Ernesto's

What a great spot right in the heart of my Benton Park neighborhood!  It's an easy walk from home, perfect for these early fall evenings.  We walked over last Friday with no reservation, and it was packed inside but only about half full outside.  This works for us- we love the cozy and simple back courtyard space.  Can't wait for fire pit time to add even more warmth, literally and figuratively. The inside is a lovely and intimate space as well, just about 8 or so small tables and 10-12 spots at the bar.  Vibrant colors set an inviting scene.  
Their menu has expanded so much over their few years of being open, lucky for us!  It is still a smaller menu overall, but the offerings are simple and thoughtful with varying flavor combinations so anyone can find a dish or several for their taste.  We settled on  a few starters, a salad, and a flat bread.  First off were the house made truffle parmesan chips.  I am a sucker for anything truffle, it's just such an amazing, rich flavor, and these did not disappoint.  Next up was a greek salad.  A bit heavy on the greens in ratio to toppings, but still a great mix of feta, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and kalamata.  It had a delicious oil and vinegar dressing as opposed to the more common creamy greek, so a nice change of pace.  We also got the hummus duo.  First, plenty of pita came with.  It's a pet peeve of mine when places skimp on pita, not even an expensive ingredient.  One hummus was traditional, with feta, kalamata, and red pepper.  This one was light and creamy.  The second had spinach, onion, and roasted garlic artichoke.  This was one rich and garlicky, so a great contrast. Last to come out was a steak and gorgonzola flat bread, cooked to bubbly and brown perfection.  Again, great combo of flavors.  
Our server proactively brought out a few samples of red right off the bat, house faves that were available by the glass or bottle.  Great service, but neither actually appealed to us with one being too acidic and one being too light.  We wanted something right down the middle, and he made a great recommendation that we loved. Very minor gripe- I was surprised that both glasses very noticeably filmy when they came out.  Still perfectly acceptable to drink from, and I know this issue very well from my own dishwasher, but it would be a nice touch for a wine bar to polish their wine glasses.

I'll be dreaming of the chocolate torte!

I absolutely adore Ernesto's.

I love wine, but really don't know much about it so I cant really speak to their selection or quality. However, there are many other things that keep us stumbling the half block between home and Ernesto's. The atmosphere is perfect. Its very cozy with a good noise level for a conversation. Its quiet enough to hear each other, but there's enough background noise that everyone in the place is not listening to your conversation.

I saw that someone else had said it was too loud. This could be true on busier nights, but we haven't experienced that. We do end up there at weird times though.

The STAFF. Holy cow these people are friendly and nice. There's really not much else to say. They're great.

The FOOD. Ive only had apps, but everything has been delicious.

I really like the bar. Its pretty and it has purse-hooks. Purse-hooks alone almost make it 5 stars.

Its a great place to grab a glass of wine or a cocktail and hang out for a bit.