ERBA
4525 North Lincoln Avenue
(773-989-4200)
In our quest for outdoor dining, we were drawn to Erba, an Italian trattoria at 4525 North Lincoln Avenue. I’m glad we chose outdoors, because the smallish dining room strikes me as much too claustrophobic, and I’m not really a claustraphobe.
The outdoor seating is much better, as if we were in someone’s backyard behind their home, which I sense this location must have been somewhere in its history.
The menu reads with a degree of imagination, though presentations do not always play out as expected. We began with mussels in mascarpone cheese sauce with Moretti beer, garlic and thyme. I can’t say any of the flavors were all that self evident, except perhaps for a slight yeasty after taste, hopefully from the beer, not the mussels. They in fact, were juicy and succulent.
Another choice, herbed polenta was quite tasty, even though it reminded me more of scrambled eggs than a firm polenta cake or wedge. The flavors of morels, cremini mushrooms and leek julienne with chopped thyme were evident.
Other selections range from a romaine and arugula salad to a lobster crepe with shitakes and pea shoots.
Our server, who tried to be attentive, but seemed somewhat overwhelmed as the back yard began to grow more crowded, did allow us to be leisurely and order course by course.
We shared home made pappardelle in duck ragu, creminis again, as well as spinach and a dash of marsala. This was just about perfect, robust, and completely enjoyable.
The pastas otherwise include home made ravioli with rock shrimp, risotto with prosciutto di Parma and something called Reconstructed Lasagna in a bowl, among other choices. Someone clearly has a sense of humor in the menu department.
The rest of the menu is interesting, often inventive. Shrimp with shredded fennel had a lightly herbal licorice flavor in a white wine and butter sauce. Another choice, eggplant Parmesan doesn’t really have all that much cheese flavoring.
Expect to spend about $75 a couple, plus wine, tax and tip.
AMBIANCE 3/4 HOSPITALITY 4/5 FOOD 7.5/11
Erba is at 4525 North Lincoln Avenue and has a K/RATING of 14.5/20.
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