Well, the good thing about being out of town on training is dining on expense account. So I had all evening to myself, and my rental car, so I decided to just head toward downtown Chicago and pop in to a restaurant at random that seemed nice. I headed for Halsted Ave, around the Sheffield/Lincoln Park area, since I knew there would be a good number of choices there, and most offered valet parking. So I decided to try Vinci, at Halsted and Willow. This was purely a random choice mind you. And it was the best meal I've eaten in my life. :dude: I got things started with a Grey Goose martini, up and with an olive while I looked over the menu. The waiter brought it promptly and it was chilled to perfection, extremely dry, and served with a fresh olive that tasted great. I munched on the focaccia bread the busboy brought while I looked over the menu. I settled on a Carciofo al Forno (baked artichoke) for my antipasto, and a dish of penne con salsa macchiata. My waiter brought the artichoke, and it was neatly trimmed, cooked to perfection, and covered in a delicate fonduta that went perfectly with the artichoke flavor. It was served on a warm plate filled with a marinara sauce that had just the right acidity to complement the dish. I made a huge mess eating the damn thing, but it was fantasic, best artichoke I've had. So my waiter offered another martini, but I didn't want to get too bombed to enjoy dinner, so when he suggested a glass of wine, I agreed, and asked him to select something for me to complement the penne. Before long I had my pasta, which was cooked to perfect al dente, tossed in a surprisingly complex red sauce and dotted with generous dabs of fresh chevre. And a glass of mystery red wine selected by Jorge. Jorge didn't let me down at all--the wine was lighter and more refreshing than most reds I've had (but I'm really not a wine drinker, much less a wine snob, so all I can really say is I liked it). And the sauce on the pasta was incredibly complex with layers of flavor including thyme, fresh ginger, and parsley. No way could I eat it all, I just took my time and ate until I was satisfied. I was in no hurry, and I was enjoying my view of pedestrian traffic and bicyclists weaving in and out of the cars on Halsted. So I had eaten all I cared to, and my busboy offered coffee, so I ordered a single espresso, which was served with a miniature butter cookie that was not too sweet and flavored with herbs. My waiter came by with the dessert menu, and I fought off the urge to order the tiramisu, and instead opted for a grappa. I had actually never tried grappa before, so once again I turned to Jorge for a recommendation from the menu of a dozen or so choices. I have no idea which one I got, but I was totally amazed at the intensity of the flavor. It really tasted strongly of grape but with a clean mouth feel like that of vodka. It was overwhelming at first, but I sipped it from the small tulip-shaped glass, alternating sips of espresso and bites of my cookie. What can I say? It was an amazing meal; I won't forget the experience. I stopped and told the chef how much I appreciated it, as well as the expert attention of the staff. I believe that you ought to be as quick to praise someone for a job well done as you are to complain if things aren't satisfactory. I can't remember a meal that was this satisfying.
Glad you had a great experience! Best place I've ever had the pleasure of dinning at was the Reata in Fort Worth. It's just not the same now that it's not in the Bank of America Building. There's something to be said for enjoying the perfect steak 36 stories above the street. It didn't have quite the menu Vinci does, but the environment and service are amazing. Man I wish they had been able to keep their place in the Bank of America Building... Filthy tornadoes
i can't remember where i've had the best meal... but it was definitly not in the uk... and was probably in an italian restaurant... in funnily enough... italy you do tend to get really nice meals even in the cheap places locals go to (where there aren't transations of the dishes names into english ) but it was probably in venice... although i seem to recall a nice up a mountain in tuscany A few years ago now - can't remember which was the best i'll have to go back to italy at some point... still my *ahem* weight hasn't been the same since i went to italy lol
the best meal i have ever had was when i lived in Sri Lanka for 4 years. mmmm they just don't make decent curries in the UK
yesterday I treated myself.... A colegue and I went to a local little place nearby (you may have one of these places near you) The atmosphere is playful and light (it had a playground out front with a clown named Ronald in it). I perused the menu and had a difficult time making a decision. I was encouraged by a fellow diner to try something new. (the construction worker in line behind me told me to hurry up and order and called me a jackass). The waiter recommended a specialty dish they have been working on. She called it a "fillet-o-fish" (the waiter was a 300 lbs Jabba-woman who said they already had some in the bin so it would be served fast). It was deep fried to perfection. Light and crispy on the outside, tender and flakey on the inside and served on a bun that was baked in Milwaukee if I remember correctly (it left such a grease stain on the wax wrapper it came in it was now transparent). It had a wonderful relish-mayonaise on it that complimented the fillet perfectly (it was tartar sauce that can only be ordered in bulk units by the ton and is applied to the food by an industrial pressure gun mechanism.) I asked my server what beverage she recomended to compliment my meal... she suggested a white soda since it was fish, something in a 2002 Sprite but I was feeling daring and went for the 2001 Dr. Pepper. It was dark and bubbly but not precocious and rounded my meal perfectly with my choice of side dish, french style potatoes which were topped with a lovely Heinz sauce. Afterward, a busboy asked me if there was anything else I needed (he said his shift was almost over and if I was thinking of walking out without emptying my try he would clock me with his rancid mop).
That's great eddie. What was this placed called again? Linear, sounds like you had a great meal, I wish I could eat like that everyday. Oh, and that must have cost a fortune.
feh, thanks to you eddie_dane my keyboard is now a Dr Pepper filter lol, that was hilarious. hehe, something in a 2002 Sprite... hmm... hehehe, nice job Personally I'm a major sucker for Indian cuisine. There's a small place in Frisco, Texas, called Sitar. It's not the hole in the wall indian places I was used to on a friday night in Yorkshire It has a super atmosphere, excellent food and perfectly polite and friendly wait-staff. They also have a lunch buffet where I eat lunch every once in a while, it's more expensive than your crappy Cici's or whatever, but it's really tasty and a great way to sample new foods. Plus they have Kheer.... mmm.... Indian rice pudding.... now I'm hungry... hmm... "other word for illegitimate child" is blanked out... but people can have names with ***** in them... nice.
RTT, i think you forgot something in your post.... sorry I couldnt resist, it just seemed like a good time to do it
I know where the Sitar is, I'll have to go check it out. And yes Ubermich it is quite sad about Reata. Leonardo's in Frisco is a nice Italian place, along with Primavera's in Plano, but enough DFW metroplex talk.
heh, Leonardo's is like 3 blocks from my work (where I am right now). Never eaten there though. Welcome to Bit-Tech, all DFW Metroplex chat, all the time. As an aside, I've noticed quite a substantial Texas contingent here, it's pretty cool actually
It's not my fault. I swear! Did the texans begin migrating over here from the [H]? I'm thinking it's either that or one freaky coinsidence...
FYI :: The person who joined the forums with that in their username had it changed - if you see other ppl joining the forum with naught words in their username please email rtt@bit-tech.net and he'll give them a good spanking *cough* he'll rectify the situation. *beep* thank you for your time
