birthday dinner in wicker park

long time lurker here finally coming into the light! i love this board-- it's such a fantastic resource.

i am taking my husband out to dinner this tuesday night and we want to go to wicker park-- to drink and go out afterwards and not have to deal with driving. i wanted to find a romantic place with great food and entrees under $30. from looking at the posts here, i was thinking of cafe matou (which sounds great but he might not be in the mood for french as we have eaten a lot of it lately), cafe absinthe (sounds like it's gone downhill?) or maybe even for something different, the cuban place, cafe bolero(?). i'm also curious about baccala. i like timo so i'm tempted to give it a try but i can't find much about it's menu, ambience etc.

finally, hot chocolate for dessert-- overrated or worth it for a special night (those brioche donuts sound amazing)?

thanks so much!

smee wrote:i'm also curious about baccala. i like timo so i'm tempted to give it a try but i can't find much about it's menu, ambience etc.

Welcome to LTHForum. There's a ton of Baccala info in this thread.

Best,
Michael

Hot Chocolate definitely is the right choice for dessert; the Chef Mindy Segal, was formerly the pastry chef at MK in its heyday.*

As for your choices, Cafe Bolero is a little casual for a special night out and the food is so-so, in my opinion.

I think Cafe Matou is fantastic, but as you've nixed the type of food (French bistro) then I would also nix Cafe Absinthe as its food is similar.

Which leaves Baccala, which is the best choice in my book. I had a nice meal there a couple weeks ago, much more enjoyably simple in concept and execution than even a meal I had had previously at Timo, the associated "fancier" restaurant by the same chef/owner. Service is casual, but friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere on a Tuesday should be calm, quiet and relaxing.

After dinner, you could also head around the corner and have a nightcap at The Violet Hour.

*This is not to say that MK has gone downhill, but there was a time when it was the hottest restaurant and M.S. was part of that.

Spring and The Violet Hour, in either order.

This Tuesday at Matou is their monthly regional wine dinner, so the price is likely to be much higher than $30 since it includes wine (and it may be sold out). They don't allow open table for the wine dinners, so call to see if you're still up for it. It's usually a really good meal and a fun time, though perhaps less than romantic.

thanks so much for the tips-- baccala it is! and hot chocolate and a nightcap at violet hour afterwards.

damn. baccala is only open wed-sat. i was totally ready for it. so matou is off the table b/c of the wine dinner. any other suggestions? i am still considering absinthe but am really thinking italian b/c i've become fixated on baccala.

Hot Chocolate is great for dinner as well - if going Su-Th, print the restaurant.com gift certificate for an effective $15 off (a $25 cert for $10), and get the salumi plate and lamb sausage flatbread which (heresy) comes pretty close to Avec-like saltiness, complexity, and quality.

Yeah, I would do Hot Chocolate for dinner and dessert, then.

Wicker Park proper (IMO, the stretch of Division between Ashland and Western) has a new Italian which I haven't been to, La Sorella, and which was reviewed well here.

Il Covo, Scylla, Meritage, Cafe Bionda...

If you're looking for something simple, delicious, and comfortable, stick with Club Lucky (outdoor seating) or Lucia Ristorante (BYOB).


Hot Chocolate's entrees leave something to be desired - stick with dessert there. Be advised they are a restaurant, not a chocolate bar, so you won't find many chocolate alcohol drinks.

LadyJane wrote:or Lucia Ristorante (BYOB).

As the OP explicitly stated that he or she was looking for something "romantic," I'll have to warn you away from Lucia. It's very casual - big deli case up front - and everytime I walk by there, a group of cops are eating in the dining room. (Not very romantic!)

aschie30 wrote:

LadyJane wrote:or Lucia Ristorante (BYOB).

As the OP explicitly stated that he or she was looking for something "romantic," I'll have to warn you away from Lucia. It's very casual - big deli case up front - and everytime I walk by there, a group of cops are eating in the dining room. (Not very romantic!)

I've never had that experience. You are asked to use the side door, which leads you into the dining area that is typically separated from the front room with a classy divider. In my experience, the host has rapidly greeted my party upon entry.

Also, the al fresco dining area in back has proven to be quite romantic...

And Scylla is closed, I would consider, Le Bouchon, Meritage, more Bucktown. I had a fabulous meal at Mas on Saturday night, really outstanding steak, and almost one bite of each appetizer. Nice outside eating area, not on Division, so makes it nice.

I have to disagree with LadyJane about HotChocolate's entrees. We ate there recently, and both entrees were outstanding - it was clear this place is about much more than chocolate. The service was great, too. Just how we like it - helpful and friendly without being either servile or condescending. We were there quite late and so even though I probably wouldn't normally think of it as a romantic destination, it actually was.

thanks again everyone. i am afraid i'll be disappointed again.... scylla was sounding good and i just left a message on their machine requesting a reservation. but i hear it's closing. some people say september, somewhere else (i think metromix blog) it said mid-aug. now i'm hoping i didn't just make a reservation at a defunct restaurant! if so we can just go gorge on steak tacos at la pasadita, i guess!
does anyone know when exactly scylla is closing?

ah. i see you guys already responded to that. scylla is closed. on to check out the options...

ok, totally confused now after some googling. is scylla closed or not? everything i read says aug 25th at the earliest but the OP said it was already closed. i can't get a human on the phone but the recording says nothing about closing. help!

It's closed, you can't make a reservation on opentable, I can tell you that.

nicinchic wrote:It's closed, you can't make a reservation on opentable, I can tell you that.

I just made a reservation for Sunday the 19th...

I think they're just closed on Tuesdays

My friends ate at Scylla last night (and thought it was wonderful, of course). I thought the August 25 date was firm.

Scylla is off of opentable but still open and taking reservations by phone.