Il Fiasco

Apparently, «Il Fiasco» means a certain type of wine bottle. No matter — «Fiasco» appropriately described me by the end of my evening. That had very little to do with the establishment and very much to do with the fact that I have zero self control and cannot say no to that fourth $ 4 vodka lemonade. But I digress…
My friend and I split appetizers. We had the mussels, the bacon-​wrapped dates, and the polenta cakes. The mussels were very tasty, served in a white wine sauce and marinara. I really liked the polenta cakes. They were served with a very hearty and tasty mushroom sauce. And bacon-​wrapped dates. They had bacon. Need I say more?
All in all, a great experience.

The biggest dilemma I faced at Il Fiasco was trying to figure out what compliments $ 5 sangria and vodka lemonades (tough life, I know). I finally decided that polenta cakes, mussels, and bacon-​wrapped dates do. (Didn’t quite make it out of the appetizer section).
The polenta cakes were mild with a tasty mushroom sauce. The mussels were good, but I’ve had better– to be fair though, I prefer mussels in a wine or beer broth rather than marinara. And the bacon-​wrapped dates were just excellent– they were served in a red pepper sauce that complimented the dates perfectly.
I’ll eventually make it past the appetizer section, but it might take awhile, there’s a lot more I still want to try.

First off, give a raise to the water and bread guy. He was way on top of his game.
This place confounded me a bit. The décor drives at candlelight, dimness, mellow buzz, but the very loud music screamed bar. Just a Friday night thing perhaps?
We started off with mushroom caps (decent) and the portobello mushroom salad (better) and $ 5 sangria specials in a very big glass (best) then went on to pasta dishes, all of which received decent to good reviews. We finished off with tiramisu for the table which was about average as far as tiramisu goes.
We went on a Friday night at 7pm and had no problem getting a table. Perhaps the location — South of Foster hurts it a bit. But it was good for us because we got the run of the place when we got there. By 8 it was hopping though. Parking sucked so beware all you drivers.

My husband and I came here for the first time for one of their wine dinners last week. I’m never sure what to expect from these events as some I’ve been to have been good and others not so much. But Il Fiasco was fantastic! My husband emailed ahead of time to see if they could do a vegetarian dinner for me and they were more than happy to oblige. They even emailed back the menu they created and asked if it would be okay.
The food I had was fantastic, especially the Twice-​Baked Soufflé and Butternut Squash Ravioli (both on their regular menu.) My husband also enjoyed all of his meal (each course was prepared as a special that night.) The wine pours throughout the dinner were generous and service was attentive. For $ 60 per person, which included an appertif plus five courses with five different wines, it was a great deal!
We look forward to coming back on a «normal» night and can’t wait for their next wine dinner.

2 stars for the staff.
4 for the food.
The best service we got was from the man who poured our water and brought bread. The waitress on the other hand…
It took her ten minutes to introduce herself and ask us if we wanted anything to drink. This was our first time here and we didn’t know that the drink menu was printed on the underside of the placemat. In the first place, a menu on a placemat is pretty tacky when you spend $ 60 for two people, but hiding the drink menu on the underside is just crappy. Lucky me, I chose quickly. John didn’t know immediately what he wanted so the waitress was quick to ask him if he’d like a minute to decide. She gave us ten! And then it was about another ten minutes before our drinks came, and John’s beer was overly foamy because it was the last draw of the keg. The waitress was kind enough to let him have it free but he had to order something else to go with the meal.
As for the food, John had some kind of regular salad. He said it was good. I had the special salad — beets with goat cheese. Wow, that was good! I should have ordered two since they ran out of the special soup before it could be dished up for me. The special was gone before 7:30??? Very disappointing. I glumly chose the linguini. It was ok even though I’m guessing the sauce came out of a can.
John did better with the orecchiette with baby shrimp, olives, tomatoes, and arugula in a light lemon herb sauce. He let me steal a little bit, and it was very good! When we left, we noticed that most everyone was eating personal pizzas. Next time we come, if ever, I’ll order myself a pizza. We live a mile away and there’s better Italian food closer to us. Il Fiasco is the kind of place that’s good for local people who don’t want to travel far to have a nice-​ish dinner. I wouldn’t recommend traveling more than a few blocks to get there.

Oh, my, pasta!
I hit Il Fiasco on a Tuesday night with some Unilocalers to wine and dine over the musings of Bill Buford, author of «Heat» — a tale of a love affair with Italian cooking. I’d never been in this particular part of town before, but it was easily accessible and the walk was quite pleasant. Il Fiasco is a pretty large restaurant, and it’s definitely not busy on a Tuesday night, despite the amazing ½ price bottle of wine deal. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I don’t drink wine. I just don’t. I’ve never liked wine, unless it was of the thick, sweet, syrupy Manischewitz variety. I blame it on my friend trying to get me to drink boxed wine in college, really. So I got there and a Unilocaler told me of the ½ price special. I wanted to be excited, but, you know, I don’t do wine. So I explained this to the waitress, who quickly brought back three cups of wine for a mini-​tasting. And then, with her immaculate choices, I found a wine I’d drink — Riesling! It was thus that I purchased my first bottle of non-​Manischewitz wine. It was a time to celebrate!
The appetizers we got were outstanding, though I only took part in the margherita pizza (the other items were laced with pork!), and it was absolutely delicous. I ordered the cavatappi, which if I’m correct was a chicken and mushroom and sundried tomato concoction in a tomato cream sauce. I usually stray from cream sauces, but this sounded perfect. The plate arrived, well presented, and I downed half the plate of delicious curly pasta and tasty sauce. I still have the leftovers at home, though I think they’ll go the way of waste, unfortunately.
Overall the experience was outstanding. The servers were friendly and helpful, not to mention patient. Il Fiasco found me a wine I would drink, and that, for me, is ACE in my book!

After months of wanting to do so, I finally checked out Il Fiasco last night with fellow Unilocalers. Amazing, amazing, AMAZING service from beginning to end. Those cats really know how to take care of you! My glass remained full until I was ready to stop. Big time bonus stars for that. Before I had time to wonder just how long the food would take, it almost magically appeared. The pizzas were oven-​hot and had just the right balance of sauce and toppings. I’ll be back again to check out the pasta dishes.
I love that this little gem of a place is in a growing part of Andersonville that will, I’m sure, merge with the rest of the hopping main drag of restaurants and shopping. For now, it’s nestled on the quieter outskirts. I’m looking forward to summer so I can check out the newly installed windows on the bar side and watch the day go by. Yes, I’ll surely enjoy some cocktails, too. On the next hot day, for the love of Frank Sinatra, run to Il Fiasco and join me. What a whirl!

Another place I want to like. It’s close to me, has a good menu, a seemingly perfect Friday night prixe fixe option, nice ambience, etc. But I have recently come to appreciate the word mediocre. In my mind, it used to be like poor or bad. But really, it’s less than good, but better than poor… maybe a smidge under average. The food simply didn’t taste great to us (with the exception of the bacon-​wrapped dates… was it a holdover from Rioja?). It seems like they had all the right ingredients, looked good, but just tasted, well, not great. I was struck that we ended up paying ~$ 110 that night for the two of us. The next night we went to my fav Argentine BYOB and paid all in less than half that, and were way more satisfied… everything simply tasted good.
A general, related comment: there seems to be too many «mediocre» Italian places right now… great menus that are closer to fine dining. But I’m liking Calo and Orso — joints with sold red sauces — better than mid-​upper tier fine-​dining-​esque Italian like Il Fiasco or Carmine’s. Oh well…

If I could give Il Fiasco six stars, I would. Excellent, superb, fantastic, wonderful, marvelous, blah, blah, blah. I love this place. I liked it even before superstar chef Eric Aubriot got there — and it’s only gotten better. The food is that much richer, more complex, and more enjoyable. He’s taken an already great restaurant to an even higher level.
Il Fiasco’s atmosphere sets the perfect tone: a nice mix of comfortable booths and a sturdy bar in the front of the house, and off to the side, banquette booths and tables fill the room comfortably but not too close for comfort. The noise level is animated but not bothersome, and they always have some really nice background music.
Service is warm and friendly, filled with suggestions (if you need them), witty quips, and geniune hospitality and grace. Chances are, if you go back more than once, gracious host Nannette Patterson will remember your face and greet you like a long-​lost friend upon your return. Your server may also remember what you had previously. All good things in my book, way beyond expectations.
The pizzas, though not officially Neopolitan, are deliciously thin and crispy yet with a bit of a doughy goodness — they are some of my all-​time favorites in town. Pastas abound, from light and fresh to rich and savory. For the high quality of food you receive, and the attention to detail, the prices are beyond a bargain. The wine list is exceptional as well, with all glasses served as quartinos.
I’ve been to Il Fiasco nearly half a dozen times, as well as for several of their special events, and it just gets better and better. I can’t wait to go back again!

The bacon wrapped dates were not bad, the red pepper cream sauce was a nice touch.
The butternut squash ravioli was interesting, however I found it bland and the dish only had 5 pieces of ravioli. Was I mistaken, was this an appetizer!!!
The octopus braised in wine with zuccini was the biggest dissapointment. Not much in quantity and there was no taste to the octopus. I just wanted stir fry with soy sauce! Overall, I just wasn’t impressed, and was disappointed especially after all the great reviews.

I have to admit… I am doing something that I rarely if ever do after dinner. I hate to admit this… but I am pulling a Homer. Yes. you heard me right. a Homer. This is what I call when I go out to dinner and come back so full that I am waddling, not walking and I can’t wait to loosen or just take the pants off and pass out on my bed. I haven’t passed out yet…
A friend of mine lives up in Andersonville and we wanted to do dinner so I suggested coming to Il Fiasco. I’ve been wanting to come here for quite some time and since he lives a mere three blocks away it was a perfect time to do so. I arrived shortly after my friend had and was warmly greeted by Nanette and Stacey. After chatting with these lovely ladies for a minute I sat down with my friend. I needed a glass of wine, which they have a pretty good selection of. We ordered a bottle of my favorite… a freakin’ awesome bottle of Malbec. Very affordable, (apparently half priced bottles of wine Monday and Tuesday nights, darn it we missed out!). The nice thing is they split their list up in to medium, full body wines etc etc. very helpful when you aren’t too familiar with the wine. Then we go down to the appetizers, the polenta cakes which came with a mushroom cream sauce were just lovey little pillows of heaven. Then we went with a second appetizer! (Yes, I was being a glutton…) A Gorgonzola soufflé with spinach and poached pears and this red wine reduction that was so good… I’d have it on ice cream. It balanced out the soufflé very well.
Then we moved on to dinner, I went with the rigatoni with chicken, spinach, tomatoes and a Gorgonzola sauce. My friend had the chicken porcini which had a well seasoned chicken breast, some great mushroom risotto and brocolini. Both were really damn good. Even though we were both pretty full… we saw some of the desserts and had to have some. We went with the tiramisu which my friend polished off and the three layer chocolate cake. My head was spinning at this point, perhaps it was the tiramisu, the wine, the fact the my gut was about to detach from my body and make a run from it. I don’t know. It was a good night, strike that a great night. Very attentive service from Tommy all night long, some great food, good conversation and just a darn good time. This place should be packed, so before everyone finds out about this place, stop on by and give it a try… I will… after some serious workouts to work this all off…

I went here for dinner last night and was totally pleasantly surprised. It was the half price bottles of wine on Monday and Tuesday that got me in the door, but beyond that i didn’t have high expectations. It’s not always easy for a vegan to find something at an Italian restaurant because places that make their own pasta often put dairy or egg in it. Gladly, i was not SOL at Il Fiasco.
My friend and i started with a bottle of red. We couldn’t decide what wine we wanted to order so our waiter brought us a taste of a few wines and we selected from there. Also, the wine list is organized by intensity of flavor, something totally obvious that i can’t believe other restaurants don’t do more often.
The food was totally delish, our meal was a bit poorly timed, but it didn’t spoil the experience for me. I had the gnocci with marinara and plan to have it again sometime.
I was expecting the inside to feel quite stuffy and tight but it is not at all. The place is sparsely decorated, something i prefer. The booths are cozy and the lighting is warm. It was quite empty when i was there, but that could be for a variety of reasons, most likely the hateful cold outside. also, they played decent music throughout the night and certainly get points for lotion in the restroom.
In short, i’m so glad to find a nice place like this right in my neighborhood, where the food is good, the service is right on and the vibe is totally chill. I expect to be back frequently in the future, especially for half price wine.

I stopped in on a whim today and had a wonderful experience. Sunday night, it’s nice and dark and woody inside. When I walked in no one greeted me, but the table by the door apparently had a «plant»… ‘Hi there! Welcome to il fiasco,’ he said. ‘I love it here and you will too.’ ‘Who should I talk to?’ I asked, looking for a host/​ess. ‘Well, that guy looks official,’ he said, pointing behind me at the tall waiter walking toward me. After that it was all butter.
The menu was very affordable. Appetizers and meatless salads under $ 10, pastas under $ 15, entrees that included veg and starch under $ 20. No sugar or alcohol for me, but I’m sure someone else has reviewed dessert and drinks. I decided to order the mussels appetizer and portobello salad. A basket of bread came to my table immediately, not hot but warm, and the server started my bread plate by pouring the olive oil. Oil, a plentiful dish of parmesan, salt and pepper were on the table.
The mussels came with their little fork and extra dish for shells. The sauce was very fresh, the tomato and basil tastes just popped, and the mussels had a great consistency. (Plus, interacting with your food can be fun!) I was very impressed with the salad as well. Baby arugula was topped with layered slices of sauteed (?) portobello mushroom, goat cheese (mmmmmmmm…), a few cherry tomatoes for color, and a reduced balsamic dressing. Really, the taste combinations in this dish impressed me. And the cherry tomatoes really added, to my surprise.
My waiter, Chris, was great. He checked on me, but not too much. After I had finished the meal, he came and asked if I lived in the neighborhood (which I do) and since I was interested, told me about some of the events the restaurant was having – artists’ receptions with free hors d’oeuvres, Thurs-​Sun free pizza if you sit at the bar and order a drink (even if it’s not alcoholic), all sorts of stuff. It strikes me as a place that my friends could have a great time, whether it was a birthday dinner or just a place to catch a quick, fresh bite.
The guys sitting next to me were having pasta, and when I smelled it it made me wish I wasn’t so full! I’m definitely getting pasta next time, especially when you can add protein to any pasta for an extra $ 3 (chicken) or $ 4 (shrimp).
I had such a good experience I decided to linger over a cappuccino. The coffee wasn’t too strong or acidic (which I like), and the foam was great too.
I guess I went in with no expectations since I wasn’t planning on going to this restaurant, but I was really impressed and I’m looking forward to taking my friends and family there.
I almost forgot! The bathroom smelled great and looked pretty, and even had an assortment of hand lotions for patrons to use. What a great extra touch! I’m sold. A great meal and great experience for under $ 20.
…ended up getting sick afterward. possible food poisoning? anyone’s guess.

After many recommendations in the neighbor, for our 3^rd anniversary and reading all the great reviews on Unilocal,we narrowed our special dinner down to Il Fiasco. And boy, were we not disappointed!
Their first impression to me was just when I made my reservation and the man on the other end of the phone was so plesant! I already had a good feeling!
So we roam Andersonville, glance by and see it’s not as crowded that night as we had been told it would be (cold weather more than likely the factor!). We were seated and then greeted by the most plesant waiter! He was so helpful and enthusiastic! What a nice change from people that obviously don’t want to be at work!
After he brought the bottle of wine, he told us that the antipasti platter was just redone and premeiring that evening and was at a ridiculous price of $ 9 for what all was on it. Well, he convinced me, dispite the reviews I had read on that item, and I was not dissapointed. 3 meats, cheese (as usual of course) with olives. Yet one of the cheeses was a mozerella roll up with sun dried tomatoes. And then some roasted red peppers, onions roasted in balsamic vinegar, and bruscetta. Delish!
My partner got a pizza which was fantastic and huge and yum, with the fresh arugala! And the I had the butternut squash ravioli — very rich but very good! A lot of things on the menu were sounding fantastic!
After the meal, we learned that they print the menus daily based on what the chef wants to do and were also given a list of events weekly there and invited to the welcoming party for the new chef there.
Service was above and beyond and the food excellent! Will definitley be back again. Thanks Il Fiasco for making our anniversary perfect!

Good Pasta a& Great Service!
They have the house specials and we will try it next time! /​Thanks

I don’t quite get this place. I went there recently for a Sunday dinner and generally, from the not Italian items on the menu to the odd selection of videos on the TVs (TVs???) to some poorly prepared food to an overall uninspired setting, I left kind of scratching my head.
The food wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t special and for that, although reasonably priced, was overpriced. For an appetizer, we got the calamari, which clearly had come from a box of frozen, already breaded calamari, since every piece was the same size and shape. Wine was OK. The front area was nice enough, but honestly I had better pasta when it was Rioja. I had the seafood pasta and it was good enough, but nothing like the seafood linguine I remember in the Northwest Side and northwest burbs where I grew up. It just didn’t seem especially Italian, if that makes any sense at all.
On the walk home we stopped to look at the menu in front of anteprima, and thought, you know, for a few dollars more we could have gotten a truly memorable meal, instead of one we may very well be crossing off our list of neighborhood Italian alternatives. The pizza looked interesting though, so we may be back for that, but not too soon.

This new concept in the former Rioja space is billed as «Italian» and has been reviewed as such, so I was a bit taken aback as I was skimming along the menu, past the pastas and the «Neopolitan» pizzas and found myself among the «Specialties» in… France.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that duck confit and lamb with peas and mint are not Italian dishes. Many of the specialties sounded rather good, as a matter of fact. I was sorely tempted by the confit (I can almost never turn it down on a menu), but Italian was what we were in the mood for so I turned my attention back to the pasta and ended up with the pappardelle with mushroom marsala cream sauce, while my husband took the Speck (a cold smoked and cured Italian ham) pizza for a spin. We started off with the «Antipasto Selection of Cured Meats and Italian Cheeses».
The antipasto plate was fine, nothing special, with my only real complaint being that the prosciutto was sliced too thickly, which makes for unpleasant texture. The olives were pitted, which was a plus for my husband, but overall the presentation could use a little pizazz — a little color, maybe some roasted red peppers? Good for nibbling with wine while you try to make sense of the rest of the menu though.
The pappardelle was nicely cooked and the dish was tasty, but I guess I sort of hoped for something besides button mushrooms. Even criminis. But the portion size was good, the pasta-​to-​sauce ratio was good and it was well seasoned, though could use a few dashes of fresh ground black pepper (which the server has if you ask).
The pizza said it came with speck, tomatoes, gorgonzola and arugula and was somewhat less successful. The crust is slightly too crackery and was a little bit tough, and when they say «tomatoes» they mean «tomato sauce», not fresh tomatoes. The gorgonzola and speck are nice, but the arugula is so finely julienned it is basically there for color not flavor.
Service was excellent and attentive. Wine list is short but affordable (we had a bottle of the $ 21 barbera, which was a little dull by itself but was nice with the food). Il Fiasco seems to know what it is trying to accomplish but not quite how to get its point across, as if the chef has a hundred crazy ideas and wants to try them all at once. Still, it’s an affordable, pleasant, friendly place and I’m curious to see what they can do with the more complex items on their menu.

I think Il Fiasco makes an excellent addition to the Andersonville Italian offerings. My eating partner and I have soured on Calo, finding their entrees too rich and expensive, and the service rather inflexible at times (so it will cost me an extra 7 dollars to substitute a vodka sauce for the crème sauce?). Anteprima seems exquisite so far, but for the everyday fare, a little too dear.
After a few weeks of business, Il Fiasco seems to be running like a top and was completely packed at 9 pm on a Saturday. This is a good sign, especially as I thought that the name of the restaurant was a playful and sardonic reference to the fate of the previous two tenants of this location…
The menu has many tasty-​looking options, none too artful, but with many thoughtful ingredient pairings. We started with the carpaccio, which was quite good although a bit meager in portion and compensated for with a huge mound of arugula. My pasta was wonderful — a large amount of seafood (shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari) on very simply dressed linguine in seafood stock, butter, cherry tomatoes, and garlic shavings. All the flavors were bright and it was a perfect portion size. My honey had the pork tenderloin which was really tasty — medium rare pork is delicious, but I thought a no-​no (?!) — although it seemed to be missing the glaze described on the menu.
The food was brought to the table in a timely fashion, although I found our waiter a bit annoying. The most egregious fault we had with our meal was that our waiter never offered us freshly ground pepper — an addition that would have really made my dish. On the other hand, I am no sommelier and i really appreciated the organization of the wine list in terms of body and dryness — especially since i am rather unfamiliar with Italian wines.
All in all I had an excellent experience at this new restaurant — and our bill was under 80 dollars for an appetizer, two entrees, a bottle of wine and dessert — a welcome change from the ever increasing prices in this neighborhood.

I was walking by on my way home and saw this place had opened up. I thought it looked cute, so my fiancé and I decided to head out and try it.
It’s cute inside, and the food we had was good. I had an arugula salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and topped with shaved parmesan. My fiancé had pork tenderloin? Pork something. Then we shared the steamed hot chocolate pudding. I’d recommend any of those dishes.
I found their soda selection odd and a trifle lacking. They have RC, Diet Rite, Ginger Ale, and one other (maybe Diet RC?). Granted, most people who go there probably order an alcoholic beverage, but even so… The menu is fairly limited in general, and they didn’t seem to have much vegetarian friendly fare, so be forewarned.
I found that most of the food was reasonably (even cheaply) priced, though some of the entrees were more than they needed to be. Our check was nearly $ 50, and my salad was only $ 4, so the pricing is a little uneven.
The service was fantastic. Granted, there were only 2 customers at the bar and (I think) one other table when we came in, but I really cannot complain at all. Very attentive, very efficient. Our server’s name was Andy. If you go, you should ask for her.
The highlight for me was that they were showing a DVD of Il Divo singing pop songs (Hero by Mariah Carey, being a shining example) in Italian. Classic. Hilarious. Fantastic. I can’t come up with enough adjectives to tell you how amazing this part was.

I questioned whether we really need another Italian eatery in Andersonville. And truth be told, we probably don’t. But Il Fiasco is a nice addition to the Clark Street strip.
The basic concept seems to be neighborhood restaurant with an upscale twist. Prices are definitely affordable, with most pastas and pizzas (12″ thin crust) clocking in at about 10 bucks, and entrees in the $ 15 range. The décor is clean and simple. The layout is the same as it was when this space was Rioja, and Atlantique before that, but it feels roomier. No doubt because the new owners ditched most of the the tchotchkes that cluttered up Rioja. The overall feeling is casual elegance — you can definitely wear jeans, but this would be a nice date spot as well.
The restaurant is brand new (it just opened last weekend), but the staff seemed to have its act together. Granted, I was in on a Tuesday night, so we’ll see what happens on a busy weekend. But my server was helpful, and the food came out promptly. Because it was a slow night, the chef stopped by my table to check in. Fiasco is focusing on building good will among its neighbors, and doing a good job.
I started with a gorgonzola and spinach soufflé, which was served on a bed of baby spinach with a side of poached pears. Excellent texture and flavor. The soufflé is called «twice baked,» which I think is a nice way of indicating that they are not made to order. But neither the texture nor temperature suffered for it. I need to eat my way through the appetizer list, which includes fried artichokes, bacon-​wrapped dates, figs with prosciutto and mascarpone, and a home cured salmon. For an entrée, I had the grilled lamb chops, which are served with a mint vinaigrette, which is a nice accent. Dessert was a steamed chocolate pudding, which was rich and decadent, but which no one seemed to have the vocabulary to explain to me. (For «pudding,» think English pudding, but not as dense.)
Fiasco offers about a dozen pizzas, ranging from a simple margherita (mozzarella, tomato and basil) and funghi (mixed mushrooms), to the «fiorenta,» which has wilted spinach, garlic, mozzarella, tomato, and ham, topped with a fried egg. Not your typical pepperoni. There are also a handful of pasta, both simple (rigatoni with meat sauce, angel hair with tomatoes and basil in olive oil) to the more complex (jalapeño gnocchi with asparagus, peas, and roasted red pepper sauce).
Fiasco keeps its prices low by offering modestly sized portions. This is a good thing. You won’t be taking food home with you, but you’ll be paying 5 or 10 dollars less per entrée, and won’t feel stuffed. My dinner was three small lamb chops, with a side of zucchini fritters, which was perfect. If you want more food, you can add a side (mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus) for 3 or 4 bucks. I’d rather skip the leftovers — and the bloat — and save a few bucks.