Twisted Tapas: Not Really

You know what's useful in a man? His ability to chow down. I met a new friend in Chicago, and we decided to get tapas on a whim, and I appreciate someone who can go for dinner round 2 late in the evening.

We checked out Twisted in Wrigleyville. It was fine, but not amazing. But seeing as this was one of my first forays into the Chicago restaurant scene outside of the world of deep dish pizzas, I was intrigued.

Twisted doesn't seem to do much to go beyond safe fare, and it doesn't do safe fare well enough to make one jump in her seat. It does do things decently, and it's an acceptable place to venture in a pinch, but I'd rather do more research in the future and find a place where a bit of food makes one's eyes widen with surprise.

I think it's a little weird to call oneself Twisted when none of the tapas are particularly novel. I mean crabcakes isn't a standard tapas dish, but it's not an unusual dish on its own. Adding red pepper aioli does not put one on the wild side of dining. Okay, these bacon wrapped dates are in a roasted red pepper sauce, which is twisted, but more like a weird kind of twisted.

So I've bashed this place a little bit. I had a good time, but mainly because it was fun to try a new restaurant and to do it with someone who could hold his own, which translated into an opportunity for me to try more dishes.

Twisted, 3412 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL