We finally made it to the PP last Monday after our first couple attempts were scuttled by weather, no-show babysitters, and other unfortunate acts of nature.
The original plan was for us to try and get to a couple places in order to maximize our "trying new places" time, but once we were ensconced and began enjoying the wine and food, the plan changed and we ended up staying put for quite a while.
We sat at the bar, engaged the bartenders, asked for suggestions, and ended up being really impressed with what came our way. I started off with a Manhattan, then joined my wife for a glass of Lambrusco, had a small draft of Kolsch, and then ended up moving into desserts with a Greek Vin Santo that was just excellent and some of their fantastic house Crema di Limoncello.
We ordered lots of small plates kind of randomly. We tried the salt-roasted beets with goat cheese and pistachio, the pork-roasted almonds, the caponata, a small salumi board with jamon serrano and finocchiona, the lardo crostini, fried "whitebait", a summer vegetable dish with farro, the pork neckbone rillete, and the deviled egg. I think that's it. And we also had the cookies and the butterscotch pudding for dessert.
Not everything was outstanding, but much of it was, including the pork rillette dish, the caponata, and the fried little fishies, which had little wheels of blanched then battered and fried lemon rind mixed throughout, adding great little bursts of acidity and brightness amongst the fried fatty fish. I thought the charred crusty bread they served with everything was really excellent, but when used as a vehicle for the lardo, they overwhelmed its flavor. I didn't really like the almonds, which I found too chewy and not crunchy enough, although the flavor was great.
What I enjoyed most, however, was the overall vibe of the place. I've read a lot about how people just strike up conversations there and end up sharing food, and we honestly weren't expecting that or looking for it to happen, but it did end up happening; we were engaged in conversation with the folks on both sides of us, and we all ended up sharing sips of drinks and bites of food. It felt very authentic, unforced, and spontaneous, but it's clearly the result of an intention on the part of this establishment to foster an environment in which this will happen.
The place is much smaller than I expected, and that works to push the concept, which is just a pitch-perfect rendition of a european-style wine bar with great bar snacks. They've really nailed it perfectly and I seriously cannot wait to go back. The $138 tab for two of us seemed well worth it after all the food and drinks we tried, and considering how fun and entertaining it was, compared to a lot of similarly-priced restaurants, it seems like a great value.
This place has vaulted right to the top of my favorites list. I only wish it was closer for me or easier to access, although, incredibly, we did end up finding street parking a couple blocks east of Michigan, so it really wasn't all that difficult despite the swanky Michigan Ave. location.