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| - The atmosphere: The downstairs bar area is small and cheap looking. The dining room is dated and screams "cheap 1980's supper club" - not at all romantic! The restaurant was filled with retirement-age couples/parties about to head to a Krannert performance on the Wednesday evening that we went.
This past week, we went to Timpone's to celebrate my birthday. We started off sharing the "Fritto Misto" appetizr, described as "Calamari, Gulf Shrimp, Scallops, Red Onion, and Zucchini." When the dish arrived, it was nothing but a pile of glorified onion rings. There were only three pieces of calamari (small tentacles), 3 shrimp (which were small, and clearly of the phosphate-pumped Asian variety, and a scattered few wet calico scallops...95% of the "Fritto Misto" was red onion. I feel as though by listing the seafood first, that indicates that the bulk will be seafood, or at the very least, there will be an even distribution of the components. Not wanting to be a "difficult customer", I chalked it up to just a "bad batch." That being said, the recipe was a straight copy of Judy Rodgers' dish in the Zuni Cafe (San Francisco) cookbook, and I could have made it at home...
However, when I received my entree, "Sea Scallops with a Dijon Beurre Blanc on a bed of celery root puree"... I was furious. There were 5 scallops, each approximately the size of a quarter (no exaggeration) and only seared on one side. The mound of puree could not have been more than 1/2 cup (and didn't even taste good). My husband ordered "Chianti-Braised Shortribs with Homemade Gnocchi" - which came with fewer than 10 small gnocchi. Worst of all, the food tasted bad; the beurre blanc was so sweet it was like Creme Anglaise with Dijon and I could have done a better braise at home easily. I know that times are tough, and that food costs are supposed to be ~30% of the final restaurant price- but I felt completely gouged. I'm happy to pay for a delicious meal and I do not expect large portions. I travel pretty frequently to Chicago and DC- I know what good food costs and what "normal" portion sizes are at "fine dining" restaurants. I did not want to make a scene because I didn't want my husband to feel bad for picking the restaurant. The only reason this place could possibly stay in business is because of its proximity to campus/the Krannert Center for Performing Arts or because most people have very low expectations due to the lack of "Fine Dining" in the C-U area.
Our server was very attentive and great, but the food was so bad (even with the small portions, we didn't finish our food and didn't want to take the leftovers home!). We will not be returning.
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