Anteprima

It's Italian food.  My dislike of going out to eat Italian food is well documented to the Yelp community and I will not bore them with more of it.  Suffice to say that my experience at Anteprima was a microcosm of my feelings towards the entire genre of Italian restaurants.  And no I have no idea if I spelled microcosm correctly...or, I suppose, if I used it correctly in that sentence.  Basically, nothing was bad, but nothing was great, and everything I ate I felt like I could've made with relative ease at home, and I assure you, my cooking talent could be labeled as amateur at best.

I do remember that my friend kept complaining that there wasn't Vin Santo.  I don't know who this Vin guy is or where he was when neglecting his duties as an employee of Anteprima but I think we should cut him some slack. It can't be easy working at a mediocre Italian restaurant when your brother is such an accomplished Hall-of-Fame Chicago Cub.

The atmosphere and decor of this place is really lovely and beautiful. I enjoyed my food, but the fish I had was very salty, maybe that's just the way that fish is. I had a squash soup that was soooo tasty.  I would go back again.

There's the five star half of this place:  awesome bartender, tasty food, and strong drinks.  Then there's the zero stars half:  blowing off our reservations, trying to give us a crap table, and the overserving of a certain friend, who shall remain nameless ;)

When we arrived for our reservation, they told us they had no room, and to grab a seat at the bar until a table opened up.  Not a problem, since the bartender was one awesome chick who helped us out with drink and app suggestions that made us forget the wait.  Half an hour later four tables were open, and when we reminded them we were waiting to be seated, we were offered the first table by the kitchen.  We asked for one of the other tables, and were told they were reserved and we'd have to wait for another table to open up (no one sat at those tables for the rest of the night).

Forty-five minutes after our reservations, we had seats.  We continued our meal with some entrees, and while everything was good, it's pricey for what you get.  When I pay $14 for pasta, I hope I at least get enough to semi-fill my tummy.  If it wasn't for all the apps we had at the bar, I would've had to make a fast food run afterwards.  Also, I hate hate hate when I'm with someone who's visibly intoxicated and even after asking the waiter to not serve my friend he brings new drinks anyway.  And jic you thought maybe my friend didn't look that toasted, he fell asleep in that final martini they brought him.  As in, with his elbow on the table, he lifted the glass to his lips and konked out.  Perfectly balanced, of course, because he's a true professional.  The whole experience was not worth the $200 it cost us for three people.

On a side note, I did return, since I live in the neighborhood and thought this night was a fluke.  It wasn't.  The next time I ordered an entree and a drink.  Since the waiter never returned after taking our order, and only stopped by to drop off the check, I never did get that drink.  Boo.