In a city that is no stranger to Italian concepts, have Lettuce and Funke truly sought to redefine the genre? Should Chicagoans really wrangle for reservations and pay a premium to experience this vision? Or do you only encounter the same steak and pasta, garnished with a bit of that Beverly Hills glitz, that local diners have enjoyed for generations?
Italian
Having just completed a series of articles on three of Chicago’s most enduring fine dining establishments, you now return to another specimen that has reached middle age…
When you last left Joe Flamm—a little more than a year ago—the broad-shouldered chef had successfully shepherded his new restaurant through its first few months of opening…
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