After spending some time discussing PIZZ’AMICI, it seems serendipitous that I can sample, compare, and contrast the same product from some of Chicago’s most interminable restaurateurs.
Italian American
As much as I have enjoyed my visits here, any temptation to label PIZZ’AMICI “the best” in its craft really runs contrary to what makes the restaurant exceptional.
Over the past few years, you have observed several of Chicago’s notable wine lists undergo a striking change…
Understanding Alla Vita
Understanding Elina’s
Understanding Adalina
Hype is anathema to a cynic such as you. Yet some places fulfill–dare you say, surpass–expectations from the very start. Some places not only please, but they promise. They stand as a bastion of dynamic cookery and gracious service that is sure to elevate the expression of those arts across the entire city. They beg you not merely to check them once off of your bucket list, but affirm the splendor of those rare restaurants that embody a living organism.
With more and more restaurants embracing the world’s most popular culinary genre, it pays to know just which vision of “Italy” one will be exploring in a given dining room.
Featuring: Alla Vita and a Bellemore Post-Mortem
While it is too early in the restaurant’s lifespan to write a full review, you thought–just for fun–you would put Rose Mary’s seven different pasta dishes through the ringer. Given that Joe Flamm is something of a wizard with the form–anyone who has tried Spiaggia’s truffle gnocchi can attest to that–and that his pastas form the most distinct core of the menu at present, you think this ranking can prove instructive in the interim.