Merlo Dinner Suggestions

I am taking my lovely wife and some friends to Melo on Saturday night. I have long wanted to try this place and I know that several people here have had good experiences there. Does anyone have some "do not miss" suggestions for Merlo? Any special dishes or styles of cooking of note?

The Bolognese sauce is a specialty and is quite good. Don't skip dessert - the tart that I had there was one of the best that I've had in a Chicago restaurant.

Bolognese, yeah.

Avoid the bottarga (dried mullet or tuna roe (I'm not not sure, it can be either)) if they have it. I was very excited to see it as a special last summer, in a simple, common style with olive oil and some bread crumbs on spaghetti. Not good at all. A miniscule portion of not-so-great fish eggs.

Now, the ladies at Collins Caviar noted that they can get it, but that it costs as much per weight as osetra and thus, may be not worth the bother. Not so in Italy, obviously, where you can get a nice portion for a resonable price.

Too bad, because it's a nice summer dish.

I'm not sure if Merlo does a pesto (not very Bolognese, I guess, but neither is bottarga); if they do, I suspect it will be top-drawer.

I went once and had the rabbit ragu. The sauce was great but the pasta -- flat hand torn (not sure of the name) -- was the best I have ever had. Feathery light but somehow substantial -- a perfect vector for the sauce. My advice -- one of you must get some kind of pasta.

Probably maltagliadi.

stevez wrote:Does anyone have some "do not miss" suggestions for Merlo?

Z Man,

Merlo is one my favorites and does, in my opinion have one, maybe two, don't miss dishes. Pasta wise rabbit ragu is, in a word, incredible. While the ragu preparation remains constant Merlo tends to change pastas, recently green hand-made bow tie pasta (Stricchetti verdi con ragu di coniglio), time before that, tagliatelle, before that, humm, I don't remember.

Merlo's carpaccio is killer as well, generous portion of razor thin beef beef with celery, Parmesan and thinly sliced summer truffle. Last visit, about two weeks ago, with Ellen and RevrendAndy, the other very good dishes were Antipasto all'italiana, which was prosciutto and speck with baby artichokes, eggplant and just incredible baby buffalo mozzarella. In addition to the carpaccio and prosciutto/speck we also had an artichoke tort. (Tarta di carciofi)

As good as the other appetizers were I did not enjoy the tort, which I found quite salty. Both Ellen and Andy liked the artichoke tort, though not to the same degree as the other appetizers.

Ellen and I went with pasta, me rabbit ragu, Ellen hand-made green and yellow tagliolini with veal ragu, quail eggs and truffle oil. Andy had Dover sole filets rolled with pan-sauteed artichoke, oven-cooked shrimp in white wine. (Involtini di sogliola e carciofi agli scampi)

Andy's Dover sole was, in my opinion, the weakest dish of the night. Not much going flavor wise and a bit over cooked to boot. I am beginning to form the opinion that one should stick to simple appetizers and pasta at Merlo, I have never had and/or tasted pasta at Merlo that hasn't absolutely wowed me, but it can be hit or miss with seafood and meat.

The not-to-miss dessert is Grandma's tart with custard, pine nuts and berries, but I also enjoy the house-made gelato.

Service is typically excellent and the wine list interesting and, to my untrained eye, reasonably priced.

As an aside, I had what could have been a problem handled with courtesy and grace by Stefano, manager and son of the owners. Ellen had dinner at Merlo with friends a few months ago, used the valet service and received a parking ticket for the exact time she was in the restaurant.

I brought this to Stefano's attention and he promptly send me a check for $25 to cover the cost of the ticket. This is a restaurant to love, wonderful pasta and courteous interaction with customers.

Enjoy,
Gary

Merlo
2638 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL. 60614
773-529-0747

Recently, petit pois and I dined at Merlo with the InLoganSquares (that is, JimInLoganSquare and the effervescent SusanInLoganSquare).

Merlo had been high on my "restaurants to try" list for way too long and I was happy to finally make it there, hearing nothing but praise.

I left Merlo with the initial feeling that I had a quality meal, but I wouldn't likely return. This feeling was due mainly to the overwhelming richness of every bite of food that I had. My dishes were dominated by high levels of seasoning and fat, not necessarily in a bad, unbalanced way, but rather in a way that exhausted my palate and stomach when I was only a few bites into my main course.

My first course was an artichoke tart (tarta di carciofi) which was delicious and full of flavor but left me feeling as if I had eaten a stick of butter. Two bites would have been enough.

I chose the osso bucco with saffron risotto as a main course (ossobuco di vitello con risotto allo zafferano), which I did not expect to be a "light" dish by any means, but I felt simply overwhelmed by the richness of every component--the salt and weight of the gravy and the richness of the risotto combined to make this a difficult meal to enjoy.

I also had the chance to taste the tagliatelle al ragu bolognese, which was expertly prepared, but again, rich with oil and salt.

Personally, I gave Merlo the same assessment that I gave to Terragusto--talented cooks using quality ingredients and a very heavy hand.

I do not have a lot of experience with authentic Italian cuisine, but I have always been under the impression that one should not leave the table feeling tired, heavy, and palate-fatigued.

It is possible that I mis-ordered and I have myself to blame for choosing a baked tart and a slow-cooked shank of veal with risotto. I do think I should give Merlo another chance, perhaps for a more casual meal from their new enoteca menu when the weather is warmer.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:I chose the osso bucco with saffron risotto as a main course (ossobuco di vitello con risotto allo zafferano), which I did not expect to be a "light" dish by any means, but I felt simply overwhelmed by the richness of every component--the salt and weight of the gravy and the richness of the risotto combined to make this a difficult meal to enjoy.

I find that, lately, any time I order risotto or polenta at any type of restaurant, I'm guaranteed to get something that tastes like butter with rice (or cornmeal). This has been true lately at Spiaggia, Scylla and A Tavola, the first three restaurants that come to mind. I wish the chefs would be more mindful of how heavy those dishes taste.

Contrary to popular belief, butter isn't always the answer.

Contrary to popular belief, butter isn't always the answer.

Altho not Italian, there are opposing viewpoints:

"Du beurre! Donnez-moi du beurre! Toujours du beurre!"--Fernand Point

Thought I'd put in a reply to this thread since we ate at Merlo on Maple for the first time yesterday. I really liked the traditional, but homey atmosphere of this place. The service was professional, our waiter was extremely personable (but talked very loudly, like a certain other unnamed ubiquitous waiter that has been discussed on this forum before), and the food was quite good for the most part.

We were in the city for the day, and had come from massage appointments next door, so we got there right when they opened at 5:30. (My husband was trying to figure out how they knew we weren't from the city - ha, ha.) We were seated in a really nice alcove on the lower level.

Here's a quick run-down of what we ordered. We wanted appetizers and pasta, so, on the recommendation of our waiter, we ordered one appetizer and one pasta to split (they split each course for us and served it on separate plates) and then an entree each.

Appetizer: Mozzarelline allo speck e asparagi, described as " Baby buffalo mozzarella imported from Italy wrapped with 'Speck Tirolese', lightly oven-warmed with asparagus, cherry tomatoes in first press extra-virgin olive oil." If I had my Google on me*, I'd find out that "Speck Tirolese" is basically a smoked prosciutto, and I might have gotten something else, since I'm not particularly a fan of prosciutto. Nonetheless, I will admit, despite my taste-bias, that the flavors went together extremely well, the asparagus was perfectly cooked, not bitter, and I wished they'd given us one extra cherry tomato because the tomato really brought everything together for me. I also felt, unlike most of the meal, this was a lighter appetizer. (This was actually nice, actually. My main complaint was the prosciutto, and that was a personal taste issue, so.)

Our pasta course was my personal favorite: Gnocchi di spinaci al tartufo nero in fonduta di "Parmigiano Reggiano." This was described as: "Hand-made spinach and potato gnocchi with a 'Parmigiano Reggiano' fondue and black truffle carpaccio." I'm a huge fan of gnocchi and this was excellent; it melted in your mouth and had a ridiculous amount of butter and grated parmesan. To be honest, I was glad we only got half-portions on this, because the amount I had was perfect. This was a very rich, but really excellent course.

For my entree, I ordered the Cotoletta farcita di parmigiano e tartufo nero con piselli al prosciutto, which was described as " Slightly pounded and breaded veal filet stuffed with shreds of "Parmigiano Reggiano" and black truffle, sautéed with scented butter, carrots and onions. Served covered with a light fresh tomato sauce and a stew of peas and "Prosciutto di Parma." The proscuitto in this dish was not very overwhelming (much to my relief), and the breaded veal filet was really simple, kind of like my mom used to made. It was a bone-in filet, and very large. It actually came with a side of three, small roasted potato wedges rubbed in parmesan and butter (I'd suspect). The potatoes were done perfectly, and honestly, the entire plate was a bit much for me, portion-wise (I gave the rest to the DH, who finished it off without a problem.)

My husband actually had the better entree, which was a special that night. I will do my best to describe it. It was a beef tenderloin, cubed and braised in garlic, olive oil, and italian herbs, sitting on a bed of frisée, which was garnished with balsamic vinegar, if I remember correctly. The beef was extremely tender and flavorful and meshed really well with the tart bite of the balsamic vinegar. The portion was a little more manageable as well; perfect for 1 person after eating two courses previous.

Of course, I ended up giving over some of my veal chop so I could save some room for dessert...

I ordered the Semifreddo di zabaione con cioccolato caldo. This is described as "Zabaione parfait with warm chocolate." I had to ask what "zabaione" was, and in the process, ended up ordering the dessert. For the record, zabaione is like a cross between a custard and a mousse, almost because of its light texture and taste. In this case, it's almost a deconstructed parfait, because they mix the zabaione with chocolate and freeze it, then serve it with a warm chocolate sauce. It was (again) a fairly large portion, and a pretty simple dish. I didn't mind it, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.

My husband ordered the Gelato di crema al Bourbon, or "home-made ice cream with bourbon," as they put it. I just had a small bite of this and the bourbon flavor in this was very strong; I wouldn't recommend it for the light of heart. My husband liked it a lot, but then again, he was drinking manhattans all night, so...

Overall, we had a nice experience here. We shared our small alcove with a Japanese couple who were visiting from NYC (nice company), and compared notes on the dinner and other restaurants in the Chicago area that they'd been to over the last few years they'd visited here. (Side note: I was amused to hear that they found Ambria overly stuffy as well.)

If someone was asking me if I'd recommend the place, I would have to say yes, but to be prepared for a very regional, very traditional meal. It was definitely different than any other Italian place I've ever been to. The service was a little slower as the place became busier, but we just enjoyed ourselves and didn't worry about the pace of the meal too much. I'm glad that we were able to come here!

*As an additional note here, sometimes I wish when I was out at a restaurant, I either had a) a phone with decent internet abilities so I could Google ingredients or descriptions I wasn't familiar with, or b) that the menus would have glossaries at the bottom like they do at Vie. I realize that some people might find this insulting and/or belittling, but let's be honest, most people, even if they eat out a lot, aren't completely sure of what some ingredients and/or descriptions are. I would personally find this extremely helpful, to be honest!

GreenFish wrote:For my entree, I ordered the Cotoletta farcita di parmigiano e tartufo nero con piselli al prosciutto, which was described as " Slightly pounded and breaded veal filet stuffed with shreds of "Parmigiano Reggiano" and black truffle, sautéed with scented butter, carrots and onions. Served covered with a light fresh tomato sauce and a stew of peas and "Prosciutto di Parma."

I ordered this my first visit to Merlo. Despite the impressive description, it's just a breaded veal cutlet with tomato sauce and peas. It was tasty in a Mom's-home-cooking kind of way, but not nearly as impressive as everything else I have eaten there since.

Well, speck is prosciutto like Iberico is prosciutto or country ham is proscuitto. It's a very special regional ham. I'm a big fan.

Every time I read about Merlo, it sounds great. I've been to the Lincoln branch a few times. The food is good, but I have a problem with this kind of restaurant. The simple, homey foods are done well, but the prices and presentation seem out of whack for what's being done there. Sort of like the Arun's/TAC Quick phenomenon, although not nearly that accute. NYC has plenty of Italians that bother me the same way, then there's the white-tablecloth Cuban Victor's, with lechon, frijoles and yuca at Uptown prices. Nontheless, Merlo remains a solid choice, and it seems that the Gold Coast branch would make a great alternative to steak for a group or a business dinner where one might not be able to take culinary chances. (Italian is the one "ethnic" cuisine everyone likes, right?)

Jeff, I wish I knew a lot of things when I went out to eat. Granted, I'm still inexperienced and learning things, so. I know most people enjoy prosciutto; I wish I did because you find it in a lot of interesting dishes.

In any case, I agree with you on the fact that this restaurant does a lot of old-fashioned, homestyle dishes at an elevated price-point. I personally enjoyed the attentive service and nice atmosphere, but agree that it's a little pricey on some things; particularly the entrees, in my opinion. I think the pasta is priced right for what you get and from what I hear and my own experience, it's the thing to order, anyway. If I ever went back, I'd probably stick to appetizers and pasta for the most part, or, order two pastas and an entree instead of the other way around.

I also think the price-point is related to the neighborhood -- Lincoln Park & the Gold Coast is not known for its value, particularly. People expect to pay. I'd agree it would be a good place for a business dinner when you don't want to go to Morton's or Gibson's.

I couldn't afford to go here all the time, but if someone suggested it again, I probably wouldn't say no. It's still cheaper than going to one of the steakhouses in the neighborhood. :/

JeffB wrote:Every time I read about Merlo, it sounds great. I've been to the Lincoln branch a few times. The food is good, but I have a problem with this kind of restaurant. The simple, homey foods are done well, but the prices and presentation seem out of whack for what's being done there. Sort of like the Arun's/TAC Quick phenomenon, although not nearly that accute. NYC has plenty of Italians that bother me the same way, then there's the white-tablecloth Cuban Victor's, with lechon, frijoles and yuca at Uptown prices. Nontheless, Merlo remains a solid choice, and it seems that the Gold Coast branch would make a great alternative to steak for a group or a business dinner where one might not be able to take culinary chances. (Italian is the one "ethnic" cuisine everyone likes, right?)

I will agree that Merlo is not inexpensive. And given their locations, I think you have to accept the fact that you will pay a little extra . . . rent is not cheap -- I also noticed this when looking at the menu at Art Smith's new place. It was a little pricier than I would have expected. But not only does Merlo make all of their own pastas, they also use very high quality ingredients in all of their dishes. And the location on Maple is truly a family restaurant -- they're always there . . . in the front of the house and in the kitchen.

As to the cuisine, I really don't think it is simple home-style Italian food. The Passatelli soup with extruded Parmesan dough is a thing of beauty -- one of the best soups I've ever had. And I expect to pay a little extra for the spinach-potato gnocchi in Parmesan fondue given the wonderful addition of shaved black truffles. They especially do themselves proud with their bolognese sauce and the paglia e fieno with prosciutto ragu, egg and white truffle oil. Finally, if you've never tried their Osso Bucco or slow cooked lamb shank, you're missing a couple of fantastic dishes. And unlike the Spoon/TAC/Arun's comparisons (I prefer Spoon to Arun's), I have not found an Italian restaurant in Chicago that I prefer to Merlo (other than Spiaggia)

Don't get me wrong. Merlo serves my favorite food. But like some others here, I have a hard time getting past the prices and trappings for food that I consider home cooking. A ragu' with house made pasta is not generally restaurant food for me, as I assume nam prik ong may not be for kids who grew up grabbing at a Thai mom's apron strings. Now if my employer or someone else wants to but me an osso buco alla Milanese at Merlo, I'm there. In fact, I'm glad this came up, because I'm going to lobby for Merlo as the next business dinner spot. They got rid of the osso buco Friday special at Gene & Georgetti...

Not sure if this is the best place to post, but Gilt City is offering an 8 course menu at Merlo on Maple for $58.

http://www.giltcity.com/chicago/merloma ... &ECA=view#