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BY LISA KAMPETER

The words “icky” and “phooey” are not what you want to hear at first glance of the menu from a restaurant you’ve chosen, but that’s exactly what came from the mouths of some ladies (yes, ladies, not children) at this month’s Dining Divas. And the faces (once again, from ladies, not children) they made. “Precious” faces coming from these grown adults. You would have thought we threw raw livers at them and said “happy feasting.”

Yes, this month’s Dining Divas was a real first. I chose a restaurant I’d heard many good things about, but because of its limited menu, I’d put off trying it until I felt this Divas’ stomach could, well, stomach it. For the first time in my Diva history, I was frightened of the reaction I’d get from my fellow diners and rightly so. For two reasons. The prices and the selection. And the Divas’ lack of concealment shocked me.

The Dining Divas met on Sydney Street at Niche. Freshly fallen leaves blew throughout this Benton Park neighborhood on a beautiful, fall evening. Inside this trendy yet comfortable and simple restaurant, I couldn’t help reminiscing of brownstones in Chicago.

At first glance, the small seating situation area and lack of patrons concerned me, but then we followed the waitress into a large room next door. The words “nobody puts baby in a corner” easily flowed from our mouths as we felt as if we were being quarantined. The room was empty. “Is this the area you put the bad kids?” Our waitress assured us that there would be plenty of other guests dining in our area. She was right. The next table included a couple adults and a baby. Just as we thought. The loud folks get seated back here.

But it was probably a good idea. Our conversations tend to drift into a “not always safe for everyone” zone. Like the story the Colorful Diva shared with us regarding her 14 year old niece and her sleepover with her boyfriend. Or Grandma Diva discussing her 24 hour dating extravaganza. Three different dates in less than 24 hours. That’s impressive. (For those concerned, this was all PG-13.)

So I started off the night concerned that the Divas would be disappointed, but we were all surprised. The “icks” turned to “yum.” The wide eyes when we reviewed the menu became even wider when our food arrived. All of our meals were delivered to us by the chef, and he delicately described each individual dish. The dinner presentation was fabulous, and the meals were incredible.

The Celery Root Soup with chorizo is an excellent choice if you want to be economically cautious. The Mixed Greens Salad with apples and blue cheese is another great starter.

Normally I wouldn’t look twice at a vegetarian dish. I’m more of a pasta or chicken girl. But this night, I thought I’d take a risk (and with us, ordering something we’d never heard of is very risky!). A couple of us chose the Vegetable Farrotto. There were ingredients in this dish that I never heard of, and I’m glad I didn’t ask. To my surprise, I loved it. It had a romano-parmiggiano foam on it, and it was fabulous.

Another Diva chose the Raised Beef Duo. It was a sliced ribeye & oxtail cannoli along with potato puree, leaks, and very rich mushrooms with soy caramel. Once this Diva focused on the flavor and not on the fact that she was eating the tail of an ox, she loved it.

It’s no surprise that the Italian Diva had the pasta special. Pappardelle pasta with braised lamb, roasted cauliflower, and olives in a mysterious brown sauce…delicious.

Niche has several sides to accompany the meals, and we were quick to try a few. Polenta offered on a menu is a nice surprise. This goat cheese, honey, and nuts combination is something the Italian Diva is glad she didn’t pass up. Rarely do we find spaghetti squash on a menu. The Niche recipe with brown butter and sage made it another favorite in the group. Grandma Diva felt the Braised Kale with bacon was the best thing she had.

And then there were the “Sweet Dreams”, also known as desserts. We shared the Liquid Chocolate Cake with chocolate cake ice cream. It was an explosion of decadence. Our Garbage Disposal Diva wasn’t too interested in sharing, but she did let us have a taste of the Caramel Apple Crisp. You would never call this fruit salad. Yummy!

Niche offers a “tasting” menu, but it’s costly. Ordering off the menu is more reasonable. The food and service is fabulous here, but it’s probably one of those more “special occasion” restaurants as the restaurant is rather pricey. They’ve definitely found their “niche” with fresh and unique ideas and exceptional quality of food. They’ve turned the Diva naysayers in to repeat customers. We’ll be happy to go back.

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