Three Aces

For New Years Eve, Katie and I decided to forgo the bar scene and grab dinner with some of our closest friends. We didn't get around to making a reservation until a few days beforehand, so our options were limited. Luckily, we were able to get a last minute reservations at Three Aces on Taylor Street. I've wanted to try Three Aces for a while now. It is included on the Chicago Eater 38 which is always a good sign. I remember being particularly intrigued when I saw the restaurant featured on Check, Please! The chef and co-owner, Anthony Potenzo is a Taylor Street Native who set out to create a Rock n' Roll bar that also happens to serve unique contemporary Italian cuisine.

We started out with a few apps. Our first app was a simple bowl of chips, duck fat chips! These chips were amazing. This is the first duck fat fried item I've ever had that actually tasted like duck. It seems like every trendy restaurant has "duck fat fried" something on the menu. Most of these dishes have no hint of duck flavor. These chips certaintly did not fit this mold. The chips were perfectly crisp and had a very pleasant duck aroma and flavor.

Duck Fat Chips

 We also ordered a bowl of popcorn for the table. The popcorn was nice, covered with scallions and parmesan cheese, served with a spicy sriracha-like sauce for dipping. The popcorn was very flavorful and tasted even better when dabbed in the hot sauce.

Popcorn

 Next came two of my favorite dishes of the night. First, a bountiful bowl of arancini arrived at our table. Arancini are fried rice balls originally served as street food in Sicily. These little deep fried delights did not disappoint. My first bite took me right back to Rome. Arancini are very similar to suppli, a snack Katie and I enjoyed daily on our Roman holiday this past April. The balls were perfectly fried, a nice crispy outer layer encased a moist flavor explosion on the inside. The arancini balls were served over a bed of black eyed peas cooked with ham hock. This was an interesting juxtaposition of southern US soul food and southern Italian peasant food. The dish was a real winner. Next came a bowl of bolognese fries. The dish consisted of a bed of well done fries covered in a meaty bolognese sauce. I can't believe I've never seen this on a menu before. A truly great concept, executed perfectly. I will certainly be ordering these on my visit.
 

Bolognese Fries

Next we had a baked olive dish that was overly salty. The olives were mixed with tomato sauce and ricotta and served with crusty Italian bread. These olives had that distinctive "out of the can" taste which I can't stand. This was by far the least appealing appetizer for my tastes.

Baked Olives

 I also ordered a salad of roasted beets which I loved. There were two types of beets roasted to perfection, served with arugula and creamy goat cheese, dressed with a bacon vinaigrette.

Roasted Beets

  We ordered a few pizzas for the table, They were served on log slices and had nice crispy crusts. The short rib pizza was nice but not overly flavorful. The pesto pizza was also decent but not particularly memorable.

Short Rib Pizza

Pesto Pizza

 To wrap up our NYE feast, Katie and I split the rye gnocchi. The house-made gnocchis were served in a root vegetable sauce with braised duck neck and pecorino cheese. Other than being extremely salty, this dish was severely lacking in flavor. 

Rye Gnocchi

Overall I enjoyed my Three Aces experience. Most of the dishes were excellent with a couple misses. Great friends and a great dinner made for a great NYE. Three Aces is an interesting concept and a great addition to Taylor Street. I will definitely be returning in the summer to take advantage of their large outdoor patio and extensive beer list.