schwa

[shwah}
–noun Phonetics.

1. the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.
2. the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.
3. a seriously amazing restaurant in Wicker Park, run by hilarious, creative, generous men who understand their food, their clientele, and what it means to truly have some “Christmas Spirit”.

All three definitions are accurate, but the third one is especially pertinent. Especially since we all learned about the first two in grade school and then forgot about them entirely until right now this second when I reminded you.

And then I more or less forgot about the whole concept of schwas for about eighteen years when my boyfriend told me that he wanted to go to Schwa (the restaurant) for his birthday. So I called for a reservation towards the end of November, maybe around the 24th, and left a message on their machine.

They got back to me in December. Not because they hated my message and not because they suck at phones, but because they are a small restaurant. And when I say “small restaurant”, I mean that there are literally twelve tables in the whole place, so getting a reservation is not the easiest thing because they’re trying to fill their restaurant to the best of their ability.

Anyway – they got back to me on a Saturday morning in December and I missed the call. So I swore repeatedly and called them back immediately.

They got back to me the following Wednesday and asked me if I’d like to come in that night. I immediately accepted and then called my boyfriend to let him know (it was his birthday present, after all) and we spent the next hour or so being incredibly giggly and excited about going.

Quail Egg Ravioli with Shaved White Truffle at Schwa

I say “the next hour or so” because the boys at Schwa called me back and were incredibly apologetic when they told me that the City of Chicago would be doing some work on the pipes or something out in front of their building and would be shutting off their water to do so. So we would NOT be able to experience the wonders of Schwa that night because of some public works nonsense. To make up for the inconvenience, the boys at Schwa offered me my pick of days and times to go for dinner – and considering I’d waited for two weeks for them to get back to me in the first place, this was an incredible gesture.

So I rescheduled for the following Wednesday and broke the news to the boyfriend.

The following Tuesday, Schwa called to reconfirm my reservation and offer some wine advice (they’re BYOB) to my giddy self. That same day, I lost my job. My boyfriend told me that I should cancel the reservation and save my money for things like groceries and so on and I was apprehensive because it’s his birthday present and I’d budgeted for it and really wanted to go.

But the next day I called to cancel because he’s right. And they’re sympathetic – maybe a little moreso than usual because we’ve been playing phone tag for a month and they kind of know me by now. So I canceled and they were nice about it and I went along my merry way.

Five minutes later, my phone rang. It was Schwa.
And they wanted us to come for dinner anyway. And they were going to pay for it.

And then I cried because I am a sap and because that kind of extreme kindness and generosity are so rare these days. And because things like this only happen in the movies.

So we went. And I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it was. All ten courses were perfect and inspired (standouts included an apple pie soup, ravioli with shaved truffles, brown butter, and a quail egg, and deconstructed peanut butter and jelly with homemade root beer and black pepper ice cream for dessert). There are no waiters – the chefs bring you your food and then tell you about it in a way that is personable, charming, and comes across like your smartassed friends telling you about the amazing food they just made that they’re genuinely proud of.

I can’t say enough good things about Schwa. The food’s amazing. The guys who run the place are great chefs who come up with fantastic, inventive dishes. Thank you, Schwa. Thank you for an incredible night and your generosity.

I’ll be telling people about how awesome you are until I’m blue in the face.

One of my favorite things about living in Chicago is that there is a seemingly endless supply of new and different restaurants.  Each one tries to be more unique and chic than the next.  My boyfriend and I devote our date nights to trying new restaurants and it seems that we’ve tried all types: fancy, simple, and completely over-rated.

Our fanciest (and funniest) date was to Trump’s “Sixteen.”  We were by far the youngest people there and tried our hardest to break our server’s “penguin” like manners and façade.  As we do with all of our servers, we just wanted to know his name and chat with him like a friend.  We decided on ordering the tasting menu.  We figured if we were at the Trump we should go big, be surprised and order food we wouldn’t know how to pronounce. The first course (of several) came out and we could barely make it through the server’s long and fancy explanation before we looked at each other and laughed out loud at the tiny little creation, complete with a “squiggle” of liquid garnish.

The courses did get better (and bigger) and the service was second to none.  In fact, the service was so exquisite that we started to wonder if there were hidden cameras on our table.  We joked that we should time how many seconds it would take for one of the staff to come over and refill our glass after one of us took a sip of wine. They made it to us within seconds each time.  The atmosphere was the most unique I’ve ever experienced in Chicago, perhaps because of the beautiful view, very dim lighting and decadent crystal chandelier in the center of the restaurant. It was such a treat to dine at “Sixteen”, but we (and our $18 cocktails) aren’t planning on running back there in this lifetime.

This weekend we attended a 30^th birthday dinner at a simple Italian restaurant, a hidden gem on Armitage in Lincoln Park called “Tarantino’s.”  They had amazingly authentic food and great service.  We had a party of 20 without any slips in service, quality or timing which is quite a feat.  I don’t love Caesar salad but I had a taste of theirs and, honestly, I’m still thinking about it!  I also ordered the Black Linguine which was served with fresh shrimp and mussels in a spicy red sauce- excellent, and a new favorite!  I had never been to Tarantino’s before but I’d tell anyone to go there because it fit the bill of quality, service and atmosphere.

But sometimes curiosity prevails and you just have to try those buzz-worthy restaurants.  After trying to get a reservation for some time, we finally got in at Perennial.  The interior of the restaurant is pretty: wood floors, what seems to be live foliage and trees with a modern flair.  The backroom had lots of pretty Christmas “trees” with blue lights and ornaments.  Overall though, we were disappointed; especially after hearing such a buzz about it.  It was very loud and the seating wasn’t intimate.  Our server was on the verge of snotty, and the menu was very limited.  We did LOVE their Crudo, though, which is very flavorful raw fish drizzled in oil, lemon and herbs.

So when it comes to my favorite Chicago restaurants, I’ll pick simple any day.  All the hype, glamour and over-the-top attempts at being the most unique sometimes ruin the whole experience.  Maybe all of that glitz and glam covers up the whole point of dining out in the first place: great food and friendly service.