So Crowded Nobody Goes There: Twist Tapas

The famous quotes attributed to Yogi Berra, like those invented by publicists for the movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn ("I'm tired of the old cliches, let's have some new cliches"), rank among our culture's greatest insights; "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" is wiser than anything Thoreau ever thought by Walden Pond, and "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours" rivals the best of Ecclesiastes.

Contradictory though it may be, we all know exactly what "it's so crowded nobody goes there any more" means-- it means the cluster of Zagat survey plaques hanging in the entry way of Twist a few blocks south of Wrigley Field on Sheffield, compared to the fact that, so far as I can tell, it has never been mentioned on LTHForum. (I scanned the titles of threads that return the word "twist" but did not inspect every one, my apologies if it has been.) A bar-like tapas place (offering both fairly recognizably Spanish tapas and "twisted tapas" which get all Asian fusiony) in the heart of postgame-frat-bar-hopping Wrigleyville, nestled among such outposts of LTHForum-beloved authenticity as Penny's Noodles and Einstein Bros. and now owned by a Baba-Ree-Bah-Humbug vet, it's not hard to see why Zagaters have rated it like they've rated everything within walking distance of a Clark bus, while LTHers have gone blissfully unaware of its existence.

Given my track record with trendy tapas for Chadettes and Trixoids, one might have expected me to maintain our discreet silence on this subject, but since I'm taking the kids to Spain eventually, I've wanted to expose them to what they're going to be eating every day. So it was close and we tried it. Short verdict: like Del Toro, everything is a little Americanized-tasting, this is not the authentic Spanish restaurant of your dreams. But unlike Del Toro... and this is a big unlike... I actually thought everything tasted pretty good. If Americanized party-hearty Spanish food is, as I've predicted, well on its way to being the mall restaurant concept of tomorrow, it should all be as tasty, well executed and reasonably priced as Twist.

We had:

• Tortilla, a simple Spanish tortilla nicely dressed with some salad and olives, though served fridge-cold rather than room temperature, alas.

• Queso de cabra, tomato sauce might have been a little too pizza-y for Spanish tomato sauce, but there was a note of smokiness in it (maybe the tomatoes were charred? seemed like more than just smoked paprika) that was really nice. Even if a ways off authentic, this was one of the best versions of this I've had.

• Mac and cheese, with bits of bacon and red and yellow peppers. Guess the approximate age of the person who ordered that and guarded it zealously.

• Grilled pork in a red wine sauce. Simple, very nicely done, especially delivered to our table from the grill within about six seconds (it's a small space with the kitchen right there).

• Scallops in a squid ink risotto in a parmesan cup. The closest anything came to being over the top, very rich and creamy, but lush and delicious, though the parmesan cup was more like parmesan armor.

• Braised beef over corn cakes, globbed with cheese, tomatoes, aioli, who knows what. Looked like a tostada, I found this kind of unfocused.

• Patatas bravas, a particularly inauthentic and unexciting version of paprika-dusted oven fries with some orange goo to dip them in.

• Bacon-wrapped dates in a wine-broth sauce. Melt in your mouth wonderful. But I know, I had you at "bacon-wrapped."

So: entirely decent, nothing too out there (we basically avoided the fusiony stuff) but nearly all pretty well prepared and a couple of things that were very good indeed, we went home happy. Even though nobody goes there, you might check it out, if it's not packed when you get there.

Twist
3412 N. Sheffield Ave.
(773) 388-2727

We used to go to Twist on occasion (many times skipping it because it's too crowded...how about that?) and I always thought that it was good for what it was. Again, it's not supposed to be authentic, but that doesn't mean it can't be tasty. One of the items that I always thought was strangely delicious was the jalapeno gnocchi. I'm sure that sounds like an abomination to a lot of people reading this, but it's actually a pretty good dish.

All kidding aside, I suppose I fall into the dreaded Trixie category at first glance, but I've always taken LTH as an accepting group as long as you're open to others and like good grub...and hey, some of use actually have developed taste buds and use them! That being said, I think Twist is a pretty decent place - with the caveat that it's not necessarily 100% authentic. Food has always been flavorful, service friendly and efficient and prices reasonable. Is it as authentic as some other joints where you can have tapas in the city? - no, but as the previous posters have pointed out, it's pretty darn tasty. A decent place to duck in when you're out and about in the Wrigleyville/North Lakeview area and find yourself with a lack of other appealing options.

We kid because we love, Greygardens.

Absolutely no offense taken! I'm proud of my starbucks, highlights, trendy bags and jetta (again, kidding!). :D

If parking weren't susch a bitch, I'd be eating on that stretch of Clark much more than I do. Indeed, very much unlike similar stretches in Lincoln Park, this touristy, fraty locale in Lakeview has quite a few places that seem to be better than they need to be -- not to mention quite diverse.

I love Twist! Those bacon-wrapped dates are heavenly. And the prices are great from what I can recall. I do agree though that the lack of parking, small space and congested neighborhood detract from me frequenting there more than once a year, and most likely others from making an effort to dine there if not from the neighborhood. Thanks for posting...it is now on my short list to get back to again.

A caller recommended this on the LTH chat with Nick Digilio on WGN 720 this weekend; together with this thread, Twist seems worth a try. I'm always surprised more folks haven't tried People (on the traditional side of things) in Wicker Park.