sopranos has an authentic rustic Italian look with tables covered in red-checkered tablecloths," though none are seen in the picture. Looks a lot like Artie Bucco's place.

Hammond

kl5 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:You ever been to the BadaBing in Berwyn?

No, as my car steers on autopilot to White Fence Farm whenever I'm in the area. Is the BadaBing is an outfit-theme-Disney-Frank-playing-portrait-of-Noni-type joint of the type we've discussed here before?

I've only driven by it -- it may actually have been closed in the past year. I think there was a shooting or some other bad thing -- not surprising: I used to see large groups of guys standing in front, posing in leather jackets, a lot of Big Pussies. Silly.

Hammond

Before Soprano's was Soprano's, it was Carlucci Cafe. Despite asking the question of the manager more than once, I've never been quite clear as to whether the change to Soprano's was simply a name change, a change of management, or a change of ownership. Probably somebody here knows. I do know that not much about the restaurant changed when it became Soprano's.

Like most, I was immediately turned off by the new name. There was something desperate and pathetic about it. Just as a restaurant with a great view is usually a bad restaurant (because it can be), a restaurant that trades on the fame of a TV show seems to be conceding that it can't rely on its food to make its reputation. However, because Soprano's is in our neighborhood, we go there--and while I wouldn't say they exceed expectations every time, they do so a surprising number of times! I always expect it to OK, but a fair proportion of the time I'm taken aback by one dish or another being considerably better than that! (Why does this continue to surprise me, when you'd think I would have readjusted my expectations upward by now? Probably because the dumb name keeps lowering my expectations.)

Also, on the weekends, they have a "rat pack jazzy/Vegassy lounge singer combo" providing live music, which is actually pretty good. We keep going back, and we're always glad to have them so close.

I agree with your comments regarding the name -- Soprano's seems like a misguided attempt to try to cash in on the TV show. However, I don't remember Soprano's ever being Carlucci Cafe. I remember Carlucci Cafe being further south on Halsted Street (near Halsted and Webster), which now is an Abercrombie & Fitch store.

Ron A. wrote:I agree with your comments regarding the name -- Soprano's seems like a misguided attempt to try to cash in on the TV show. However, I don't remember Soprano's ever being Carlucci Cafe. I remember Carlucci Cafe being further south on Halsted Street (near Halsted and Webster), which now is an Abercrombie & Fitch store.

Riddlemay's right . . . it was formerly Carlucci Cafe. And I think it might have had another name or two over the years.

Ron A. wrote:I remember Carlucci Cafe being further south on Halsted Street (near Halsted and Webster), which now is an Abercrombie & Fitch store.

There was a Carlucci's in the location you're talking about - it was, I believe, the original Carlucci's, and didn't have "Cafe" attached to the name. Carlucci Cafe on Sheffield came after it.

Well, thanks for all of the input.....but when I told my hubby about the reunion, he was like, "Why would I go to that? I still see everyone I want to see." Oh well, doesn't matter to me much!