Simply Dvin

Dvin is owned by chef and Russian native Lidiya Skilioti, who bought the place from its existing Armenian owners nine years ago. She never cooked professionally back home, but since moving to the U.S. around 1990 she's worked at a Bob Evans and at Brandt's in the Loop. Her daughter, Natalya, has been waitressing for her at Dvin for the past seven years. They told me that their head count at the restaurant varies widely, even on a Saturday night.

I asked Lidiya why she decided to take the plunge and buy her own restaurant. She answered, "I love making food and everything. Here, we do only homemade and hand-cooked. Only natural and fresh."

A few minutes later, I thanked them for their time and got up to leave. Lidiya headed into the kitchen once more, but Natalya instructed me to sit tight a moment. We chatted about the weather. It was kinda nice.

Lidiya came out from the kitchen. She passed me a to-go box. Inside was a piece of crumb cake with a thick, creamy slab of cheese filling.

I took it home and ate it that night. It was delicious, just as I imagined it would be.