Ombra

Was able to make it to Ombra in Andersonville over the weekend. The redesigned dining room of Acre has been turned into a cool retro looking cicchetti bar. The space has been rebuilt with completely reclaimed materials. Reclaimed wood booths with seats made from old leather jackets make the former cavernous room feel more intimate. Walls covered in antique Italian newspapers give a warm feel and the cicchetti bar proudly displays the bill of fare.

Owned by the folks at Antiprima, Ombra has a very reasonably priced wine list with many quality glass pours as well as a nice selection of cocktails.

The menu consists of a fairly extensive list of cicchetti. We tried the baccala (I'm a sucker for baccala) which was a nice version, not too potatoey so the salt cod came through. The tounge in salsa verde was also a nice choice. The slices of tounge weren't falling apart tender, as I had expected, but had a bit of chew to them, but not in a bad way at all. The salsa verde was bright and fresh.

Next we tried the tripe with sopprosetta cannellini and pickled veg. A very nice dish with tender tripe that I think could have used a bit more sopposetta. The pesce in saor was a mackerel, which can be oily, but was offset nicely by the vinegary marinade. The final cicchetti we tried was the fennel and radish salad. Thin slices of fennel and black raddish served in a light but pleasing vinagrette.

The menu doesn't end there though. There's also a list of panini, tramezzini, buscetta, and salumi. None of which we tried.

From the Fritti section we had the pesciolini, which, if you've had this dish at Antiprima you'll recognize. Crisp fried little fish served with ultra thin slices of fried lemon and crisp, lighly fried parsley leaves. Yum.

There's a crudi selection which we sampled from as well. We tried the crudo di mare which, the day we went, was scallop. Sweet scallops over baby arugula. The arugula overpowered the delicate scallops just a bit, but everything was really fresh.

From the Piatti Unici section of the menu (really the only larger dishes available) we tried the calamari neri, which I had some reservations about since, to me, squid ink can often be overpowering. Not in this dish however. Super tender pieces of squid are braised for what must be hours with a sauce of ink that, suprisingly, to me, really complimented the dish wonderfully. This was a real home run.

We finished out meal with a selection of Italian cheeses. Too stuffed, we passed on dessert.

Prices range from $4 to $8 for small plates and from $10 to $13 for the larger plates.

Service can be a bit quick as would be traditional in an Italian cicchetti bar but you never feel like you're being rushed out the door.

I really like Ombra and will be making it part of my regular rotation.

Ombra
5310 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 506-8600
barombra.com

So I guess the one reason I don't post nearly enough as I should is that I just can't get down with the style of eating that requires stopping at each course to photograph, then verbally document each course. I often *try* to do this, but usually the photos just linger on a hard drive. I say this not to kvetch about the dominant "style" of posting on this site -- far from it -- but because I think that style, generally, doesn't or can't catch what I find so wonderful about Ombra.

I've been there 5 times in the last two weeks, so that probably says enough about how I feel about it. I obviously love the place. What's interesting is that my affection is of a different sort when compared to other restaurants I frequent.

Ombra reminds me of two things: Italy and Mado. Now it might seem silly to say it reminds me of Italy because that's such a vague statement, so let me try to explain what I mean. There are a lot of places doing great Italian food here in Chicago. The evolution over the last decade has been astounding. Even places that don't specifically brand or identify themselves as "Italian" or affiliate themselves with some Italian region turn out brilliant pastas (I'm looking at you, Avec, Lula and the Bristol, but I'm sure there are several others). But none of the various great Italian places or quasi-Italian places make me feel like I'm in Italy. Nor do I really expect them to. I'm happy enough to have great food in a great, decidedly American and Chicagoan atmosphere.

Ombra feels different. Obviously the interior design is brilliant. But there's also a conviviality to the place, an electricity, that I find really unique and welcoming. The staff couldn't be more enthusiastic or genuine. I do eat out a lot, and I do frequent a number of places regularly. At some of them -- Lula or the Publican for example -- people never seem to remember me. And that's fine. At others (let's not name names), I do receive a rousing welcome but it seems like glad-handing / fake enthusiasm. At Ombra, I feel like the "Italian" vibe is genuine, and that they've conjured something special.

And, OK, yeah, I've been there 5 times in the last 2 weeks, so they damn well should know me, but that doesn't require them to give a shit about me, or be happy to see me, and I think I can tell the difference between this sort of welcome and the kind I get at so many other places. The staff here seem to love their jobs, they love the food, and they just seem to be having a lot of fun. The last place I've been to that gave off this sort of vibe was Mado, and I so truly and deeply miss Mado, that it's great to experience the sort of service I received there. I mean, damn, I was driving down Ravenswood Ave the other day and the car behind me started flashing its brights. Turns out it was a former server from Mado -- he recognized me and just wanted to say hi. Now, maybe this would seem weird to you, but to me, it was great to see an old and now disconnected/lost friend.

The food at Ombra is simple and unpretentious (again, evoking Mado, though often even *simpler*!). There are many amazing dishes. Because of the simplicity of the preparations, some dishes are good but not brilliant. At $4-$5 a plate, these minor inconsistencies seem (to me at least) irrelevant. I've eaten my way though much of the menu, but I also drank my way through much of the menu, hence my recollection is not the greatest. So all I can offer is a vague guide to some of the current highlights:

- the crudo section is flawless, especially the pickled sardines; also, the pesce in saor is brilliant -- these guys know how to combine funky, oily fishes with acid
- squash -- our friend last night said he could eat 3 bowls of it -- great combination of sweetness and acidity
- fried risotto balls w/ squid ink -- great mouthfeel, totally addictive
- the frittata -- I usually roll my eyes at truffle oil, but the use here is simple and the frittata itself so delectable, that I can't do so here

Everything else I've had has been exactly as I'd expect it. I've tended toward the fresh/bright options but earthier preparations (farro, mushrooms, stuffed cabbage with risotto) have been wonderful as well. What I love is that I could go in here and have a huge meal with friends, or have a couple small bites solo and spend next to nothing.

NB: The chef's choice of 5 cicchetti for $15 is a phenomenal deal and way more than I could possibly eat. I tried to take photos but the lighting in there is unforgiving -- too dim. I just love walking in, ordering the chef's choice, getting a gorgeous spread of 5 different items in about 5 minutes, and digging in. I work hard and often end up skipping lunch so I love not waiting for my food!

And that leads me to the other reason I love Ombra so much: Andersonville really needs a place like this. Or, I should say: I really needed Andersonville to have a place like this. I moved to Andersonville from Logan Square a year ago (not by choice -- my fiancee lives here), and while I enjoy a lot of the places in the hood, I've never found a place that truly inspires me to be a regular. The Hopleaf is great for drinks, but I think their menu has been stagnant for a long time. While I love Anteprima and Big Jones, If I at at either regularly, I'd get really fat. The middle eastern places are utterly uninspiring. Vincent? Weird but not the sort of place you want to eat more than once every few months. Great Lake: great, but, yeah, we've got the getting fat thing again. And don't get me started on Acre.

Well, actually, maybe I should. Obra is in the old Acre dining room. And so I can't really comment on Ombra without wondering how in the bloody hell did the owners get Ombra so right and yet Acre continually underwhelms? Acre seems to me like a restaurant impersonating another, better restaurant.* I used to eat there a lot, but only because there's no other local choices that do food that's good but mildly healthy. And one can eat at Acre healthily, and that matters to me. But now that Ombra's here, I just can't see myself ever eating at Acre again, except maybe when Ombra isn't open. I hope the guys behind these spots learn from what they did so right with Ombra and tweak Acre into being restaurant it really could be.

Ombra feels like a place I'd go to even if I didn't live in Andersonville. I can't say that about most of the other places around. I can splurge or eat there cheap. I can get indulgent fried foods or stick to their many healthy but still delicious options. I can't wait to go back, but I'm sure that wait will not be long.

* Eating at Ombra last night, our friend mused at how he had had dinner sitting at the exact same spot at the old Acre dining room. He kept calling it "Acme." As noted here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation), "products from the fictional Acme Corporation are both generic and tend to fail."

queequeg's_steak wrote:So I guess the one reason I don't post nearly enough as I should is that I just can't get down with the style of eating that requires stopping at each course to photograph, then verbally document each course. I often *try* to do this, but usually the photos just linger on a hard drive. I say this not to kvetch about the dominant "style" of posting on this site -- far from it -- but because I think that style, generally, doesn't or can't catch what I find so wonderful about Ombra.

I've been there 5 times in the last two weeks, so that probably says enough about how I feel about it. I obviously love the place. What's interesting is that my affection is of a different sort when compared to other restaurants I frequent.

Ombra reminds me of two things: Italy and Mado. Now it might seem silly to say it reminds me of Italy because that's such a vague statement, so let me try to explain what I mean. There are a lot of places doing great Italian food here in Chicago. The evolution over the last decade has been astounding. Even places that don't specifically brand or identify themselves as "Italian" or affiliate themselves with some Italian region turn out brilliant pastas (I'm looking at you, Avec, Lula and the Bristol, but I'm sure there are several others). But none of the various great Italian places or quasi-Italian places make me feel like I'm in Italy. Nor do I really expect them to. I'm happy enough to have great food in a great, decidedly American and Chicagoan atmosphere.

Ombra feels different. Obviously the interior design is brilliant. But there's also a conviviality to the place, an electricity, that I find really unique and welcoming. The staff couldn't be more enthusiastic or genuine. I do eat out a lot, and I do frequent a number of places regularly. At some of them -- Lula or the Publican for example -- people never seem to remember me. And that's fine. At others (let's not name names), I do receive a rousing welcome but it seems like glad-handing / fake enthusiasm. At Ombra, I feel like the "Italian" vibe is genuine, and that they've conjured something special.

And, OK, yeah, I've been there 5 times in the last 2 weeks, so they damn well should know me, but that doesn't require them to give a shit about me, or be happy to see me, and I think I can tell the difference between this sort of welcome and the kind I get at so many other places. The staff here seem to love their jobs, they love the food, and they just seem to be having a lot of fun. The last place I've been to that gave off this sort of vibe was Mado, and I so truly and deeply miss Mado, that it's great to experience the sort of service I received there. I mean, damn, I was driving down Ravenswood Ave the other day and the car behind me started flashing its brights. Turns out it was a former server from Mado -- he recognized me and just wanted to say hi. Now, maybe this would seem weird to you, but to me, it was great to see an old and now disconnected/lost friend.

The food at Ombra is simple and unpretentious (again, evoking Mado, though often even *simpler*!). There are many amazing dishes. Because of the simplicity of the preparations, some dishes are good but not brilliant. At $4-$5 a plate, these minor inconsistencies seem (to me at least) irrelevant. I've eaten my way though much of the menu, but I also drank my way through much of the menu, hence my recollection is not the greatest. So all I can offer is a vague guide to some of the current highlights:

- the crudo section is flawless, especially the pickled sardines; also, the pesce in saor is brilliant -- these guys know how to combine funky, oily fishes with acid
- squash -- our friend last night said he could eat 3 bowls of it -- great combination of sweetness and acidity
- fried risotto balls w/ squid ink -- great mouthfeel, totally addictive
- the frittata -- I usually roll my eyes at truffle oil, but the use here is simple and the frittata itself so delectable, that I can't do so here

Everything else I've had has been exactly as I'd expect it. I've tended toward the fresh/bright options but earthier preparations (farro, mushrooms, stuffed cabbage with risotto) have been wonderful as well. What I love is that I could go in here and have a huge meal with friends, or have a couple small bites solo and spend next to nothing.

NB: The chef's choice of 5 cicchetti for $15 is a phenomenal deal and way more than I could possibly eat. I tried to take photos but the lighting in there is unforgiving -- too dim. I just love walking in, ordering the chef's choice, getting a gorgeous spread of 5 different items in about 5 minutes, and digging in. I work hard and often end up skipping lunch so I love not waiting for my food!

And that leads me to the other reason I love Ombra so much: Andersonville really needs a place like this. Or, I should say: I really needed Andersonville to have a place like this. I moved to Andersonville from Logan Square a year ago (not by choice -- my fiancee lives here), and while I enjoy a lot of the places in the hood, I've never found a place that truly inspires me to be a regular. The Hopleaf is great for drinks, but I think their menu has been stagnant for a long time. While I love Anteprima and Big Jones, If I at at either regularly, I'd get really fat. The middle eastern places are utterly uninspiring. Vincent? Weird but not the sort of place you want to eat more than once every few months. Great Lake: great, but, yeah, we've got the getting fat thing again. And don't get me started on Acre.

Well, actually, maybe I should. Obra is in the old Acre dining room. And so I can't really comment on Ombra without wondering how in the bloody hell did the owners get Ombra so right and yet Acre continually underwhelms? Acre seems to me like a restaurant impersonating another, better restaurant.* I used to eat there a lot, but only because there's no other local choices that do food that's good but mildly healthy. And one can eat at Acre healthily, and that matters to me. But now that Ombra's here, I just can't see myself ever eating at Acre again, except maybe when Ombra isn't open. I hope the guys behind these spots learn from what they did so right with Ombra and tweak Acre into being restaurant it really could be.

Ombra feels like a place I'd go to even if I didn't live in Andersonville. I can't say that about most of the other places around. I can splurge or eat there cheap. I can get indulgent fried foods or stick to their many healthy but still delicious options. I can't wait to go back, but I'm sure that wait will not be long.

* Eating at Ombra last night, our friend mused at how he had had dinner sitting at the exact same spot at the old Acre dining room. He kept calling it "Acme." As noted here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation), "products from the fictional Acme Corporation are both generic and tend to fail."

Thank you, for the cogent, informative post. It really makes me want to check it out, which I hope to do soon. The folks who run the place have always been -- at least in my experience -- professional hosts who take their tasks to heart. It sounds they're doing a lot right here. Quality, distinctive, healthful food always seems tougher to find than it should be. Again, looking forward to checking it out.

=R=

OK, we went there again last night.

My only beef is that they don't offer cheap house wine pours. They really should. Pretty much every restaurant in Italy offers house wines at maybe 4-10 euros per quartino. The wines at Ombra are great -- I haven't had a bad one yet -- but at $9-12 per glass they do cut into the value factor if you have a few of them.

I say this only because I was able to feed four very hungry people there last night for $60. That's freaking absurd. We ordered the 5 for $15 chef's choice plus 4 other dishes. My parents don't really drink, so we didn't order any adult beverages, so that's part of why the check was so miniscule. These guys know Italy well, so they really should get into the wine on tap thing, or just find some good cheap wine. If Quartino can do it, they can.

Of course, this is essentially a deli selling mostly pre-prepared foods, so I think the prices are exactly where they should be. But, damn, when my parents take us out to dinner, they usually pay. I might be a bit of a cheapskate (just a little bit?) so I knew this was the check to grab and insist on paying (let's not even let them see the final number!). $60 -- including 20% tip, folks -- for four people. And leftovers.

You kinda have to know the menu to do this, but I'm just sayin': there's a lot of reasons why I love this place, but value is a huge part of it.

I have been a huge fan of Anteprima for a long time now and somewhat underwhelmed with Acre. I had been meaning to check out Ombra since reading the OP's report and finally got around to it today.

We stopped in shortly after opening to a surprisingly quiet scene despite mild St. Patricks chaos outside. Small plates/tapas or in this case cicchetti have been everywhere for years now but I felt like Ombra really delivered.

Service was warm and welcoming, the food was well seasoned, creative and varied and the concept as a whole really clicked. Highlights included the baccala mantecato, a luscious frittata and beef tongue with pickled onions and carrots. If you enjoy the food at Anteprima I think you'll dig Ombra and i'm looking forward to getting back.

It's also worth mentioning the ample veg/pescatrian options.

I was really excited about eating here this past week considering all the good things I've heard, but my girlfriend and I came away quite underwhelmed.

We ordered ~8 of the small plates and were unimpressed by many of them. The shrimp tramezzini (mini sanwiches made on crustless and perhaps slight stale white bread) was a bit bland. The bosco panini (mushrooms, lemon, arugula pesto) was a solid choice, but not outstanding by any means. I was comparing to some of the more delicious paninis I've had recently at Purple Pig. Many of the cold chicchetti (we tried 5 of them) struck us as underseasoned.

The one thing that stood out was the semolina gnocchi, which were soft and delicious. They were complimented by a deep, rich tomato sauce that included both peas and asparagus that added to the flavor and texture. Really good!

The space is a bit weird as well. It has a trendy feel, with wood and newspapers purposely meant to seem put together in an ad hoc manner, but the high ornate ceilings that remain from the Acre space don't seem to match the aesthetic at all.

My wife and I have eaten here a few times now. We've generally been happy with the food. The strange thing is that the servers seem to steer us away from the tramezzini . As LincolnSquareMZ said, they are basically tea sandwiches on white bread.

The chicchetti have been hit or miss for us. The first time we went, we ordered the plate of five chicchetti, picked by the kitchen. We told the waiter that we preferred some of the more interesting ones. We ended up with five vegetarian dishes, two of which were beans, one was olives. For a restaurant that emphasizes seafood, this seemed strange. The waiter came back to check on us and asked if the chicchetti we received were interesting. We could see the look on his face when he realized what we got. He later brought us a desert to make it up to us. Lesson: pick the chicchetti you want.

Most of the other chicchetti we've had good, but none really blew us away. But everything else we've tried there has been amazing. Bar Ombra is a great addition to the neighborhood.

Let me echo Ronnie's appreciation for the post by queequeg's_steak. I sometimes lament the fact that too many threads seem to be about mindless things or that the number of requests for information exceed the number of useful, informative reviews. Based on that review--which I thought embodied virtually everything I could want in a post: thoughtful, informative, careful, educational, and opinionated--I'm very sad that Ombra did not open untilafter we moved from the 'hood. Just our luck.

Still, as Ron said, I very much look forward to visiting now. Thanks, queequeg's_steak!

My wife and I stopped in today for a snack after the market. Ombra is a place I'm very predisposed to love. My favorite style of food served in a way I really enjoy too. The room and service were good, but the food at least on this trip had us cut our visit short.

We ordered two different brushette, watermelon and feta salad w cherry tomato, fried zucchini blossom, and baccala mantecato. The sweet corn bruchette was the best thing we had and the rest ranged from meh to just not good.

We decided to head out and try again another day.