Vinci

Vinci

1732 N Halsted St.

Chicago, IL

312-266-1199

One sunny Sunday morning my breakfast date cancelled. All the usual partners in crime and potential replacements were unavailable by some odd chance, so undaunted, I set off into the city alone in search of breakfast satisfaction. I was just gonna go back to Toast, but even the counter was full there. I considered a few other spots, but there was no parking anywhere near them. So I found myself driving south on Halsted, feeling somewhat daunted at this point, when I saw the words "Sunday Brunch". I grabbed a spot at the counter, ie the bar, and chatted with the bartender (whose name I can't for the life of me remember, which is breaking my heart. He's an awesome guy. He's been working there for 7 years. He's from Wooster, Vermont. He did the whole roadie-for-a-band thing for awhile.) as he squeezed gallons of fresh oj. It was a lovely time, but...

Vinci is the quintessential case of the upscale yuppy restaurant that decides to jump on the brunch wagon. From the minute you walk in you realize, there's no love for breakfast here. The interior is quite elegant, but seems stiff and formal in the morning light. It's just not that inviting, no matter how friendly the staff is. There was only one other guy sitting at the counter, and he was way down at the other end. A single tv that was rather strangely crammed into a corner was listlessly airing basketball. The restaurant wasn't empty but neither was it bustling with life - it mostly seemed like uptight rich people performing their luxury. Maybe that's unfair. Sitting at the counter though, I got to hear the staff's complaints, and man, their customers seemed like a pain. I know that servers generally bitch about clientele, but there seemed to be a higher ratio of d-baggery in this place than usual. So yeah, no so much on the atmosphere. I'll bet it'd be nice for dinner though! 

The menu is small but covers all the necessary bases, I guess. To their credit, despite being, in my opinion, imposters in the breakfast arena, someone has clearly put some thought into developing a somewhat unique menu, the Vinci version of things. I ordered the Eggs Benedictine, which involves toasted homemade focaccia, pancetta, poached eggs and fonduta - a kind of fontina fondue sauce. While waiting for that, I was treated to a bread basket with a selection of jams. Classy. The breads were the focaccia and some brioche, and the jams (marmelades?) were orange and rasberry. There was also some whipped butter. Quite tasty. More so, actually, then the entree itself. The eggs were poached to perfection, the fonduta was tasty, but overall, the whole thing was way too salty. I think the problem was actually with the breakfast potatoes, which were actually quite tasty. But somehow about 5 bites into the meal, I could no longer taste anything but salt. Hmmm.

Honestly, why do uptight fancy restaurant insist on doing brunch? Of course one expects the same high quality dining experience, but goddamn it, breakfast is a joyous occasion, not a formal affair. If you can't let your hair down a bit, don't go there. Or maybe I'm just the wrong target audience. Soulless restaurants have their place too, I suppose. Sorry Vinci! You're just not my bag, baby!