Restaurant Review – River North’s ‘Alpana’ makes you ‘Singh!’

At the tender age of 44, Master Sommelier-Restaurateur-TV Show Host Alpana Singh has had the kind of career that would have been enviable for someone twice her age. 

So, when Singh (Everest Room, ‘Check, Please!,’ The Boarding House) decided to open her eponymous restaurant earlier this year, serving ‘wine-inspired cuisine,’ it bodes well for the people of Chicago to give it a try. 

As Singh says on Alpana’s website, “The inspiration behind Wine-inspired cuisine is to calibrate dishes according to a Sommelier’s palate. By working with umami rich ingredients and infusing them with flavorful spices, interesting textures and pops of sweetness and refreshing acidity, we aim for dishes that will hit all parts of your palate and make you say, “Yum!”

Start your wine-and-food adventure with starters like Beet Mezze described as a Beet labneh (a thicker Greek yogurt,) with dolmades (grapeleaves) and rosemary olives, served with toasted pita, or a Crispy Polenta & Mushrooms, a black truffle puree with parmesan fonduta. Many reviewers also spoke highly of Singhs’ Brussels Sprout Crostini, with apple saba, ricotta, endive, and toasted hazelnuts, and Burrata, with honey-roasted pears and fruit mostarda on toasted grain bread. 

Dinner pastas are creative, ranging from Pistachio Pesto, withGarganelli, lemon feta, green beans, mighty vine tomatoes, to Creste Di Gallo Alla Grappa, with Tomato grappa sauce, Calabrian chillies, and pangrattato, and Tagliatelle Verdura, with Broccolini, kale, whipped ricotta, fried garlic, and sauce limone.

Entrees include Roasted Half Chicken with crispy fingerlings (potatoes), and aji verde, Texas Braised Short Rib has roasted shallots, potato mousseline, and pinot noir jus. For All-American appetites, there’s a Double Cheeseburger, with griddle patties, American cheese, pickles, lettuce, red onion, burger sauce, and fries. Right now, I’m trying to think what wine would go well with a cheeseburger…rosé, maybe? Chianti? I’m sure that Singh will have the perfect recommendation! 

Other entrees include Striped Sea Bass with fennel, gordal olives, saffron nage, and herb pistou, and Faroe Island Salmon, served with cherry tomatoes, king oyster mushrooms, and agrodolce jus. 

Alpana also has separate menus for vegetarian and gluten-free eating. And the wine and spirits lists are second to none, as would be expected of the Master Sommelier Singh. 

Google reviews are gushy:

“Would highly recommend this restaurant for dinner. I was blown away by this restaurant. All the food and wine was delicious. There really wasn’t one thing that wasn’t good. The service was fast and friendly too.

Would absolutely recommend this restaurant for locals and tourists. Hope to be back in the city one day to dine here again.”

 “Exciting new spot in Gold Coast! We had the bread and brussels sprouts to start and the short rib, chicken, burger, and squid ink pasta for our mains…Especially loved the short rib. It was tender and flavorful and really hit the spot. Cocktails were unique and the atmosphere was beautiful. Definitely would come back again to try more of the menu.”

Alpana is located at 831 N. State Street. They are open for dinner seven days a week from 4pm-10pm, and reservations are highly recommended. For reservations, click here. 

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago