Sage (italian restaurant)

i had lunch today at Sage, an italian restaurant in lincoln park. it's owned by the same company as the basil leaf cafe which is right across the street. i knew nothing about this place; my friend and i were just looking for something to eat after coming from a terrific Culinary Historians meeting with dorie greenspan, the cookbook author and baker, so we were very pleasantly surprised that the 2 dishes we shared were downright excellent. while i would never write a review based on only 2 dishes, they were good enough that i feel comfortable writing about the restaurant, especially as an LTH search turned up no posts on it. the dish i'm most excited about was risotto with lamb and vegetables. it contained meat pulled off the shank and the dish was extremely 'lamby'. (there is little enough lamb on american restaurant menus-and it's amazing how often waiters are quick to announce that a lamb dish is very mild, not 'lamby' at all, when 'lambiness' is exactly what i'm looking for.) what a fantastic dish it was. the other was also above average in execution, though probably more commonly available. it was penne with asparagus,mushrooms, roasted garlic and toasted walnuts in basil oil. it was a 'dry' dish (no sauce), but didnt suffer because of it. it was full of flavor with lots of meltingly soft garlic cloves and mushrooms. i will definitely be going back- next time probably for the dinner entree of lamb shank with risotto and garden vegetables.
SAGE, 2465 N. CLARK ST., 7730348-SAGE, www.sagefoodandwine.com

thank you for your post - Ive always wondered about the food there. I've only gone in to buy day old bread ($1) and once to carry out their dessert.

I plan on dining there and giving them a try now!

i'm hopeful that you'll find other dishes to be as good as the 2 i tried today. i look forward to your post. justjoan

I've been there for lunch a number of times. I've only tried their soups and sandwiches, but they've all been very good.

I've been to Basil Leaf a few times over the years, and I've always enjoyed the food and the dining experience. I had stopped in a couple times at Sage to gawk, but finally went there for dessert recently after a dinner at Basil Leaf. Hubby and I split some cheesecake, which was good, but not as delicious as it looked. It certainly wasn't bad, but I can make just as good cheesecake myself.

During my Sage visit, I took a good look at the menu. It seems that they have a lot of the same food as Basil Leaf and the same prices. I was expecting some less expensive fare at this more casual cafe. If the food and pricing is the same, I'd much rather eat at Basil Leaf.

I was expecting some less expensive fare at this more casual cafe.

i was told by the manager that the menus were different at the 2 restaurants. sage certainly isnt cheap; i would have loved to try a salad or app. with my pasta but didnt want to spend the money. go on the websites, if you like, and compare prices and food. www.sagefoodandwine.com www.basilleafcafe.com. i just did, and found out there are many basil leaf cafes in the US. the menu does look very similar to sage.

justjoan wrote:

I was expecting some less expensive fare at this more casual cafe.

i was told by the manager that the menus were different at the 2 restaurants. sage certainly isnt cheap; i would have loved to try a salad or app. with my pasta but didnt want to spend the money. go on the websites, if you like, and compare prices and food. www.sagefoodandwine.com www.basilleafcafe.com. i just did, and found out there are many basil leaf cafes in the US. the menu does look very similar to sage.

During my recent Basil Leaf dinner and Sage dessert outing, I did a comparison of the menus, and that's when I found the offerings to be very similar and the prices were identical or nearly identical.