Terra & Vine

Since it’s only about four blocks from the house, Moetchandon and I ventured out to Alpana Singla’s newest outpost, Terra and Vine, in Evanston.

It’s a cursed location, but that may be because it had only housed chain restaurants in the past. Located next to the Century Cinema movie complex, apparently Wolfgang Puck, and then Bravo, assumed they could get by with upscale/mediocre chain food. Ultimately, both were wrong.

Which is why Singh’s offering is so hopeful. It’s a small menu, concentrating on appetizers, small plates, and generous entrees. And, as might be expected, a well-curated but not inexpensive wine list.

We started with the Warm Artichoke and Spinach Fonduta Dip, with Lavash crackers and a bit of finely-shredded parmesan. A good, Fontina cheesy start, but we both agreed the amount of artichoke and spinach in the dip were, well, on the cheesy side. Nevertheless, flavors were good.


Moetchandon went with the Shrimp Calabrese, combining the shrimp with torchio (torch-shaped) pasta and an n’juda-based sauce. The sauce’s spiciness and porkiness went surprisingly well with the shrimp.


I went with Flatiron Steak. It was perfectly done, with a very slight chew. It paired especially well with the balsamic glaze, and the gorgonzola potatoes and greens were a nice touch. (Note that the online menu lists a similar offering as "New York Strip Steak," but given the environs of the President-Elect, I understand why a New York reference might be controversial.)


Given that it’s close, I’m sure we’ll be back. It’s also a great destination for anyone who wants to try an Alpana Singh restaurant without going downtown (it’s only a couple of blocks from the Davis Street stop, either on the CTA Purple Line, or the Metra UP North line). And, if you stop in the bar, you can get a great view of everyone ascending the escalators to go the multiplex above.

And, for what it’s worth (not much, really), shortly after we arrived, Jerry Springer and his wife were seated at a table just across the aisle from us. They weren’t interrupted by any fans, and seemed to enjoy their meal, too. Not a single chair was thrown all night.

Terra & Vine
1701 Maple Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 563-4333

nr706 wrote:... a well-curated but not inexpensive wine list.

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Katie wrote:

nr706 wrote:... a well-curated but not inexpensive wine list.

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Interesting selections, almost all over $35 a bottle; many, if not most, well above that.

Alpana Singh’s Evanston restaurant, Terra & Vine, is getting into daytime service. Lunch and brunch will both start next week (1.17.17) and will be available every day of the week except Mondays. The menus have not been released yet

Per Eater Chicago 1.13.17

The Evanston Lunch Group had a very nice meal at Terra and Vine, Alpana Singh's new restaurant. The food was very, very good and the service was excellent. As it was lunch, we were teetotal, alas. But we were able to try a good range of well-prepared dishes.
We tried the soup of the day, a kale, bean, and sausage combo that was surprisingly delicate given the ingredients and was not at all salty. There is a light hand in the kitchen with salt, which we appreciated.

We all enjoyed the Italian Cobb Salad, which was nicely balanced and lightly dressed.

The Tuna Nicoise was the most ordinary dish, I thought. The seared tuna was nice, but otherwise it was an ordinary green salad for the most part.

The calamari was crispy and light and, again, delicately seasoned.

We had to try the avocado toast. Very trendy, our amazingly helpful server Doug told us. It was very tasty. And trendy.

The roasted cauliflower was a cauliflower steak with a lip-smacking turmeric butter sauce and fregola. The cauliflower was quite firm, making it more steak-like.

The trenette genovese (pesto) with green beans and potatoes, as is traditional, was excellent as well.

We liked lunch so well, we were persuaded to split a dessert, a warm bread pudding with cherry sauce, sugared almonds, and vanilla gelato. It was a winner.

I think Alpana has a good thing going there, and I'm looking forward to returning for dinner soon.

Terra and Vine
1701 Maple
Evanston, IL
847.563.4333
http://terraandvine.com/

I've been disappointed when ordering lamb shank at several places recently. This was not one of them.

For me, the highlights were the Soup, Trenette, and the Cauliflower. I was a little disappointed in the Nicoise Salad, the Avocado Toast, and the Bread Pudding. But in general, I found T&V a strong addition to Evanston dining. I intend to try dinner.

Everything was good, no misses at all. My favorites at lunch were the calamari and the warm bread pudding. I also really, really enjoyed a short rib sandwich that I got to go and ate for dinner later that day. (Our group doesn't usually order sandwiches because we all like to try everything we get, and sandwiches aren't as easy to split as salads and entrees.)