turkob wrote:

Santander wrote:After sampling almost everything on the menu earlier in the week in great company, I'm thinking the place may work best (at least for me) in small doses. The ingredient quality is beyond reproach, but when every single thing is heavily salted, saturated in good olive oil, darkly earth-toned, and cooked in various methods to char-caramel, it runs together on the palate and visually. I do see Mado flashes in the excellent tongue, and eggplant with honey and feta, but was missing all of the raw, bright, and acidic flavors I associate so strongly with that experience, where the proteins were jewels in a much larger artwork (even the blue hunk o' cow dinner). A few things puzzled me entirely: putting the lemony, sea-tangy uni on that much grilled toast overwhelmed it (pickled peppers were lovely, though), and I thought each seafood item was overcooked, in turn from the clams to octopus to the calamari.

Extremely well put, Santander. I thought I was on an island with my feelings about Vera.

This past meal I had there was my favorite. We ordered a number of the meat centric dishes that I usually order in small quantities when I'm out to eat, and I felt they were the strength of the meal. In particular both the pig head and lamb bocadillos were remarkably balanced given the richness of the protein. Once we moved past the appetizers, though, I felt like too much of the food skewed in one direction. Olive oil, caramelization, and a good amount of sweetness. I think each dish (with the exception of the clams with chorizo which I never thought worked together), would work well enough as a single dish, but there was no brightness or vegetable crunch to offset the assault. It's simply not an approach to Mediterranean cuisine that works for me.

I do love the sherry and the ingredients though. I'd gladly return to hang out at the bar and nibble on ham and sip sherry. In that right it's a unique spot in Chicagoland and a great place to know about.

Visit in the summer or early autumn. Liz explained to me that they try to keep very seasonal, which explains why the current menu is so heavy.

Did you guys get the ceviche or anything from the otro bar? That stuff is usually a great compliment to anything that's rich from the main menu.

I appreciate the comments, but this was my fourth trip to Vera. I keep wanting to love the place, but it just isn't doing it for me. And frankly I was relieved to see that I wasn't alone since the praise has been so universal.

We ordered quite a few dishes on this trip so I felt I got a good cross section of what they're doing, though not the ceviche. Is the otro bar menu different than the typical dinner menu? We had a good amount of seafood, but nothing really provided that balance I was craving after so many starchy, rich, and sweet dishes.

The otro bar menu is posted on the blackboard above the otro bar (what used to be the cheese bar). It's usually loaded with vegetables and is usually some of the more interesting stuff there.

Different opinions here I suppose, because I very much enjoyed the dinner. In retrospect, I could understand someone not loving this dinner because I thought we ordered very haphazardly. Ron spoke up and ordered some dishes, I did too, but we didn't really spend any time discussing or planning a proper succession or perfect composition of dishes. And because of that, it did feel heavy. To be honest, I blame that more on us. And yet, I left very happy because I thought the food highly impressive once again.

Santander must have missed the clams and chorizo - we received it. And I thought it every bit the perfect combination as I have in the past, although I definitely missed the now omitted fideos. And I find the combination of ingredients (broth, clams, chorizo, grilled bread) appropriate. Wouldn't beloved mussels with any pork-based product, a very common combination, present the same concern? In any event, this is one of my favorite dishes at Vera.

Also, I love the uni toast. One problem here is that it would have been better served later because I find it a good acidic balance to richer dishes. Same goes for the eggplant, honey, sesame and feta - another dish that I thought was outstanding. And the paprika-laced aioli with the papas bravas was one of the best I've ever tasted.

Otherwise, I loved the lamb bocadillo and blood sausage, but the pig head bocadillo might have overwhelmed my palate just a tad with oregano. But I think had we spent more time focusing on a menu rather than just ordering, some of the complaints about the meal would not have been noted - just my opinion.

That's quite valid - the few things we did miss could theoretically been the lighter flavors (though the current menu doesn't suggest much beyond the ceviche would be such), and I'm not sure what was up at the Otro bar - it was a different setup on my first visit.

So that clam and chorizo platter was what the squid ink fideos used to be? I was thinking (perhaps hoping) that it was a different dish entirely.

Last time I was there on a Tuesday the Otro bar wasn't open and chef Andy, who usually mans it, was in the kitchen.

I really enjoyed the recent dinner that's already been posted about above by turkob, Santander and BR. I don't think it's fair to ding Vera in the least for the fact that we didn't have a cohesive ordering plan. And I'll take the blame for that. We came in, we were hungry and I thought it was best to just get a few things ordered. Not being overly familiar with the menu, I order a bunch of items from the "Snacks" and "Bocadillos & Pinchos" sections of the menu, which were all fairly similar (and I should have not forsaken the olives in the "Snacks" section, which would have provided a nice counter point for all the richness of the other items). In any case, looking back, it would have probably been a better plan to mix and match some of those meaty, protein-focused items with some items from the "Vegetable" section. It is, especially this time of year, a meat-leaning menu but there were some good-looking vegetable options that we didn't order.

All that said, I thought that what we did order and eat was all very well prepared, from obviously premium ingredients. Many of the individual dishes were well-conceived, expertly cooked and delicious. The Blood Sausage with fried egg and spicy greens is a dish I'll be thinking about for a long time (and ordering again). I thought the Beef Tongue was delicious and perfectly tender. The Pig Head Bocadillo was lightly crispy on the exterior, and tender and unctuous on the inside. I loved the Uni Toast and thought the pickled chiles were bold and successful accent. The classic Clams and Chorizo dish was delicious and really scratched an itch for me. I also really enjoyed he Brussels Sprouts (crispy, with hazelnuts and anchovy vinaigrette) and the Papas Bravas (with pimenton aioli), both of which I thought succeeded flavor-wise and texture-wise.

Having been to Spain only once, for 10 days, I'm not sure my opinion of Spanish food means too much but I will throw it out there that with the exception of the Clams and Chorizo dish, for me, this meal was not like eating in Spain. However, judging on what Vera is, and not what it isn't, I thought the food was delicious in its own right. I think it's a distinctive place, where they do just about everything right. I look forward to returning and I'd recommend it enthusiastically, and without hesitation.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Having been to Spain only once, for 10 days, I'm not sure my opinion of Spanish food means too much but I will throw it out there that with the exception of the Clams and Chorizo dish, for me, this meal was not like eating in Spain

Ronnie - I'm not sure about the Clams and Chorizo dish specifically, but my wife is from Spain and she claims that Vera reminds her of Spain more than any place she has been to within the U.S. And for some reason, the smell and bustle of the Publican brings back memories.

I was part of the group at the Vera dinner earlier this week. It was my first visit to Vera, and I came away impressed. I thought every dish sparkled. Even the one dish that looked to my eyes to be a disaster on paper, the uni toast (who puts uni on bread?), turned out to be one of my favorite bites of the evening. Everything was prepared with care, using high quality ingredients. We ate our way mainly through a couple sections of the menu and I can't wait to eat the rest. I can see where more careful ordering might lead to a more balanced palate of flavors, but I certainly can't fault the restaurant for the way we ordered, and I'm not among those complaining about it anyway. I enjoyed everything. Equal to the food was the quality of the service. Everyone from the server to the busboy was pleasant and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.

Although I'm not typically a "value shopper" my one negative comment is that I think Vera is a little expensive for what you get. We had drinks along with our food, but not more than one or two glasses of sherry each and the tab for our group came out to $85/person. Normally, that wouldn't bother me but I left hungry and had to stop for a hot dog on the way home. This is small complaint...more of an observation really...and it won't keep me from returning to Vera. I want to sample more of the fantastic menu.

Glad to know about Vera. As to uni on toast, my favorite dish at Eataly in New York is the uni crostini shown in the picture here.

Also, the uni crostini with lardo at Marea in NYC is a tremendous dish.

The uni toast and the beef tongue pintxo at Vera are two dishes I crave regularly. They are both must orders on any visit.

stevez wrote:Although I'm not typically a "value shopper" my one negative comment is that I think Vera is a little expensive for what you get. We had drinks along with our food, but not more than one or two glasses of sherry each and the tab for our group came out to $85/person. Normally, that wouldn't bother me but I left hungry and had to stop for a hot dog on the way home. This is small complaint...more of an observation really...and it won't keep me from returning to Vera. I want to sample more of the fantastic menu.

I can't recall the price, but for another perspective, I was actually uncomfortably stuffed and only had a taste of the last few items brought out (you didn't think I wasn't going to taste them, did you?). And we actually had some food left over. Steve, you may have been a little too parental/kind and not taking large enough portions.

As for the food at Vera, my only personal regret is that I had not been eating at Vera since before the late fall/early winter. And Ronnie, I didn't have a problem with your ordering (or mine). In fact, if you walk into a tapas bar in Madrid, you just start picking and choosing items that appeal to you, and many (if not most) are pork/meat based, but typically smaller bites (like Vera). But I can see how some diners might prefer a different progression of dishes. Regardless, I can say that I left Vera extremely satisfied as I have now on every visit.

stevez wrote:Although I'm not typically a "value shopper" my one negative comment is that I think Vera is a little expensive for what you get.

As a former restauranteur, I am steeped in admiration of the small plates concept from a business / food cost perspective.

As a consumer, however, my per person average is always well up there. At Vera this past Saturday night it was $92 each plus tip. For that we had a round of apertifs, an inexpensive bottle of wine and more food than we could eat--much of which we enjoyed quite a bit. Service was great, the noise in the room intense and the care and solicitousness of the management non pareil. I would very much like to return on a weeknight, when the both the room and the kitchen are not so overwhelmed.

(On allied note, this is a terrific GNR nomination.)

turkob wrote:I keep wanting to love the place, but it just isn't doing it for me. And frankly I was relieved to see that I wasn't alone since the praise has been so universal.

Last night, we went to Vera for the first time. Based on the reports upthread, I was pretty excited. I had a premonition that the uni would be "86'ed" on Monday, and that was correct. Big disappointment, but I understand the
nuts and bolts of buying fresh seafood. For the most part, specialty seafood items don't hit Chicago early enough for Monday delivery. Speaking of seafood...we had the garlic shrimp which were 3 pieces of medium sized head on. Extremely heavy on lemon, obliterating the garlic flavor. And that would have been ok, but the shrimp were slightly mushy rather than the juicy, crunchy, popping shrimp texture I expected. I suspect that these were last week's shrimp due to the texture.

Bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese fondue: We both love bacon and dates, and we love bacon and blue cheese, but the bacon/dates sitting on a pool of a creamy blue cheese dressing was to me just an odd combination.

Blood sausage: As much as I love copious amounts of black pepper, I couldn't get past the first bite. Too hot to finish. For sure, whoever prepped this did not taste it or it would have been tossed.

We both loved the pig head sandwich. 2 Cheeses with a sweet onion confit and almonds were tasty. Churros and brulee were good. Cappucinos were extremely bitter and milk almost non-existent. Service was fine.

I wanted to love Vera too, but the meal was pretty "meh" for both of us.

(Until last night, I never quite understood the meaning of the word meh but now I get it!)

My love for Vera continues. I wanted to repeat a dinner I had there last fall and called to ask if they could get me a porterhouse with some advance notice, they could, and I had it last Friday. It was served sliced with Mark's salsa verde which I love. The meat, which I believe is from Slagel, had a deep mineral flavor and was simply grilled with salt & pepper. This has become one of my favorite steak preparations and I need to get back in to try the rib-eye available on Saturdays.

We started with the uni toast which my friend, who is raw fish adverse, was willing to try for my sake. I described it as "fish foie gras" and while she reluctantly took the first bite she swooned over the rest, I had to fight her for my share. I'm always happy to have a convert. We also had the Kale salad which provided a nice acidic bite, but the star of the side dishes is the newly added egg raviolio with English peas and crispy Serrano ham. The ravolio pasta encases a whole egg and is then quickly cooked so the yolk is still runny when you break into the pasta, spooned up with the peas and ham, it was one of the best bites I've had this year.

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but they had a white chocolate mocha mousse with cookie crumbles that my friend ordered, it was amazing, so much I recommended to another friend I ran into as I was leaving.

I should also give a shout out to their whole fish available on Tuesday, it's a simple grilled prep that does a superior product justice. They're now open on Mondays as of last week and Liz said they're going to start doing wine flights and oysters on that day, they haven't started this yet so give a call first if that's what you're going for. They well deserve their GNR status.

mbh wrote:We started with the uni toast which my friend, who is raw fish adverse, was willing to try for my sake. I described it as "fish foie gras" and while she reluctantly took the first bite she swooned over the rest, I had to fight her for my share.

I really like their toasts, here. We had their new, in-season pickled ramp toasts on Saturday. Could have eaten about 10 of those and just called it a night.

The rainbow trout dish with pickled vegetables was also a nice surprise. Really fresh and simply prepared but perfectly executed.

Friday night, 6 pm, stellar food and service and we are the only ones in here? This does not compute.[img][img][/img][/img]

I was in on Monday with a couple of friends from NJ and their friends from Highland Park--everyone LOVED their meal. Perfectly shucked and briny Blue Point oysters ($1 each on Mondays!!!) and a great tour through the menu--their stuffed dates are my favorite anywhere (yes, even over Avec); juicy & crispy tongue skewers; tart and tangy boquerones (white anchovies); pisto manchego with a beautiful runny egg; papas bravas; garlic shrimp; charred eggplant with whipped ricotta and paella fried rice with chorizo and chicken. Not a miss in the bunch. Add in a well curated wine and sherry list and you have a lovely, complete package. Vera isn't flashy. But, to me, it is exceptional. It is my go-to for out of town guests and dinners when I want to be able to enjoy carefree deliciousness and conversation with my dining companions.

I hope everyone will help keep this gem around for many years to come.

When we left at 8, only one other party had come in. They had a drink at the bar and lef. Seemed very strange as Vera is as great as ever.

Ursiform wrote:When we left at 8, only one other party had come in. They had a drink at the bar and lef. Seemed very strange as Vera is as great as ever.

Inexplicable...Even on Monday the restaurant was at least 2/3 full while we were there.

The staff was flabbergasted as well.

I was there at 7pm on a Friday in late July and it was 2/3rds full. Were there nearby street closures/festivals or events that United Center that might have discouraged people from going out in the neighborhood?

Nothing. We pre-gamed at the Publican before heading over to Vera, it was bustling. Truly, Vera was firing on all cylinders , genuinely baffled as to why it was so empty.

Heading to Vera on Friday for my and my wife's birthday dinner, just the two of us. They have seats at the Otro Bar. Should we do that or just sit at a regular table? If we go Otro bar, they have a 3 course and 5 course tasting menu or we could go a la carte. Would the tasting menu be worth it? Never done a tasting menu before, and the cost isn't a problem. Wife said if I wanted to do it we could.

I don't know what's on the tasting menu or how much it costs, so I can't assess whether it is "worth it". But most of the dishes at Vera are small and meant for sharing. So I'd prefer to pick the dishes that seem most interesting.

Darren72 wrote:I don't know what's on the tasting menu or how much it costs, so I can't assess whether it is "worth it". But most of the dishes at Vera are small and meant for sharing. So I'd prefer to pick the dishes that seem most interesting.

$35 three courses, $55 five courses. Wine is $20/$30

We'd probably go five courses.

The more I think about it the more I think the a la carte would be better. We can pick what interests us!

Vera was a success on Friday night! Had the olives, bacon wrapped dates, garlic shrimp, patatas bravas, and paella with rabbit and chorizo. Everything was excellent and they did a great job getting us wines that paired well with the food.

Bluto11 wrote:Vera was a success on Friday night! Had the olives, bacon wrapped dates, garlic shrimp, patatas bravas, and paella with rabbit and chorizo. Everything was excellent and they did a great job getting us wines that paired well with the food.

Happy to hear, not at all surprised. Not only is the food terrific, but I can't think of a place that does a better job of working with you on wines, particularly sherry.

I made my 2nd visit to Vera the other day with 3 others. After sampling a good portion of the menu I think I can safely say that there are a few highlights on the menu but at least as many misses. A lot of the misses to me seemed to lack direction, unbalanced dishes, some too bland and others too salty, too oily, etc. I may sound a bit harsh, but the bar was set high with the price and size of the dishes. Nothing was offensively bad, except one that was so salty it was hard to eat, but too many just seemed like dishes that I could execute better at home.

On both visits I found the space to be cozy and overall I really just wanted to like it. I know a lot of people who do and it seems like my kind of place. I really appreciate the wine selection, especially the sherry. I am not one to nitpick service, but unfortunately as friendly as everyone working was we didn't have a good experience at all. We sat at the bar and I got the feeling that we were put to the back burner behind the regulars (or friends). After some initial drinks, it took far too long to get anyone’s attention to get food menus which we should have already had when we sat down. After we did, it took another 15 minutes to learn that there were specials. During the course of the night it never seemed that any one server (nor the owner who was present) was dedicated to our attention which was unfortunate since I had so many questions about the food and wines, and probably would have ordered differently had we been able to talk to someone. To get any kind of service, I felt like I had to interrupt the owner who was chatting and laughing with friends, and then she seemed rushed to get back.

All said and done we had some good, some not so great food, great sherry selection, but a surprisingly lukewarm experience. I won’t be rushing back.