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Last night I had the pleasure of trying out Vincent, the new restaurant from the chef/owner of HB Home Bistro, and which is located in the former La Tache space, next door to Great Lake. The menu features a number of Dutch items which in my opinion add an interesting note to the area dining. More importantly, the food I tasted last night was good enough to merit a return.

Unfortunately, the first two things you'll notice about Vincent is that it's a little too dark and a little too loud . . . the music blares somewhat, voices get elevated . . . and it's hard to hear people at your own table. Lighting is minimal and it was only a little amusing to see diners throughout the restaurant tilting the small tea lights on each table in order to view the menu.

Once you get by these issues, there's some pretty good food to be had. Crab croquettes were not the best starter. Although perfectly fried, they were a little bland and depended upon the accompanying Old Bay mayo for flavor. On the other hand, the Dutch mustard soup with crab salad, tarragon pesto and smeerkaas cheese was loaded with flavor and enjoyable. Tart and rich from mustard and cream, but not monotonous thanks to the flavorful accompaniments.

Vincent offers five varieties of moules frites. The one we had featured beer, butter, roasted garlic, anise, fennel and dried basil. The mussels themselves were perfectly cooked and really plump. The broth itself was pretty decent, although I've had much better. The frites, on the other hand, were excellent. Thin, skinned (and looking like McDonald's fries) and perfectly crisp with a soft interior, perfectly seasoned and accompanied by a delicious roasted garlic aioli, these were as good as I've had in quite some time. And regardless of whether you order the moules frites or the lamb burger, you'll get a generous mound of frites which are perfect for two to share.

As for the lamb burger, it was apparently stuffed with roasted garlic and mint butter and topped with melted edam and roasted tomato. The lamb flavor was great and that's what I mostly tasted. The accompaniments modestly enhanced the burger, but it was the moist and flavorful lamb patty that really made this burger sing. I also had a small taste of an evening special, a seafood stew, and what I tasted I liked, although I did get a bit of grit with one of the mussels in the stew and to me that's a big no no.

We were too full for dessert, but I should note that we had pre-dinner cocktails which we really enjoyed. Adam Seger, who I believe is still (?)the highly acclaimed mixoligist at Nacional 27, has developed the cocktails at Vincent, as well as at least one of their spirits (Hum). While I can't remember the cocktails well (and they're not listed on the menu), I will note that we really enjoyed them. And they are featuring Adam's Hum spirit, mentioned in this thread.

All said, I believe Vincent is a welcome addition to Andersonville and I look forward to returning.

Vincent
1475 W. Balmoral, Chicago
773.334.7168
reservations taken

Nice to hear about this place; definitely want to try it out. Thanks for the heads up!

BR - can one take a kid to this place? We have feel terribly guilty every time we go to Hopleaf without Sparky...

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http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails
http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/

I dined late (9pm) so there were no kids there, but it's not alcohol-focused like Hopleaf so I can't see why not. Note that the place was packed so reservations are highly suggested.

Good to know - thank you!

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No guts, no glory.
http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails
http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/

All I can remember about eating in the Netherlands is sandwiches and beer, so the idea of a restaurant with a Dutch accent is very appealing. The Dutch Onion Soup with duck confit sounds very edible.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

My wife and I had a really nice meal at Vincent the other night. We were able to snag the only available table in the bar area, luckily.

We started with a appetizer of pickled herring, a shot of young genever, and a some pickle slices. The herring was amazing, bursting with a strong fish and pickle flavor. The pickle slices were also very good - presumably made in-house. The genever was not so good (and I like gin).

For main courses we split a bowl of mussels cooked with beer and spices, and a dish that combined suckling pig and pork belly. The mussels were large and as good as I've had anywhere. The pork dish was also outstanding. The suckling pig was revelatory.

We had a 2009 Chinon, whose name escapes me now but was forgettable.

For dessert we had a very good cheese plate and late harvest Riesling.

My wife described the service as a roller coaster ride. Our server was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and friendly, but was rarely around. We had been waiting a long time after placing our order and the wine and appetizer hadn't arrived. The server then came by to double check what we ordered and we were disappointed to learn that apparently our ordered hadn't even been put in yet. But overall we were really happy with the meal and look forward to going back.

I am definitely a fan of Vincent's after my first visit. We had a table in the bar area which was nice and lovely albeit a bit cramped - for the host/server to talk to some of the other tables, it actually involved pretty much touching my mom or my shoulders. Also, the host/server did seem a bit overwhelmed but I believe that it was the owner who compensated for our sometimes absent server. Although the service was certainly not polished, everyone was so nice that it was just fine.

On to the food...we started with some pork meatballs which i do not eat but the other three people in my party devoured them. They appeared to be fried and honestly looked quite tempting even to the non-pork eater. We also had pickles and herring. I am not drinking at the moment so wanted to skip the shot with herring so they made us a simple plate with just the pickles and herring and I loved the herring (did not get to try the pickles as my toddler devoured them before I had a chance). I am used to the herring drowning in cream sauce and I am not sure I will ever be able to go back to that as this was just nice think slices of herring with a strong but not overwhelming pickle to them. We also split an endive salad which was light and refreshing. I felt that the shaved aged gouda added nothing as it was surprisingly flavorless. For entrees, we all got mussels and split them: saffron, provencale and sambal. The mussels were enormous and perfectly cooked. My favorite was the sambal as it was so flavorful with a bit (but not overwhelming) spice. The fries were fantastic - especially with the mayonnaise. It looked like we had an obscene amount but somehow they were almost all gone by the end of dinner. For dessert we had some chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse in the center. Not really the type of dessert any of the people at my table would order except my son who practically joined another table while they were eating theirs. It though must have been good as we pretty much finished that as well. Along with two martinis and a glass of wine, the bill came to about $150. Although there were a few quirks with the service, I thought the food was fabulous and a great addition to the neighborhood!

Count me as a big fan, too. This is "real Dutch" food--very authentic and very high quality. Great vibe, too-very friendly. They had a Red Waddle pig dinner the other night that was stupendous.

We tried Vincent last night with a friend. Service was friendly, enthusiastic and descriptive. We started with a round of cocktails: Dutch 75 for Mr. X, a champagne cocktail with St. Germain for our friend and a take on an old fashioned for me. My drink was made with the Hum liquor, which I learned I'm not a fan of after trying at Localicious. Too medicinal for me. Somehow, I managed to skip the word "hum" in my drink's description. Oh well, I managed to finish it anyway. We enjoyed the fresh bread that was brought to the table. It was a good quality baguette. The butter was served with a piece of roasted garlic what looked like olive oil.

Mr. X and our friend each started with the caramelized cauliflower soup (swiss cheese, candied bacon, pickled red onions, brown bread). This was a cheesy, flavorful soup. The pickled onions were a fantastic counterpoint to the richness of the soup. Our friend had the grilled calamari special that served with lentils. The calamari was wonderfully tender. Mr. X had another of the small plate specials, forgive my poor memory, chicken terrine (or mousseline?) with chicken liver pate. It was served with brown bread, mustard and a caper-onion relish. Delicious. I went with the $25 three-course Dutch dinner. This included the endive salad (mustard seed vinaigrette, apples, walnuts, grilled bread, shaved aged gouda), a sausage with mashed potatoes and cabbage entree, followed by a cheese course. (The Dutch name was much better, but I didn’t write it down.) The salad was fresh, but rather unremarkable. I loved the entrée. The sausage was full of flavor and the mashed potato/cabbage (more like a sauerkraut) combo was great.

The cheese course was some aged gouda served with brown bread and grapes. It was fine, but overshadowed by the chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse that ecs mentioned above. I don’t really like peanut butter and I couldn’t stop eating this cake. It’s soon to be taken off the menu, so consider yourself warned.

Vincent is a great addition to the dining scene. I know we’ll be back.

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-Mary

Brunch yesterday morning at 11. Unfortunately, you could have pretty much shot off a cannon inside. There was one table of folks inside when we arrived, none when we left. One table outside when we arrived, two when we left. Ouch.

The Lovely Dining Companion has the "matzoh brei"; scrambled eggs and salmon with two small pieces of matzoh. Someone should explain to the chef that, whatever else that may be, it's not matzoh brei. The conceit is nice, but this is scrambled eggs with salmon and two small pieces of matzoh. That said, LDC was very fond of it and I (who don't particularly like salmon) will say it looked quite delicious and inviting. (And, fwiw, they're not "matzoh crackers." They're not even two sheets of matzoh; in this case, it's just two pieces of matzoh.)

I chose the uitsmijter: several slices of toasted brioche topped with brown sugar bacon and a couple of eggs over easy. Accompanied by a very small "salad" and a pickle. My Dutch is wanting but I trust Antonius will help out: kostelijk, or delicious. The bacon had exactly enough sweetness and the whole came together so I could see why this is a lunch staple in the Netherlands. Really quite good; I'd have this again without hesitation.

Wish I could say the same for the Bloody Mary. They apparently pride themselves on their Bloody Marys because there's a card offering about five or six variations. I chose the one with the skewer of pickled veggies. The pickles were great (okra, gherkins, etc, even red pepper!). Sadly the drink was not. I don't know what all was in it but I would not have it again. Ever. It wasn't particularly tomato-ey and the flavors were more odd than enticing. Just not a pleasure in any way.

Our only other gripe was the brevity of the menu: eight items, including muesli (or chocolate granola yesterday), chopped salad, and pancakes. The selections aren't particularly exotic (not that they must be exotic to entice us), but this is not where we're likely to go if we're feeling like pancakes or granola and certainly not for a chopped salad. We're both afraid that after another visit or two, we'll have exhausted what we're likely to want to try, for brunch anyway. That said, we were both very pleased with our meals. Just wish that there had been a lot more people on a gorgeous, sunny Sunday morning.

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Gypsy Boy

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?” (Julia Child)

Hopefully that had a lot more to do with the popularity of Pride among Andersonville residents than with the trajectory of the restaurant's business. It would be a real shame if Vincent didn't make it.

Yes, the parade started around noon, and much of the clientele at Vincent comes from the gay community. We went for dinner a couple of weeks ago and it was packed to the gills. I think they're doing fine.

Lekker would be used by many dutch folks here to mean "tasty!" Great term to know as it applies to food that's tasty.

Thanks for the correction! A good word to know in any language.

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Gypsy Boy

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?” (Julia Child)

Has anyone been to Vincent lately and been impressed. I had a thoroughly disappointing meal recently. I wasn't all that hungry so I went with just soup and an appetizer. The zaansemosterdsoep (dutch mustard soup) had crab salad, smeerkaas, and tarragon pesto but all I tasted was salt. The pate was painfully bland and was too cold; I made it about halfway through before giving up. My dining companion got the steak frites. She ordered it medium and got it very well done, a particularly shocking flaw given that the flank steak is cut before it's served so the overcooking was obvious. The fries that came with it appeared to be and certainly tasted like pre-frozen spuds.

I eat at Vincent every couple of months and can't remember being that disappointed with anything. I had the mustard soup once and liked it very much. I wonder if they made a "bad batch" or what. I was recently served a cold terrine at Fountainhead and was quite disappointed. That's inexcusable.

Based on my experiences, I'd like to think that your experience at Vincent was an anomaly.

I had dinner at Vincent about a month ago and really enjoyed it. We did the prix fixe and supplemented with one or two other dishes, then shared an outstanding slice of chocolate cake. We also BYOBd, and service was super friendly and helpful. More people should eat there.

We went to Vincent about a month ago.
Vincent is self-described as a New American Bistro with a dutch accent up in Andersonville. The space is cozy & spacious with excellent music and friendly staff. We went with a group of four to enjoy their Tuesday night $30 you pick it prix-fix. We each got the prix fixe menu, but probably could have gotten 2 prix fixe and supplemented with a couple dishes, the way we did it, it was mounds o' food!

Data:
Appetizers- seared foie gras, pork bitterballen, oysters, beet salad
Mains- seasonal vegetable "wellington", roasted pork shank, steak frites, beer battered haddock on snert
Dessert- chocolate cake, panna cotta, gruyere & caramel bread pudding
Drinks- BYOB wine ($5 corkage, not bad!)

Critique:
As soon as we sat down, a huge hunk of warm bread was placed on the table with butter & roasted garlic. Yum!
The foie gras dish featured an apple spiced donut with a generous serving of foie gras, greens and apple relish. I only sampled this one, but the foie gras was delicious, and it went well the the dense donut. It was commented that the apple sauce over powered the delicate flavor of the foie.
The pork bitterballen was a serving of fried pork meatballs with citrusy greens and coarse mustard. This was quite delicious, the "meatball" was actually more similar to a rillettes in texture and flavor.
I did not taste the beet salad, but it was plated as a tall column of greens, which looked pretty.
The oyster special was a entree sized serving of polenta with pork, with about 6 humongous fried oysters on top. The polenta was delicious, and this appetizer could have served as a full meal. The oysters were tasty, but a little overbreaded making them too big for the plate, and giving them a bready crunch that overpowered oystery goodness.

The steak frites arrived with a mound of thin cut fries, a wonderful aioli and a generous portion of steak. The steak was good, cooked medium rare (although it was requested rare). I enjoyed this plate- simple & tasty.
The pork shank was once again an extremely generous portion, of pork on a bed of roasted vegetables. The shank was served bone in and skin on. The skin was crisped up nicely with melt in your mouth delicious fat peeking through as soon as you cut into it. The pork really outshined the sides on the plate, it was deliciously tender and meaty.
The vegetable wellington looked delicious, but unfortunately I did not try it. The puff pastry looked light & fluffy, layered with roasted veggies and served with a mushroom sauce.
The haddock served on "snert" was a foot long filet of fried fish, on a pea soup with greens. This was more like a thick and sticky pea puree, but was described by the waitress as more of a mashed potato consistency. This was the only thing that tasted artificial, almost as if liquid smoke has been used to introduce the smokiness of the pea & pork mash. The haddock was tasty and sticking with the theme, it was enough fish to feed a family of four!
The chocolate cake had a layer of whipped peanut butter mouse, rich chocolate cake, fresh whipped cream & chocolate sauce. At this point I could only have a few bites, it was enjoyable but not memorable.
The gruyere bread pudding with caramel sauce & whipped cream was scrumptious. The bread was a little dry & dense, but the flavors made up for that small aspect. I would order this again.
The panna cotta was the best thing on the table after a heavy meal. The panna cotta was lighter than most, very loose. It was flavored with an asian toasted rice component that was mighty tasty.

Vincent was a great deal for the $30 you pick it prix-fixe. The portions were too big- if you have a hard time stopping when you are full, like me, you might go into a food coma at the table AND leave with leftovers. The place was warm, comforting and modern. I recommend this place in general, but the Tuesday night deal puts it over the top! I would definately return for the high quality food & ambiance. I would suggest checking the joint out, I was really surprised that it wasn't packed given the incredible deal they are offering on Tuesdays. Seriously, you could go for the night and have leftovers for the week!

If you want to see this in blog form, or check out other reviews: http://research.smunderground.org

Thanks for reading! -- S&M

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I remember reading a few months ago that there was a new head chef at Vincent and wondered what that meant to the focus of the menu. Vincent seems to have dialed back its Dutch influence a bit, but it's still rockin'. We had dinner out on the patio Saturday night and had a great time.

Everything on Vincent's wine list is offered by the glass or bottle, so when we were contemplating a chinon, the woman running the bar program effortlessly brought us both a taste of it, and immediately offered a taste of another bottle that was not on the menu, which we ultimately chose. I specifically appreciated their style - we didn't have to beg for (or even ask for) a taste when trying to make a choice, and it didn't feel fussy.

For dinner, we split two apps and one entree:
Laughing bird shrimp tartine - This was immensely tasty, though it was more a crostini than a tartine, and was quite spicy. I'm not complaining about the spice, which complimented the dish nicely, but there's no mention of it in the description. I always think of Christopher Kimball, or my sister in law, who can't handle spicy, and think of how pissed off they would be if they had ordered it.

Crispy lamb terrine - really delicious special, following the trend of taking a slice of terrine and pan frying.

Pork schnitzel - resting in a kimchee broth full of pieces of braised pork shoulder, this dish was both delicious and incredibly unique.

We'll certainly be back soon as there seems to be a strong rotation of specials as well as many undiscovered options on the menu.

Just a heads-up that The Rice Table people will be doing their excellent riff on Rijsttafel at Vincent Sunday night.

Highly recommended.

http://www.thericetable.com/