near steppenwolf dining on my birthday

my husband and i are going to see the crucible on my birthday. not necessarily the way we planned it, but those are the dates we got with our no frills subscription. is it possible to have a special meal in that area? unfortunately the theater obligation means we can't go to alinea, which will have to wait for next year.

our tastes are generally quite adventurous, but given the time constraints, i might prefer a warm and inviting restaurant that is consistently good. boka sounds intriguing and some of you seem to like it a lot. would north pond be too far from the theater? finally, for some odd reason, vinci, which is listed on the steppenwolf site seems oddly appealing. has anyone had a bad meal there?

I actually have enjoyed many, many good meals at Vinci, and I highly recommend it. We dined there regularly when we lived in that neighborhood, and it was one of our favorites. In my opinion, the meals that I had at Vinci compare favorably to our experience at Cafe Spiaggia. Others probably will recommend Boka. It's not my type of place. If you're looking for somewhere with a warm atmosphere, then you probably would enjoy Vinci.

i do love cafe spiaggia so if vinci comes close that might tilt me in that direction. what do you really like on their menu?

Another big fan of Vinci. Excellent service, good food, lots of interesting specials that change often. We've enjoyed many nights there. My favorite dish there is the eggplant appetizer which is a thin sliver of a japanese eggplant fried and served with a tangy goat cheese, splash of balsamic vinegar and arugala. I've tried many of the soups and they work especially well on a cold night. They are happy to split any dish for you (my wife and I often split a salad and soup) and bring out each portion plated separately. The food it good and priced well. I believe they also have a special theater setting.

Vinci
1732 N Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 266-1199

smee wrote:i do love cafe spiaggia so if vinci comes close that might tilt me in that direction. what do you really like on their menu?

I realize the Vinci info may not help at the time of year you are going but I've only had one thing every time I've been to Vinci; the past few years during the summer months (and perhaps others) Vinci has been serving a Tuscan "bbq" hog. This is some of the tastiest pork I've had. A stellar dish.

I would also do a search for Boka, (I’ve never been)

Mrs. Sweet Willie and I have always enjoyed the raw bar at King Crab but then we both are the type that has 4-5 dozen oysters along with a bottle of champagne and we are very happy.

smee wrote:i do love cafe spiaggia so if vinci comes close that might tilt me in that direction. what do you really like on their menu?

We definitely like the polenta with portobello and cremini mushrooms, something of a signature appetizer there. They also have very good carpaccio. Good pastas include the ravioli (spinach-filled in a brown butter sage sauce). Almost all of the main entrees (secondi) are very good, it depends on what you're in the mood for. Here is a link to their website and menus.

http://www.vincichicago.com/menu.aspx?s=54

I go to Vinci quite a bit, and have been there recently. I would recommend the broiled asparagus appetizer, the pizza del mare, the risotto (a special, so it frequently changes but is always good) the hen under a brick, the duck, and the lamb chops. It sounds cliched, but the tiramisu is the best I can remember having.

Enjoy your birthday. The play is excellent.

Also, if you are into wine, Vinci has a nice wine list.

thanks so much for all the helpful information. sounds like vinci will work perfectly. the polenta and the ravioli do sound good. it's great to see they have a good wine list and some dessert wines as well. though i probably shouldn't imbibe too much before the play, if i actually want to see it : )

I worked at STC for awhile and VINCI was always a fav of mine. It's cozy and - so long as you inform them of your curtain time - they get everything out to you w/o feeling rushed. I second the vote for the pizza del mar and risotto specials. I also love the lamb.

BOKA (across the street) is also very, very good. Their lamb is excellent and I like their raw bar a lot.

Happy birthday!

thanks so much everyone for all the helpful information. i will be sure to report back on the meal at vinci.

hi all,
just wanted to report back on my meal at vinci last night. thanks so much for your suggestions-- we had a wonderful, relaxed meal with superlative service. our server was well informed, gave us helpful suggestions without being pushy. when asked to recommend a nice wine, she suggested one off the list which suited our demands and budget perfectly. for starters we had the polenta and mushroom appetizer. this was probably the weakest course in the meal. it was underseasoned and a little bland. out of the five mushrooms on the plate, one was smoky, herby and delicious-- the others seemed to have missed seasoning! the second appetizer was a special and it was delicious. grilled smoky eggplant, stuffed with sweet italian sausage and cheese over a tangy marinara sauce, perfectly accented with basil. nothing complicated, but just really really well done. for entrees, my husband had the duck breast with balsamic reduction. it came out quiveringly rare but they fixed it in no time in a gracious and apologetic manner. my entree was a fantastic special-- butternut squash gnocchi with braised lamb and vegetables. perfect fall dish. slight sweetness of the gnocchi contrasted beautifully with the lamb. In my opinion, this compared very favorably with the gnocchi with wild bear ragu at cafe spiaggi and also the gnocchi at gioco. excellent dish. they brought us a complementary dessert of chocolate mousse and raspberry sauce with toasted pistachios which was also delicious. we contemplated grappa but decided we might fall asleep in a booze induced stupor during the crucible and decided to pass (Wise move, as the play was excellent!). Total for two with tax and a very generous tip was $110. Wonderful meal, great wine, excellent service. Thanks LTH-ers for a great birthday dinner!

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your evening at Vinci. Thanks for reporting back.