From: dsk@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Daniel Katz)
Subject: Italian food in Chicago (summary)
Reply-To: dsk@nwu.edu
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 22:42:26 GMT

This is what I got:

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Go to Bruna's Ristorante.  You take I-55 (is that the Stevenson?  I think so)
to Damen avenue and go north to Blue Island and then turn left and go a 
few streets down and turn right.  It is on a corner about two streets
down on the left.

It's good, though, and the Spaghetti Carbonera is NOT alfredo sauce + bacon +
spaghetti. It is good good good.

I would recommend the Mussels Marinara as an appetizer and the Fettucini
Paglio et Fieno (I think that's right.  It means hay and straw).

The Zuppa de Pesce is good but rather expensive.  Don't get it if you got the
mussels since they are kind of similar.  Same chef, you know.

The Linguini con Calamari is kickin', too.

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Hi: Have you tried The Babaluci, it's at Webster and Damen?  I think
it's great Italian food (some of the best to compare with what I've
had in Italy).  To me it is also reasonably priced.  Check it out.
Let me know how you like it.  I have recommended it to about 4 other
people and they all liked it very much.  Don't try it on a weekend,
but week nights you can usually get a table with no waiting.  The
service can be a bit surly at times, but I think the food makes up
for it.  I never tried the Carbonara, so I can't comment on that.
It's all Northern, so maybe they don't even offer carbonara, which is
traditionally a Southern dish.
 
I've been there about 5 times, and have not been through the entire
menu yet,  I usually order the special.
 
Another place I frequent is Trattoria di Roma on Taylor Street.  The
wait staff (and kitchen) is Italian, and the food has always been
perfect.  The Quattro Stagione is exactly as I remember it in
Italy.  Order it for an appetizer (if you like raw eggs on your pizza!).

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In early October, I ate at Pane Caldo, which is just off Michigan Avenue
near Bloomingdales.  I enjoyed my pasta, prices were moderate.  One nice
aspect about Pane Caldo is that they open very early (7:30 a.m.?) as a
bakery/coffee place, and stay open until late at night as a restaurant.  I
also ate at a Lettuce Entertain You place (maybe called Tutte Milano) which
I did not enjoy as much, and it was noisy and crowded.  Cafe Spiaggia (not
Spiaggia, but the Cafe) was also good.  The cafe is much cheaper than the
main restaurant, and it is the same food.  Convito Italiano is supposed to
be especially good for risotto, but I have not tried it.
Get a Chicago magazine; it is helpful in finding places.  Rosebud is
supposed to be good Italian, but I have not tried it, either.  All is good
time.

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Try some of the places on Taylor street, near UIC. Start at the intersection
of Taylor and Morgan, and go west. There's Tuscany, Trattoria Roma Terza,
Rosebud...Tuscany is pricy but the food is tremendous. Reservations are
definitely needed if you want to avoid a long wait. It's much easier to
get into some of the smaller places at dinnertime; that strip does a lot
of lunch business from UIC and even offices in the Loop. 

A memorable dish last winter at Tuscany was tortellini stuffed with wild
mushrooms...<ecstatic sigh>

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My favorite Itailian place in Chicago would have to be Anna Maria's 
Pasteria.  It's at 3953 N Broadway.  It's a very small place but 
I think they take reservations.  Entrees' are around $10, they don't
sell alcohol so bring your own.  They are extremely flexible, so if
you don't see what you want on the menu they will probably be able to
make it anyway.

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There's a small italian rest. across from UIC that serves fresh
hand made everything. The name is Tufanos (sp) but there's no sign
on or in front of the building. The building is in the middle of
the block directly across a UIC parking lot. It's between Morgan
and Racine on Vernon Park Place. You'll know when you've found it
by all the cars double parked in front of it.

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My two favorite spots would be La Gandolla on Ashland  just north of Fullerton
and Stefani's on Fullerton just  west of Sheffield.

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Try the Como Inn.  Downtown, off of Milwaukee, I think.

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No one has mentioned the four or five restaurants on Oakley Street just North
of Blue Island. It's about 2400 S. Oakley.  Tuscano's and Bachanalia are
there along with a few others.  We used to go there a lot.  All the 
restaurants are moderately priced.  My boyfriend grew up in Italy and at one
time they were our favorite restaurants to go to.  Of course, we're both
students and were stretching our finances just to go there.  Once we 
discovered Trattoria Gianni (1711 N. Halstead) we stopped going to Italian
restaurants (except in Italy).  Trattoria Gianni was great, but it always
wound up costing about $30./each which is too much for us most of the time.

Two Italian restaurants I recommend everyone avoid are Tutto Posta and
Trattoria Dinotta.  The waiter at Tutto Posta recommended the scallops, which
were excellent - all two of them!  I cannot forgive a $9 main course which
can be entirely consumed in four moderate bits. The scallops were 
accompanied by a single peeled tomato.  The meal was definitely too expensive,
but as comedy we got our money's worth! To be fair some other members of our
party fared substantially better.

The food was barely ok at Trattoria Dinotta and the atmosphere was worse.
The owners apparently invested in only one Frank Sinatra tape which they played
over and over while we were there.  They must have played only one side as we
did not linger.

I recommend Trattoria Gianni for those who can afford it, although I have
not been in a while.  Try the crustini.

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yeah, definitely Tuscany.  I don't eat out very often, so when I went there
I had a true 'dining experience'.  I went during the summer, early in the
afternoon, they open all the front doors, and the light comes very majesticly,
and the food was great. I felt like I was in Italy (not like I've been there
before).

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I dunno which one you mean. I live here in Little Italy, and for my money,
Rosebud is the best of the bunch. Tuscany is too pricey and the food is not as
good. The chefs are not exactly subtle there and the wine list
is...well...overpriced. The guy who owns Rosebud is a real "comer" in the
Chicago cuisine biz and for good reason.
 
Anybody notice the UPS ad on TV that shows how they deliver to all over the
world, and they flash a shot of the Italian Ice place here on Taylor? I thought
that was great.

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Try Bella Vista (on Belmont, one block west of the el stop in a renovated
bank building).  The pasta entrees hover around $10 (some are less); and
other entrees go higher.  But if you and a friend share an appetizer and a
main dish, it's possible to escape well-fed and not completely broke.

My other favorite is Tucchi Benuch (sp?).  It's located in Bloomingdale's
building--the new swanky-dank mall located at the northern end of Michigan
Ave.  It's also a bit more expensive than you might wish--but well worth
it.

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I'm not sure about the "around $10" part, but give Luciano's (downtown) a try.

I recommend linguini and clam sauce with a glass of chianti....mmm mm
mmm....the atmosphere does much for the experience also.  Reservations are not
required but are probably a good idea.  

Just a warning, this place will ruin the Olive Garden for you!

-- 
Dan Katz                                                       dsk@nwu.edu
Dept. of Electrical Engineering                             1(708)491-8887
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208                E pur si muove