Piccolo Sogno opens

A fine debut from the former chef at Coco Pazzo.

This is the restaurant in the space once occupied by Timo/Thyme on Halsted at Grand and Milwaukee,

They've blown out the interior, brightened it all, and created a far more open, airy space with fine use of the side garden/deck/outdoor space.

Last night, my first visit, I had a tricolore salad and an arugula pizza (done in a coal fire oven). Both superb.

The menu is Coco Pazzo-ish, but with fare which reads as somewhat lighter. Most notably, this restaurant will be lighter on your wallet--perhaps 60% or so less than going to Coco Pazzo, with some entrees less than $20 and wines by the glass starting at (as I recall) $7--with some perfectly nice Italian reds by the bottle starting at $25. Valet parking was $6.

In this economy, this is a restaurant which will do well.

Added sparkle: as I was sitting at the bar, Mayor Daley strolled in and gave me one of those quick pol handshakes and "nice to see ya again" salutations.

Piccolo Sogno
464 N Halsted St
Chicago IL 60622
312- 421- 0077

I just went, and actually, the terrific wine list has glasses as low as $4. And a great bottle of Tocai was $26, with many other quality wines in the under $30/ bottle category. The outdoor garden is gorgeous, but it and the main dining room were booked on our visit, so we were stuck sitting in the extremely loud bar area. Food was hit and miss: stellar amuse of white bean crostini with truffle oil, and a really good chicken grilled under a brick and served with perfectly cooked garlic rapini. Chicken, produce, and most meats are locally farmed. Less successful were 2-inch balls of gummy spinach gnocchi, greasy stuffed and fried squash blossoms, and inedibly sweet and too-boozy zabaglione that we just had to send back.

Piccolo Sogno is not open for lunch yet, contrary to their website. I stopped by, hoping to have the peach salad and a pizza for lunch, but they are only open for dinner now. I spoke to a very nice man in the kitchen who a brief break from prepping to talk to me. He said that while they are working on getting things ready for lunch, they are not able to do so yet, but in about 3-4 weeks they should be. He also said that they had 260 diners last night, which is what they would expect for a Saturday night, and they are swamped. I look forwards to going back.... when they're open!

We went on the opening weekend. I believe it was the second day open and by 7:30 the entire restaurant was packed, from the bar tables to the patio. It's a big place with several rooms and a very large, and very nice, patio, so I'd guess there were 200+ people there? It looked like a dose of baptism by fire had settle in at the kitchen, so I took my experience with a grain of salt, but overall they performed well. At the least I'll give kudos to whomever was responsible for marketing that opening since word had certainly gotten around.

Service was a little rough around the edges, but then again it had just opened. No pepper in our pepper mill. Forgot to bring bread to the table next to ours. Food runners not always clear on who ordered what. Some silverware missing from one table. Just little things, and the waitstaff seemed to pull together to help eachother out and quickly fix any problem.

They had just received their liquor license and we had brought our own bottle thinking that it would still be BYO. They were fine with that and in fact only had a couple wines by the glass available, so I can't comment on the wine list.

The food was generally good, although it lacked that little extra touch that I had always found at Coco Pazzo. For example, I ordered the duck and when it came out the skin was a little soggy and limp, despite raves by our waiter about the crispy skin. Served with fennel sausage with did not have much discernable fennel taste. That said, the dish was not bad and otherwise well perpared, it just missed those high notes for which I was hoping. Grilled salmon was good, although a little overcooked and with not quite enough of a very good savory topping. Caprese salad was quite good, but that really comes down to quality ingredients more than anything else.

But I don't want to come down too hard on a restaurant that gets slammed on the opening day, and I'll likely be back in a month or so once things calm down.

In the meantime we have been to Coco Pazzo and they seem to have settled in very well with their new chef and are still producing some outstanding food (recently had the Octopus Salad app and Squid Ink Pasta with shrimp which were both wonderful). It was more expensive than Piccolo Sogno, although nowhere near twice as much (most CP dishes were a couple $ more than at PS. Some entrees more.) But I do look forward to some improvements at PS that will even the tables and give me two top knotch choices for Italian within a quick walk.

GF and I went tonight along with my step-dad, who lives walking distance from the restaurant. We originally went about 1.5 weeks ago, a Thursday, and at 8:30 it was full, so we decided to return on an off night in order to dine on the patio. We had reservations at 6pm, and were seated immediately. The patio (about 3 dozen or so tables) was about 1/2 full but was full by 7:30.

I never came here during the Thyme/Timo days, but regret it now - the patio is simply stunning in its beauty and even though it's right on Halsted/Grand/Milwaukee we felt that we were tucked away in the countryside.



After a cocktail, we ordered the prosciutto pizza, panzanella salad, and fiore di zucca. The pizza was outstanding, thin crust with San Marzano tomato sauce and thin slices of prosciutto, very fresh tasting. The panzanella came in radicchio cups, the bread cubes tossed with basil, olive oil, heirloom tomatoes (from Green City Mkt), cukes, and onions. Very nice consistency and lively flavors. The squash flowers were stuffed with tomato and fontina and batter-fried. A savory red pepper sauce and a little arugula were the garnish. Tasty.

We decided to share entrees, getting the paglia e fieno con ragu: green & white flat noodles with a really savory veal ragu. It was a nice size for a pasta, enough for all of us to have a portion and be happy. We also got the porchetta alla romana, and step-dad chimed in that it was the best pork he's had in some time...I agree. Thin slices of pork belly that was wrapped with a bit of pine nuts and herbs, and served with roasted fingerling potatoes (also from farmer's market). And we rounded it out with the "pesce entero" - tonight being branzino, roasted whole and with fennel, garlic, etc and presented before being deboned and lovingly plated for our devouring. These went great with a nerello mascalese from Sicily (only $35 - a bargain).


Our waiter filleting the branzino tableside


Branzino presented!


Porchetta alla Romana


Green & white noodles with veal ragu

We had enough room for some gelato to share, 3 scoops was perfect to finish the night. Our bill came to about $180, not including tip. The portions were just right, not "maggiano huge" and we didn't have any leftovers...just the way we like it.

We'll definitely be back, but for those wanting the patio, go early since it fills up by 7:30-8:00.

http://piccolosognorestaurant.com/home.htm

[edit] I got my photos up hooray!

photos are up, I guess it is my macbook that has the problem with photobucket...error 403 anyone?

Had a bad meal at Piccolo Sogno this past weekend.

Other than the Carpaccio, which was delicious, every plate was off. The Calamari was tough, worse than a 40 minute-old Leona's delivered Calamari. The Signature ravioli dish was undercooked, the pasta was chewy around the edges and some of the raviolis were doused in far too much balsamic. The risotto was also not finished, it was creamy but the chew was too dense, it could have used some more care and a few more minutes of playtime with chicken stock. There were a few truffle pieces, but the taste was more of a chemical truffle oil. The risotto in particular was a classic case of "organic-fever" - I think the entire dish was organic (other than the insipid oil), and it was horrendous. A little more care in the preparation and a little less about how much cow dung was used to fertilize the asparagus would have made me happy. Rapini on the side was incredibly bitter, moreso than any rapini I've had, but I don't blame the kitchen, as I know Rapini can sometimes just be overpowering.

Service was totally indifferent - it was the late seating, and it was still busy and buzzing, so I assume it was the end of a long day, but service didn't help.

I kick myself in retrospect for not just going to Club Lago or La Scarola (or even Bella Notte or Salerno's)... I really just wanted a decent red sauce meal, ended up wasting $100 instead. (not that it was overpriced, actually was well-priced, if anything were actually good)

edit: the back patio is gorgeous. A tremendous space.

I tried Piccolo Sogno for the second time last night (original notes are upthread), and I'm unlikely to return.

The dining room looks nice from outside it, but once you sit, you realize that it's incredibly cramped and poorly laid out. We spent much of the evening dodging the genitals of the staff as they whizzed by, and the crowdedness seemed to put the whole dining room on rushed edge. Speaking of rushing, the pacing of our meal was incredibly rapid. Appetizers came out less than 2 minutes after we ordered them, and the busboys could not have seemed more anxious to clear our plates as quickly as possible, with or without remaining food that we were planning to eat. I realize that this kind of pacing is what many people are after... not me.

An autumn caprese salad was good in it's recognition that good, fresh tomatoes are well past their season. However, replacing them with oven roasted, practically dried tomatoes simply didn't work. The flavor of the dried tomato was so intense, it absolutely overwhelmed the delicate, delicious buffalo mozzarella. The chewy tomato texture was far from a complement as well.

Entrees did not fare better. Pumpkin ravioli applied a technique I've seen before - grating amaretti cookies into the filling. The result just tasted weird to me. It had a chalky texture and flavor that overwhelmed the squash. I think it would have been much more successful to sprinkle a small amount of grated amaretti cookies over more classically prepared ravioli.

Papardelle with wild boar ragu was a poor rendition. The noodles were fresh and well-cooked, but the ragu was way too similar to a badly made stew you'd get at a crappy Irish pub. Big chunks of chewy meat, along with big chunks of still-crunchy onion, carrots and celery. Though the ingredients of a classic ragu were there, instead of slow simmering them for a long time so they break down to create a classic, rich and delicious dish, the kitchen just seemed to throw them together without any love, and flung the dish out to the table as quickly as possible.

"Piccolo sogno" means "little dream". In this case, it's the kind you hope you forget when you wake up in the morning.

Kennyz wrote:We spent much of the evening dodging the genitals of the staff as they whizzed by

This really should be a signature line...........

Speaking dodging genitals of wait staff, I know the feeling thanks to Old Town Brasserie .

Enjoy,
Gary

Kennyz wrote:Pumpkin ravioli applied a technique I've seen before - grating amaretti cookies into the filling. The result just tasted weird to me.

I've never come across grated amaretti in the filling. That doesn't sound appetizing to me, but then again, I don't even like grated amaretti over the top. It still tastes like a grated cookie, and is a bit distracting to me, taste-wise. I leave it off.

aschie30 wrote:

Kennyz wrote:Pumpkin ravioli applied a technique I've seen before - grating amaretti cookies into the filling. The result just tasted weird to me.

I've never come across grated amaretti in the filling. That doesn't sound appetizing to me, but then again, I don't even like grated amaretti over the top. It still tastes like a grated cookie, and is a bit distracting to me, taste-wise. I leave it off.

I agree. Grating the cookies over the ravioli is more common, but I'm still not a big fan. I once saw Giada grating them into the filling on her foodtv show, so I know Piccolo Sogno is not the first to try it.

G Wiv wrote:

Kennyz wrote:We spent much of the evening dodging the genitals of the staff as they whizzed by

This really should be a signature line...........

Speaking dodging genitals of wait staff, I know the feeling thanks to Old Town Brasserie .

Enjoy,
Gary

Yeah, Gary, I really should have attributed my statement to you, as I don't think I would have come up with that phrasing without having read your piccoli genitali story, which is forever etched in my brain. Apologies for the mild form of plagiarism.

Kennyz wrote:Yeah, Gary, I really should have attributed my statement to you, as I don't think I would have come up with that phrasing without having read your piccoli genitali story, which is forever etched in my brain. Apologies for the mild form of plagiarism.

KZ,

Not looking for attribution, just responded as your 'adventure' struck a familiar chord. I am reminded of a story, though it is way (way) over the line for LTHForum.

Enjoy,
Gary

I had dinner here last night, and I was happy with the meal over all. The setting is just so pretty. I had a corner table in the second room, so, I was not brushed with any body parts.
Our server was very attentive, and could answer all our questions. I agree however, with the plates being cleared as soon as you took the last bite, and we were hesitant to put in our entree order because of the timing, and it turned out to be a mistake, as the entree came as soon as the pasta was cleared. We would have liked to savor our wine a bit with a break.
The amuse was a tasteless beef croquette. Really, I am trying to come up with some words to describe it, but it had nothing in it to describe. I was a bit scared at that point, as our one bite, was not full of goodness, and promise of great things to come. But, as it turned out, this was the worse dish of the evening.
The salads we had were well dressed, and the half order of green & white noodles with veal ragu, really hit the spot. The obviously homemade noodels were cooked al dente, and the sauce was lick the bowl clean good. I actually am glad I didn't order a full order, because I would have eaten the whole thing no problem. THis was the star dish of the evening.
Jman had the lamb, he liked it, but wouldn't order it again. They were described as lamb T bones, and they were very thick cut, but cooked to order. He just prefers his lamb to be more of a chop. He also didn't like the fregola that was served with it. I liked the rosemary and lemon taste, he thought the lemon was overpowering.
I had the short ribs. Fall off the bone tender, the sauce was a nice wine reduction. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this meat, but I don't think I would order it again. I really can't put my finger on it, I think I just prefer other restuarants versions, like A Tavola and my all time favorite, Bonsoiree.
Wine list was incredible, and we really felt like we got a bargain with all the food. We kind of made a comparision to May Street Market, and felt it was about 30% less expensive.
What really struck us was the age of the customers. This isn't a young hipster type crowd. I actually said that this would be a good place to bring parents, because it wasn't very loud in there. All in all it was a solid experience. I want to go back for the pizza, it looked cracker thin, and smelled fantastic everytime one went by us.

While I've only had outstanding experiences with the food, I did have the problem with being rushed my first time there. So much so that I flagged down Ciro and let him know that my second course hit the table before my first course plate hit the kitchen sink. Unacceptable in a restaurant that encourages the slower, multiple course style of dining.

Follow-up visits have been better paced by making it clear to the waiter or Ciro that I was not in a hurry and wanted a leisurely dining experience. Also, sometimes we don’t order the next course until well after we finish the first. (We do this at many restaurants) Perhaps you shouldn’t have to micro-manage your dining timing but I’d rather take control than risk a rushed evening.

I should have added, that I specifically asked the waitress if we should wait, or if she could time it. She assured us she would time it. She timed it right down to to the second our pasta was gone. This didn't bother me so much last night on a random Monday, but if it had been a weekend when I was trying to wind down and enjoy others company, I would have been put off. I know now that if I go, to inform the server we will placing our own orders when we are ready. I have to agree with DMChicago, we've taken to controling our evening lately as well. I find that only very fine dining places can time the meal anymore.

My first experience at Piccolo Sogno last night and it was quite the Jekyll and Hyde experience. We showed up for an 8:30 dinner reservation and were told that our table wasn't ready. It didn't take us very long to notice the 20-30 people huddled around the bar and realize that the restaurant has no clue how to time reservations. With 3 people at the host stand, you'd think one of those 3 could have issued an apology, but no . . . the attitude was more defiance. At about 9pm, we were told we could take a table right by the door and host stand, where everyone was waiting (essentially, the bar area), or we could wait a little while longer for a table in the dining room. We chose to wait and we also started considering other dinner options. While phoning Otom to see if we could get a table, we were told a table was now ready . . . 9:05, 35 minutes after our reservation . . . oh, and still no apology. (But see the end of my review for the partial redemption).

But the food . . . the food was very good, probably even excellent.

Bread service is generally unremarkable, except that in the bread basket are these thin little breadsticks (I assume homemade) with a nice anise flavor. I could eat these all day.

Cecina fritta - these are chickpea flour "french" fries sprinkled with parmesan and rosemary. I was hoping these would taste like the panisse I had enjoyed a few years ago at Pili Pili. This version was very good, but I didn't love the texture. They were generally crispy on the outside, but I didn't love the souffle-like texture in the middle (really a personal preference). I would have preferred them to be a little bit more crispy on the outside and dense in the middle. Still, the flavor was good.

The wood grilled wild boar sausage was served with sauteed white beans in a tomato-based sauce and the sausage packed some very nice flavor. The sausage also had a very nice crisp bite. A special of sweet potato soup (can't remember all of the flavors working here) was also very good.

Best of the appetizers though were two excellent pastas: paglia e fieno with a veal ragu and spinach and potato gnocchi with oven dried tomatoes and mushrooms. The paglia e fieno was great. The pasta was excellent (I'd be shocked if any of their pastas are not house made) and the veal ragu a thing of beauty . . . fantastic flavor and exactly the proportion of ingredients I'd expect in a great ragu. The gnocchi light as a feather and the flavor of the tomato and mushroom mixture also very good.

As for mains, I ordered the fish special of the night, the wood baked, salt encrusted branzino (pictures above). The branzino was outstanding and just melted in the mouth. This was one of the best pieces of fish I've enjoyed in a long time, and the citrus-fennel flavor fantastic. The braised fennel on the plate really did not deserve to be out-staged because it was outstanding on its own. Fish does not get better than this.

The lasagna bolognese would have been great, but for it being served merely warm. Thankfully, Piccolo Sogno does the lasagna with a bechamel and not layers of ricotta. The bolognese sauce, with the bechamel, served between layers of house made pasta really was excellent . . . it just needed to be served hotter.

I was not as bothered with the pappardelle with spicy wild boar ragu as was Kenny Z. I thought the flavor of the ragu was nice, again served with perfectly cooked pasta. My only complaint is that I had already tasted the paglia e fieno with veal ragu and this was not quite as good.

Desserts, on the other hand, were not as impressive and need a bit of an overhaul in my opinion. One exception was the house made blood orange sorbet. Both the flavor and texture were excellent.

A special of mille feuille was layers of puff pastry with pastry cream mixed with chocolate chips. Perhaps it was intended to be a whimsical take on cannoli, and it was ok but nothing special. There was way, way too much powdered sugar on the top layer of pastry, and the puff pastry did not hold its shape as well as it could have. Plus, there just wasn't enough flavor working here. Infusing the pastry cream with some orange (maybe zest), adding some candied fruit . . . anything really . . . would have made this a very good dish. As it was, it was a little boring.

The apple tart was the biggest disappointment. Essentially, it was mushed apples on a mushy crust. Doesn't sound appealing? Good . . . don't order it.

As for service once we were seated, it was excellent. Our waiter was friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, and attentive. The pacing of the meal was also excellent.

When we first sat down we explained to our waiter the issues we had being seated, and at the end of the meal, he brought a gentleman from the host stand over to us (who I now recognize from their website to be the co-owner). They comped our first round of drinks and dessert and we finally got the apology we should have received earlier. In any event, they eventually did what should have been done and we were appreciative.

As for the crowd, I'd say it was a little odd. A mixture of very young and very old like I cannot recall seeing anywhere in Chicago. Also, some people were dressed to the nines, many others in jeans. Decor is equally strange. Some modern touches, some very old fashioned chandeliers (and right next to track lighting). I guess they couldn't settle on one design pattern so they chose several.

In any event, I thought the food was excellent and I'd be thrilled to return . . . but if I walked in and witnessed the same fiasco I experienced last night (inability to manage reservations), I'm sure I'd be out the door much quicker. But I've always been a huge fan of Tony Priolo's cooking and it's clear he's running the food show here.

My wife and I were in the mood for a little al fresco dining, and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to try Piccolo Sogno (Little Dream), since their outdoor garden gets rave reviews in itself.

We arrived early one Saturday as walk-ins, unable to get reservations for the whole evening. We took a seat at the bar and had a drink. First impression was how beautiful the rooms are. The marquee style lighting at the ceiling coves is unique, and they follow this design into the bathrooms as well.

They had a nice martini list with a few of their own creations as well. I had a blood orange martini, and it was excellent. They do not hold back on the vodka, and it was as smooth as ever. We noted that Tony Priolo had a little meeting with his staff outside the restaurant a few minutes before it opened. I appreciate when the owners do this with their staff. It impresses me that they are dedicated to providing a good dining experience to their patrons.

We were called to our table in about twenty minutes, after those with reservations were seated. We made our way past the antipasti table and kitchen, where the aromas wafting through the air heightened the anticipation of the meal we were about to enjoy.



The outdoor garden is beautifully landscaped, with considerable attention to detail. The tables are well spaced to give diners enough privacy for private conversation.




They had a nice selection of wines by the glass, and explained each wine in detail, which is always appreciated



A nice selection of fresh breads arrived at our table to enjoy with a little olive oil or butter



We perused the menu, which offered too many great selections



We ordered the Antipasti plate for two, which included fresh grilled vegetables, such as eggplant, cauliflower, asparagus, zucchini, and prosciutto, cheese, and olives, all for $14.



We shared a Insalata Di Pesche, which is peaches, baby arugula, lemon oil and goat cheese. It was excellent, with the goat cheese complimenting the sweetness of the peaches



For our entrees, my wife ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, which is wood grilled whole, and then presented to you for your approval before it is taken away to be fileted, plated, and returned. The fish was cooked perfectly, and was extremely fresh



I ordered the Anatra Arrosto, which is roasted half-duck, fennel sausage, and polenta. Let me tell you, this dish was excellent! The duck was moist and the skin extra-crispy. The sausage was flavorful without the fennel being overpowering, and the polenta was tasty being browned on the edges for that perfect flavor.





For dessert, we ordered the chocolate cake with hazelnut ice cream. The cake arrived warm with a molten center, and the ice cream was homemade, and an excellent pairing!



We enjoyed our dining experience at Piccolo Sogno. We thought the service was above average, the food was excellent. The chef's attention to all the little details shows, which I believe separates him from other Italian dining establishments. It is evident that Tony Priolo will enjoy a living his "little dream" for a long time to come, and hopefully, will become a mainstay on the Chicago dining scene.

PS Total bill was about $110 bucks.

TheWindyCity wrote:I ordered the Anatra Arrosto, which is roasted half-duck, fennel sausage, and polenta. Let me tell you, this dish was excellent! The duck was moist and the skin extra-crispy. The sausage was flavorful without the fennel being overpowering, and the polenta was tasty being browned on the edges for that perfect flavor.

This dish looks and sounds delicious, as do several of the others you ordered. And that patio is beautiful. Thanks, TWC, for the report and excellent pics. You've really incented me to visit Piccolo Sogno, especially while the weather is still good.

=R=

We had a perfectly nice meal here tonight. It was with great enthusiasm we went here, having loved our neighborhood restarant Le Madri in Chelsea (NYC). It was owned by Pino Luongo, the godfather of all Cocco Pazzo type restaurants, of which this is an offspring. Since Piccolo Sogno is a 3 minute drive from our apartment in Chicago, we were excited to go here tonight.

The Berkel slicer, with a beautiful leg of prosciutto di parma on it, set the tone for excitement upon arrival. So did the GM making the laps around the dining room.

My cocktail was prepared perfectly, as was my partner's. I started with the prosciutto with figs, which was just right--sliced tissue thin, just perfect. My partner had the prosciutto (not parma) with the burrata, which was delightful. I then proceeded to have the "straw and hay" with veal ragu; again, a lovely dish. My partner had the 4 cheese ravioli which, again, were beautiful. For main courses, my partner had the braised short ribs which he said were sadly plain. I tasted them, and I apologize, but the words that came from my mouth were "pot roast from K Mart." Boringly bland. The server inquired as to the dishes, and he said it was quite bland, so she took it back and it was returned 5 minutes later over a bed of potato puree with a jus on top. Better. I had the porchetta which was quite nice. In all, a B meal. I was quite satisfied.

I think the restaurant has a lot going for it. But it could benefit from being a bit more adventurous. It is as if we went to Le Madri and selected the "safest" dishes from the menu and offered only those on a given night. Perfectly fine, but I'd like the chef to stretch his (I saw him at the end of the evening, so I know 'he' is a man) muscles.

Lots of promise. Now go out the edge a bit and flex your muscles some.

Jonathan and I also had dinner here last night. When I made the reso I was hoping for a lovely evening on the patio, but, alas, the weather gods were not with us.
My impressions of the food were similar to DutchMuse's although our appetites weren't huge so we had less of a sample to go by. To start, we shared the mixed seafood grill appetizer. The best part was the generous amount of baby arugula in a nice vinaigrette that accompanied the mix of calamari,baby octopus, and 2 shrimp. The shrimp were overcooked, the calamari a bit bland, and the octopus was the most flavorful and tender of the bunch. We opted for pastas as our entrees and they fared much better than the seafood. Jonathan enjoyed their version of lasagna - I did not try it, but he polished it off. I had the Tortelli which was filled with baby artichokes and ricotta and topped with additional artichoke, green onions, english peas, and favas. A bit Spring-like for the last week of Summer, but I love artichokes and favas and found the dish light but very satisfying.
I too think Chef Priolo is certainly capable of pushing the envelope a bit more, but based on the crowd last night, I'd say he really doesn't need to. They're playing to their audience and in a time when so many restaurants are fighting to keep their doors open, I certainly understand why.

nicinchic wrote:I know now that if I go, to inform the server we will placing our own orders when we are ready. I have to agree with DMChicago, we've taken to controling our evening lately as well.

We went for the first time on Saturday night, and found it necessary to exert this same sort of control over pacing in order not to be rushed. (I was grateful for having read this thread first, so I was prepared, but in no way was my perception of the rushing colored by this thread--it really was happening.)

Our foursome's time at the table was two hours, from cocktails to dessert and coffee. About what I'd expect and hope for in a restaurant like this--nothing excessive, not too little--but ideally this would happen because of the restaurant's natural pacing, not in spite of it, as was unfortunately the case. (Had we dined at the pace the restaurant was encouraging, I seriously suspect we'd have been out of there in forty-five minutes.) It was necessary for us repeatedly to resist attempts by the waiter to get us to order when we hadn't had time to sip our cocktails and look at the menu. At that point it seemed clear that we'd have to employ a strategy of "only order the antipasti assortment first, and hold off on placing the rest of the order until after that" if we had a hope of claiming our real estate for a reasonable length of time. When, after this course, we placed orders for pastas followed by entrees, the waiter asked (with hope in his voice) if we would like our pastas served on the side of our entrees, rather than before. That just ain't right.

The food? Good, fine, enjoyable. The vegetables in the antipasti assortment didn't burst with fresh flavor as the ones at Anteprima in Andersonville do, so they suffered in comparison to this gold standard. I liked my small portion of stracci di farro with asparagus and mushrooms quite a bit, and my sea bass was filleted perfectly and tasted very fresh. The ricotta cheesecake we shared for dessert was OK, nothing amazing. The struggle to claim a couple of hours with our friends detracted from the feeling of relaxation we deserved, but the manner of the staff was otherwise courteous, even friendly. We didn't resent our waiter, who was clearly "following orders." It was just an undercurrent--the sense that the customer and the management at Piccolo Sogno are in an adversarial relationship in some respects, that what you want and what they want are not entirely congruent--that I'm not used to, and that our experience would have been much nicer without.

Chose PS for our Christmas Eve dinner last night, and it reflects the more positive experiences described above.

Management offered the regular along menu with a "Buon Natale" list of specials heavy on seafood offerings and from which (as advised by our server) we did most of our basic ordering as follows:

Some flavorful mussels and indifferent clams in a very sopworthy broth along with a glitteringly fresh cold insalata da mare, followed by fettuccine in a leek and bay-scallop/sea-scallop (caramelized separately) sauce, an aromatic lobster risotto, and branzino cooked to perfection in a light tomato/capers/citrus sauce. The latter seems to be universally praised above and was one of the better fish entrees I've had all year. Portions of pasta were quite sufficient for an entree, but also could have been ordered in appetizer portions.

Highlight of the desserts was the molten-chocolate/hazelnut tortino, with hazelnut gelato, pictured above.

Large wine list, that should appeal to most wallets and tastes (we had a mid-range Val d'Aosta pinot noir recommended by our waiter). None of the service, pacing, crowding contretemps mentioned above, and, in general, a highly pleasurable outing. PS will be high on our list for next year's reveillon, and along with Anteprima, Terragusto, and Coco Pazzo for optional Italian dining as well.

Dined there last night, and had to post, since, service-wise, our party of four's experience was so opposite the one I wrote about just two posts up (but nearly a full year ago).

This time, the service was perfection. No rushing. Our young woman server was a model of knowing just when to be there and when not to. And a model of knowing how to guide us through the menu with recommendations without being excessively "assertive." And a model of having a thoroughly delightful personality without ever making it about her. If, paradoxically, sometimes the best service is a sense of no service at all (utter seamlessness, gliding through a meal with a focus on the food and your company and nowhere else), that's what we experienced.

The food last year was very good. Last night it was spectacular. After an antipasto platter for the table, the four of us shared an order of the special pasta of the night, sort of a large-diameter spaghetti in a lightly creamy sauce loaded with chanterelles. Every bite caused me to silently say, "Note to self: OMG." My main course, beef short ribs on a base of polenta and spinach, lived up to this prelude: the beef forming a mound, separated from the bone, unbelievably soft, tender and delicious, wonderfully sauced.

Altogether, from cocktails through dessert and coffee, we were there just shy of three hours, which absolutely flew by. Despite the place being packed (which was heartening to see), we never once had the sense, even implicitly, that the restaurant prefer we relinquish our table to the next party. All in all, food, service, vibe, this had to be one of the best restaurant experiences we've had in the last year.

Since it is winter, would anyone suggest this as an option for a 50th birthday dinner with 11-15 people? Can the room accommodate that large a group?

Thanks.

sujormik wrote:Since it is winter, would anyone suggest this as an option for a 50th birthday dinner with 11-15 people? Can the room accommodate that large a group?

You would have to call them to ask whether they can arrange the seating to accommodate that large a group. The room itself is large enough; there's the main dining room (which they expanded slightly in the past year by moving the kitchen prep area back), and there's also the outdoor patio which is enclosed in the winter and serves as an extension of the main dining room. So the size of the place is not an issue, but rather, whether they can arrange tables for that big a group.

Also, it's somewhat on the loud side - not roaring loud like Kahan's restaurants, but it's not at all quiet either. If they arrange the seating in one long table, there's no way those at one end will be able to hear those at the other.

For a big birthday dinner for 11-15 people, you might want to instead consider a restaurant that has a private room suitable for that size group. EDIT: I see below that they have one at Piccolo Sogno - perfect!!!

sujormik:

I would suggest calling Piccolo Sogno directly, and asking about the private room. I put together a Christmas party for my old law firm there back in the Thyme days, for a group of about 20, and it was a fabulous venue - private bar and bathroom, too. I actually tweeted the resto earlier today to double-check if the room was still there, and got a confirmation that it is. I'd get in touch with 'em ASAP, were I you.

Contact info:
Twitter: @PiccoloSogno
Phone #: 312-421-0077
dedicated private party email: parties@piccolosognorestaurant.com

Sounds perfect! I didn't even know they had a private room...

Thank you, just sent an email! Will keep you posted if it works out.

Piccolo Sogno to open a second location in River North. The street-level space is in the John R. Thompson Building on Clark Street owned by real estate developer Albert Friedman, who had initially leased it to Sola Restaurant. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... iver-north