Erwin's -- good food, and class (at last)

I have long had a grudge against Erwin's. If the food weren't so good, it wouldn't matter, I'd just not go. But after multiple experiences of truly exceptional rudeness in a variety of circumstances from front of house I had given up going, but was unable to stop missing it, because his food is so good. Hence the grudge.

Finally, the discount coupon they posted enticed my to try one more time. I figured the $20 off was already a recompense for whatever insult I might endure.

Happily all was well.

In place of the gorgon of days gone by, the host stand was manned by a cheerful fellow who led us directly to a table with no waiting. (We had reservations, but they were busy enough that I wouldn't have been surprised at a short wait.)

Menus, water and their good whole wheat bread and signature white bean spread appeared almost instantly.

One very mild disappointment was the very indifferent specials list: 1 app. (smoked salmon), 1 entree (a grilled strip steak; and there was already a steak on the reg. menu). Nothing wrong with these, but they didn't seem to exactly represent someone's imagination taking wing. More like a bit of a shrug.

So we went back to the regular menu and started with sauteed chicken livers on greens with apple slices and a nice tart dressing. (Me.) Squash soup. (She.)

The chicken livers were perfectly done with a nice bit of crunch on the outside, smooth and intense within. Lovely balance with the greens, tart/sweet apple and dressing.

The soup (with that slightly theatrical service - pouring from a small brass saucepan into the soup dish with only its garnish sitting in the center) was very rich and deep flavored. Something a bit exotic like cinammon involved there. Very good winter starter.

Then we had the famous pork chop - absolutely perfect balance of char/crunch on the outside and moist and flavorful within. Not even a second overdone. Nicely accompanied by the green tomato jam.

And the pasta: fettucine with andouille, rabbit, escarole and goat cheese with natural juices. Again, really perfect. The noodles exactly right, the ingredients working well together and the juices mixing with the goat cheese to form a sort of cream sauce right before your eyes.

Dessert was a shared tart cherry pie with scoop of very rich vanilla ice cream. Frankly, my wife makes a slightly better pie, but this was nothing to be ashamed of. And the cherry on top of it all (as it were), a very well drawn espresso: good crema, still piping hot, not nasty/thin/bitter/stale - as is so often the case.

Now for the "class" part. Service was excellent throughout. Then, between app and entree, I managed to knock over my glass of wine. A busboy happened by and cleaned it up quickly and efficiently. When the entrees were delivered, I simply ordered another glass without saying anything about it to the waiter.

When he brought the bill, he said, "I comped your first glass of wine since you barely got to drink half of it. " Now, the spillage was entirely my fault and I never would have said anything about it. Nor was he there when it happened. This was all his own initiative.

I'll be back. (Despite how easy it is to get to $100 for 2 even with a $20 coupon.

I really like Erwin, and I don't get there anywhere near as often as I'd like. Too many other places at that price point to try, I guess.

I even used to have the "Erwin Advantage" card, which gives you that same $20 off $60 discount once a month for a year.

There is a class of places that Erwin falls into. I would call them the "formerly creative and stylish places that have now settled into being really good neighborhood restaurants."

Yoshi's is definitely in the same class.

You can tell them in these ways:

The menu is a combination of creative things with old standbys.

The servers are fairly knowledgable.

The clientele is not young, and the staff seems to know more than half the customers by name, and in some detail (and vice versa).

There probably are more characteristics. But the sum total is that it is very good food that could be eaten every day, executed quite well with a touch of creativity. And what these places have in common are accomplished chefs who continued to make a go of it with their own places after they stopped being hot destinations. They did this by catering more and more to their neighborhood and developing a clientele who return regularly.

Are there others that belong in that list? Dining at Ina's recently, I had the sense that Ina's aspired to be Erwin's or Yoshi's from the beginning. The differences are that Erwin & Yoshi evolved into what they are now, and Ina is not Yoshi or even Erwin. Good food, comfortable atmosphere and generally enjoyable, sure, but not quite the touch, flair, execution, and taste.

I absolutely agree that this class of place exists, and it's something I love about Chicago (not that other cities don't have them).

I think Erwin really epitomizes the genre. Terzak's last place on Armitage I think was one. Maybe Vinci counts as one? Trattoria Roma?

dicksond wrote:But the sum total is that it is very good food that could be eaten every day, executed quite well with a touch of creativity. And what these places have in common are accomplished chefs who continued to make a go of it with their own places after they stopped being hot destinations.

Thyme fits, too. I think this is what Parlor aspires to.

I think a big part of the equation in these long-lasting, consistent places is that the owner owns the building. I'm no real-estate maven, but I strongly suspect that both Yoshi and Ervin own the buildings their restaurants are in. Owning your own building seems like the one way to resist two things at the same time: the wrecking ball, and the need to maximize profits to the nth degree in order to keep up with ever-increasing lease payments in ever-improving neighborhoods. A Yoshi or an Ervin can make enough money to feed his family, indeed make enough money to be rich, without worrying about whether he's making every last dollar that could possibly be made. This allows them to spend more time worrying about quality, and about running the kind of restaurant they want to run, than restaurant owners who rent and therefore don't have that luxury. When you don't have a landlord who's constantly raising your rent, you can afford to keep on a key server or sous-chef and pay him a little more than the going rate if that's what it takes to keep him.

All this is pure speculation on my part; I'd be interested to hear if it happens to be true! There are probably people here who know something about the renting/owning dichotomy and how it affects our local restaurants, who can basically confirm my speculations or refute them.