Most important fact: Chef-owner Steve Manning put in two extended stints running the kitchen at Clancy's before opening Annunciation. That was long enough for the style of that still-superb Uptown bistro to be largely Steve's--and vice-versa. In its first year, Annunciation seems to be sticking with the dishes Steve can cook with his eyes closed, with new dishes appearing mostly on the specials list.
The coincidences keep coming. Annunciation is at the downtown end of its namesake street, Clancy's is at the uptown extreme of the same street. The addresses are respectively 1016 and 6100. (Cue the theramin.) Before the renovation, the building housed the original Deanie's. Not the one in Bucktown, but an earlier workingman's cafe that served great breakfasts and lunches for 45 years and will be missed.
The building underwent an extensive de-renovation in its conversion to Annunciation. Deanie's was sleek and a bit Deco. Annunciation has a much older look, with exposed beams contrasting with a glassed-in wine cellar and a spiffy bar. A third of the tables run from the vestibule into the bar, with the rest in an adjacent room with many windows. A table that isn't used much is at a window between the host stand and the wine locker. For the staff to enter the latter, any customer at that table has to actually get up from his chair and stand aside.
This is not a large restaurant, and it picks up a good number of walk-ins from Cochon across the street. So make reservations. Eating at the bar is popular here, and the cocktails are good.
| Attitude | 2 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 2 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 2 |
| Service | 2 |
| Value | 0 |
| Wine | 1 |
