Mia Figlia - Better Italian in Edgebrook

LTH,

Had a chance to stop in tonight for dinner. In short, surprisingly good for the area. Prices are in line with Francesca's an Piccolo Sogno; that is to say pasta dishes around $15, entrees around $20.

Upon entering, the space was warm, welcoming and well appointed. White tablecloths and paper, settings wrapped in cloth napkins and a decent looking bar showed promise.

We started with the bruschetta. It came out as 4 slices of foccacia points, toasted and dressed with tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh basil oil and what tasted like domestic mozz. I'm not a big fan of bruschetta to begin with, and when I do indulge, my preference is for more of a baguette texture; crisp outside, chewy but still light inside. Mia Figlia's version was a bit heavy and dense for my tastes but well executed.

Moving on, the baby asparagus salad was nicely blanched and dressed with a bit of lemon vinaigrette and finished with diced tomato and blue cheese crumbles, ringed by a roll of prosciutto. Solid, but for the tomatoes, which tasted like they looked - pale and mealy, with little flavor. This was the type of tomato I expect in December, but not in July. Sauteed spinach with garlic was perfectly cooked, still retaining bite and crunch. Barely wilted, the flavors were big and bold, just what I had hoped for.

I had the pork loin wrapped in prosciutto on top of mashed potatoes and topped with rapini. Major points here - asking for, then delivering on my requested temperature (medium rare, tepid pink in the middle). Fork tender pork, well seasoned but not overly aggressive. The mash had bits of potato for texture and played well against the sauced plate. To pick nits, I was disappointed by the rapini as it was overcooked and limp. The manager/owner said that this was an execution choice, and intentional as it "cooks out the bitterness". I get the notion of appealing to the lower common denominator of making an uncommon green more palatable, but was hoping for a nice, crisp saute and bitter counterpoint to the rich pork and potatoes.

Mrs. had the lasagna. Well done, solid lasagna al carne. Bechamel sauce and meat was appropriate, serving size generous, this dish would please the "I just want something good" diner. It puts Sabatino's and their ilk to shame.

Given the decor, this place (servers included) is surprisingly friendly to kids. Ours (4 and 6) were welcomed, treated well and provided with crayons for coloring. There is a small kids' menu consisting of 2-3 pastas, 2-3 sauces and a few pizzas. They offer a $5 combo of meal, drink and ice cream. Monday nights are "Kids Eat Free", and our server was incredibly patient and accommodating. I tasted both the fettuccine Alfredo and spaghetti with meat sauce, and was quite surprised at the quality of the dishes. Perhaps too many visits to other restaurants where kids' meals are treated as afterthoughts have jaded me, but these plates were solid - I would've been happy ordering one of these dishes as a main.

On the booze front, no taps but a decent selection of bottled beers and wines. I had a couple glasses of Montepulciano and the Mrs. had a pomegranate martini. Again, solid pours, good wine.

$05 - 1 app
$14 - 2 salads ~ $7 each
$36 - 2 entrees ~ $18 each
$27 - 3 drinks, ~$9 each
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$82 incl. tax

This place would fit perfectly in Lincoln Park, giving stalwarts like Rose Angelis a run for their money. I'm lucky to have this place 5 minutes away from me, and will be returning to explore the menu.

Mia Figlia
5304 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL 60646

I just googled this place to see if they were open for lunch, as I work a couple miles up Lehigh (they are not), and I saw that there is a yelp deal...$20 for $40 worth of food/drinks.

I might still pick it up and eat an early dinner here on my way home sometime.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/mia-figlia-chicago-3

Thanks for putting it on my radar.

thanks for the info and the detailed write-up, Sherman! This place is now on my list of places that I need to try.

I had a dinner here back in June and really enjoyed it. It's near my office so I was disappointed to learn that it isn't open for lunch but I will be back for dinner every now and then.

=R=

LTH,

Stopped by for dinner and decided to explore. Split the Toscana pizza:


Thinner crust, decent cornicione, crispy yet thick enough not to flop with some good char on the bottom. Toppings (proscuitto, mushroom, sun dried tomato, fresh mozz) were generous and flavorful, but proscuitto and tomato dominated, and the mozz ended up playing third fiddle behind the mushrooms. I could see ordering a couple of these with some wine for a nice dinner.

Special "Parm of the day": Pork tenderloin topped with mozz, parm, salami, roasted eggplant, potato in a butter sauce

The butter sauce was too greasy for my tastes. Combined with the greenery, it reminded me of chicken kiev. The pork didn't stand a chance, being dogpiled with toppings. On the bright side, the eggplant and potatoes were well roasted and not mushy.

Chicken parm was also at the table. No pics but a solid rendition, moderately sweet and straightforward sauce. Accompanying pasta was properly cooked. Maybe my expectations are too low, but it's nice to have a place not overcook pasta.

Side: Rapini, garlic, chile flake, cherry tomato

The rapini retained some characteristic bitterness and acidity from the tomatoes helped, but I'm not a big fan of braised greens unless it's collard/mustard, cooked with a big fat ham hock.

Next time, exploring the pasta and risotto!

This place is right in my neighborhood, and is a huge improvement over the Italian place that occupied the same storefront previously. The first couple of times I ate there, I really enjoyed it. Probably, like Sherman, I was so relieved to have an Italian place in the neighborhood where the owners were friendly and the food didn't suck, my eyes were blinded. After the third or fourth visit, I started to notice how extremely salty all of their sauces were (and I'm not salt averse at all). These days, it's pretty much out of my rotation. I'd go back if someone suggested it, I suppose.

stevez wrote:This place is right in my neighborhood, and is a huge improvement over the Italian place that occupied the same storefront previously. The first couple of times I ate there, I really enjoyed it. Probably, like Sherman, I was so relieved to have an Italian place in the neighborhood where the owners were friendly and the food didn't suck, my eyes were blinded. After the third or fourth visit, I started to notice how extremely salty all of their sauces were (and I'm not salt averse at all). These days, it's pretty much out of my rotation. I'd go back if someone suggested it, I suppose.

While not difficult to beat Piatto after they lost their original chef, it was a pretty great place while he was there.

spinynorman99 wrote:While not difficult to beat Piatto after they lost their original chef, it was a pretty great place while he was there.

Maybe so, if you could get past the hostess/Nazi-With-a-Bad-Attitude at the front door.

I went yesterday because I'm addicted to buying online coupons. I was really glad I went and I'll surely return, although I really wish they would open for lunch other than Sundays.

I ordered the Cozze alla Zaferano con Arance (steamed mussels with garlic, chili flakes and orange saffron broth) first. They were very good, though not as good as the ones just next door at Moher (those were loaded with garlic and served with garlic toast). But the broth was really delicious, and there was a ton of it. There was enough to make you think it was a soup, and that's how I ate it, after I soaked some of it up with that nice bread they give you. The server mentioned that they had a customer that ordered this appetizer with a side of pasta, than dumped the pasta in the broth when the mussels were gone. Good idea.

My entrée was Maiale con Rapini e Prosciutto (roasted pancetta pork tenderloin with garlic whipped potatoes, sautéed rapini, fresh tomato, red wine sauce and topped with prosciutto). I figured, it's pork rolled in pork topped with pork! How can I go wrong? It is quite good indeed, but it's very very rich, and I think it would have been better without the pancetta; it was just too much and a bit too salty. However, that didn't stop me from bringing it home and having the rest for lunch. Also, rapini makes everything better in my opinion, and the taters were nice and fluffy.

Unfortunately, I had no room for dessert. I was on my way to a movie, otherwise I would have taken advantage of their 1/2 price wine deal. I could just see myself downing a bottle and walking through the woods to get home. Oh well, there's always next time.

stevez wrote:After the third or fourth visit, I started to notice how extremely salty all of their sauces were (and I'm not salt averse at all).

Pie Lady wrote:it was just too much and a bit too salty.

I see a theme developing here.

Well, I'm not sure about the gravy. But bacon and prosciutto are salty all on their own. The mussel broth wasn't salty.