This was a very pleasant surprise. I've walked or driven by this restaurant probably over 100 times and always thought to stop in, but never quite got around to it. This oversight was remedied last night upon serendipitously discovering a $14 buy one get one entree in the "entertainment" book. You've probably noticed the restaurant as well if you spend any time in the s. side. It's located across the street, somewhat caddy corner to Nakama. The parking in the south side is always pretty horrible even on weekdays that's why it's so nice that the Nakama valet also parks for this restaurant (incidentally, the valet fee just went up to $7 from $5). It is in one of the great old buildings in the historic south side. Think "Dish", but a little bigger with a larger bar area and more tables. The ceilings are high. There is plenty of wood. There's a relatively large bar compared to the number of tables. In the entrance room there are maybe 5 or 6 tables and then in the back there are another small group of 4 or 5 tables. We were greeted quickly upon entering and then directed to the back room. The server, Lisa I believe initially was going to seat us right next to the swinging door to the kitchen. Thankfully, she wasn't opposed to our wish to sit in the front room that had more space. I ordered a ketel, dirty and Annie had a glass of zin. I don't think they had any bottles over $30 for wine. However, the ketel was a bit steep at $10. The menu is relatively large having most of the Italian staples you'd be used to with a few more creative dishes. This makes this restaurant especially appealing given Annie's tame palate and my more adventurous one. We started with an order of the "roasted Sicilian sausage" which was delicious. We are off to a good start. It was very flavorful bite size sausage roasted and then tossed with a lovely olive oil mixture of onions, yellow, green and red peppers. It was also served atop a homemade provolone stick, which they said they can make as an order even though they don't put it on the menu. As an entree Annie ordered the thin spaghetti with an Alfred sauce and added chicken. The server said it was no problem to have the Alfredo without garlic which means they make it fresh. The entrees are served with toasted bread and butter and a salad (no soup substitutions) and a side. The pasta was pretty good. I mean, who doesn't like cream, butter and cheese with chicken? Annie also tried the wedding soup which was somewhat bland. I settled on salmon. I wanted to try the crispy salmon that's on their website, but it wasn't on the menu. I had the "horseradish encrusted salmon". The serving was quite large, over 8 oz. I'd guess and the salmon was cooked perfectly. I was worried about the horseradish being too hot, but sadly really couldn't taste any bite at all. The chef was also a little heavy handed with the breading. The side of sour cream mashed potatoes was delicious. The sour cream gave it an almost "light" contrast. All in all this was a very nice evening and a pretty good value. The dinner including three drinks, appetizers and entrees' was much less than $100 including tip and in conjunction with the entertainment coupon. Also, the server gave us some type of frequent visitor card that entitles you to a free app' I think for every $100 you spend. If I were just to judge this place by the food and service I'd probably only give it 3 stars, but the atmosphere and value component bump it up to 4 stars. We'll be back.