Vivere Menu

Vivere Restaurant Review:

There is eating, and then there is fine dining. Vivere offers the latter, in wood-trimmed surroundings no less. The Capitanini family has been operating the Italian Village restaurants since 1927, so expect nothing but the best. What we particularly like is that the kitchen is not afraid to trot out a range of ideas, from a complex cannelloni di manzo (Wagyu short ribs-stuffed crêpes) to what some might consider a peasant's dish --- grilled fennel sausage with onions, rapini and fingerling potatoes. Desserts are a dream, perhaps tulipano di frutta secca, a pastry case wrapped around a mixture of dried cherries, walnuts and apples, or chocolate cake with a vein of chocolate truffles. The extraordinary wine list is one of the best in Chicago. The Baroque yet contemporary atmosphere is quite an eyeful, but in a good way.