Publications: Counsel's Table: Vivo la voom

There might come a time when that West Randolph strip stops putting out great restaurants, but I haven't hit a bad one yet and that streak certainly did not stop with Vivo.

Right in the heart of it, Vivo is in what seems to be a renovated garage. The only tricky thing about this place is finding the door, and after that is mastered, the rest is gravy - preferably white wine tomato sauce gravy.

The space is small, but open with exposed brick all around and a nice bar along the east wall. The smell of the wood-burning fire grabs you when you walk in and pulls you inside, which meets with zero protest because the place is warm and welcoming.

So far so good.

Bread is served quickly - good, fresh and more chewy than Tuscan crusty, but no complaints. It comes with a plate of olive oil prefixed with chards of sharp cheese - probably Romano - oregano and just enough red flaked pepper. We ate all the bread. Twice.

Antipasti included their take on antipasto della casa. If you were hoping for the cheese, meat and olive mix you should have read the small print, because this dish is asparagus grilled on the wood fire you smelled, with a few roasted peppers and covered with shaved pecorino. Simple and delicious.

The carpaccio was a huge portion of thinly sliced tenderloin with capers, parmigianino over greens drizzled with olive oil. It's a very pretty dish and delicious, but the "thin" sliced beef was a little thicker than the transparent slices you get in most places. This is a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

The calamari are wood-grilled, tiny tender little squids with a nice lemon citron sauce and a sneaky, spicy marinara that you just might want more of. They were out of the sliced eggplant, so we went with our waiter's suggestion of a cheese plate that featured a mozzarella type of cheese called burrata, which apparently has a shelf life of only four days and they have flown in from Italy. It was good - mild, but a little nuttier in the soft center with a semi-hard crust. For four days, I should have bargained the price down. It came with a nicely portioned speck (cured ham) and assorted greens, olives and melon. It was actually more of a traditional antipasti than the asparagus.

The entrees were split among panini, pasta and secondi - meats or fish. The penne con rapini is served with chicken sausage - advertised as spicy, but more dry than spicy - and lots of broccoli rabe, which was a nice bitter sort of arugula-like contrast, over olive oil and garlic.

It was tasty. But with chicken sausage instead of pork/veal, it was also a little dry and could have used some more olive oil.

The penne gamberi was solid and had plenty of big, not over-cooked shrimp along with a mild white wine tomato sauce. You see this dish a lot with a spicy marinara and the not-so-spicy set will like this style.

Tilapia piccata was three or four perfectly finished mild filets served with a delicate lemon butter and caper sauce, oven-roasted rosemary potatoes and string beans. Tilapia presented simply like this is a go-to dish for lots of people and to Vivo'scredit, they didn't get fancy and screw it up.

With the caveat that I don't usually like gnocchi - it is all texture and no taste - this might be the best gnocchi in town. It's feather-light - lots of little tender, delicious pillows - and you have sauce options of bolognese, pomodoro or gratina. Go for the gratinata, a peppery, sharp cheese and garlic sauce along with some pan-fried seasoned bread crumbs. It adds taste to the texture, and, with the bread crumbs, even a little grit.

There is always room for dessert, especially here. A surprising array of options include the torta al formaggio, which was tasty white chocolate cheesecake with rich, creamy vanilla gelato. Plenty to share and plenty good. But the meringata is in a whole other stratosphere. It's sort of its own little planet. The core is pistachio gelato with pistachio nuts and raspberries mixed in, with a crust of homemade hard meringue that (literally) melts in your mouth, and, for the atmosphere of Planet Pistachio, the whole thing is drenched in hot fudge. There's plenty to share, but you might not get any of mine.

Traveler's tip: The next time you go to Minneapolis, don't. Go to St. Paul instead and stay in the grand St. Paul Hotel. It has been there for more than 100 years and is restored and magnificent. While you are there, eat at the St. Paul Grill, one of the finest steak houses anywhere. If you are alone, eat at the bar and have my friend Al Panzino take care of you.

Order the Cajun beef bites, a plateful of little chunks of perfectly cooked beef tenderloin, rubbed in Cajun magic and served with house-made horseradish cream sauce - among the best bar snacks ever.

If you are going for the full meal, have the bone-in filet and ask for hunter sauce with it - citrusy and delicious.

Pleadings:
Vivo
838 W. Randolph St., Chicago
(312) 733-3379
Court costs:
Appetizers: $4 - $10
Entrees: $10 - $26
Verdict: 3 gavels

Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company