Carnivale Review

We recently visited the restaurant Carnivale in downtown Chicago for my sister-in-law's birthday. We were a party of six, but I only snagged photos of Fran and my food.

We started with a sampling of five different ceviche. When I think ceviche, I think somewhat finely chopped fish in a bold marinade. This was more sashimi style with some sauces and marinades, but nothing quite bold. Now, this isn't to say any of this was bad – all five were quite good, just not quite what we expected.

For an entree, Fran had the Pernil – rum glazed pork shoulder with rice and beans plus plantains. She referred to the plantains as phenomenal but felt the dish as a whole, while very good, was nothing extraordinary and ultimately found the $20 pricetag questionable.

I had the Bistek Palomilla – a prime ribeye with fried yuca and garlic mojo. It's tough to mess up a prime steak and they certainly didn't – cooked just right with a flavorful Latin influenced sauce and perfectly cooked yuca – this was an excellent dish which sold me on the restaurant.

The wine list? Solid. I am a fan of places that put premium wines on the by the glass menu – Dom Perignon by the glass? Phenomenal. The wine list has an emphasis of Spanish and South American wines with a variety from the rest of the world as well. Markups were standard – in fact I was surprised at the fact that some bottles were as low (for a restaurant wine list) as they were.

Service was flawless – among the best we've had in Chicago.

The bottom line? Good Latin fusion food that may or may not be overpriced - I can determine that on my next visit - but overall it's a great place - fun and quite loud (no romantic dates here) - with a nice wine list and solid food. I'd go back.