A Tavola

Every once in awhile, I like to go to a fancy restaurant. This time I chose A Tavola. This unassuming place came recommended to me by a wine connoisseur named Ryan. When driving west down Chicago Ave. you would have a really hard time finding the place unless you were looking right at the addresses of the houses and three flats as they pass by the window because this restaurant is actually in a little house. At first I thought I was walking into the wrong place because the entranceway has two paths - the first goes up the stairs and the second is blocked by a curtain. A man then opened the curtain and said, "Welcome to A Tavola. Can I take your coat?" We sat down in the only room they had, which was no bigger then someone’s living room. There were probably 8 or 9 tables over all, but none had more than four people in them and most had just two.

The service right off the bat was quality. Not only did the host treat everyone with respect, but he also helped the servers out and would come to the table often to check on things. The place seemed as though there was not one server but instead two or three people serving the whole room with the host helping out. Even though you did not have your own personal waiter it instead felt like you had three personal waiters.

The menu was simple with a few appetizers, some pastas and chicken, beef or fish for an entrée. They have great seasonal food, which I tried and was very impressed. I had "the grilled marinated leg of lamb with roasted parsnip puree and toasted garlic spinach." I went with Erin. She got the oven roasted chicken served with parmesan polenta and garlic spinach. It looked really good but somewhat plain. She said it tasted good but was nothing special. Overall, though, everything at A Tavola was very enjoyable. For a pasta I got the tagliatelle Bolognese, which was amazing. It’s very small, but you can split it with someone if you get an appetizer. The entree was really good and the spinach was perfect. What seems to be their deal is a simple but fresh and well prepared dish with some good wines to complement it. The wines, which are predominantly, if not all, Italian wines, are all really good. I did not try them all but have heard of a few of them and they are all nice wines. We got the Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico, obviously one of my favorites, and Fattoria Del Cerro Vino Di Noble Montepulciano 1999, which was really very tasty.

This place, overall, was really good and left me full and with a smile on my way out. I recommend people check this out, but a piece of advice: don't go as a crowd. It is more of a date atmosphere.