So this isn't exactly current, but I thought I would post about it anyway. There are two nights that I try to avoid restaurants. New Year's Eve and Valentine's. But we were in Chicago, so we went out with Daphne's friends from Indiana, Doug and Teri. The restaurant was recommended by a colleague of hers. Trattoria No. 10, an Italian restaurant, not far from where we were staying. Walking in, we were warmly greeted by the staff and quickly seated. The room was nice. It is underground, so no windows, but it felt warm and had that wonderful buzz of a restaurant in the middle of a busy service. My dinner began with the carpaccio. I love carpaccio and I think of of the best is the one found at Cru in Vancouver, so ordering it here was a bit of a risk. This one was great, but very different from the version at Cru. What I loved about this one was the little bits of pickled things that they used to top the carpaccio. It added a great contrast in texture and flavour. Slightly crunchy and tangy against the soft rich flavour of the beef. I think the Cru version is still better, but this was very good.
Next, Daphne and I split an order of their ravioli with spicy sausage. I love ordering a pasta course, but didn't really want to have it as my main, so this was nice. Our server was nice enough to divide the order before bringing it to the table.It was a nice sized portion for a pasta course. Not quite as spicy that I would have hoped, but pretty good.
For my main course I had one of the specials for the night. A braised pork cheek. I love braised meats, so this was immediately attractive to me. It was rich and quite tasty. The pork I think could have been a little more tender. It didn't quite fall apart as easily as I would have hoped, but the flavour was great.
We were all pretty full, but thought we could manage a little gelato. If I remember correctly it was vanilla, dulce deleche and chocolate, I think. The vanilla I remember though was outstanding. I loved that they included a little pastry.
Overall dinner at Trattoria No. 10 was pretty good. The service was great even though it was insanely busy and the food was solid.
Craig,
I have to agree with you, the carpaccio at CRU is the best. i've probably have not had it at as many places, but when i do, i still have to think back to Cru.
Koji
Posted by: Koji | April 07, 2009 at 04:23 PM