Fornello Trattoria & Pizzaria

Fornello Trattoria & Pizzaria

Leaving the bedside of a sick relative and driving home on Irving Park Road, The Wife and I decided to stop at the first place that looked good that we’d never been to before. I spotted the sign for Fornello, which was promising (simply because it looked old)…



…but this was the deal closer:



I realize this special signage would be the kiss of death/total turn-off for most, but as it turns out, I saw Rachel’s Chicago show just a few days ago, and I’m a big fan (she’s fighting the good fight, cutely), so I had to stop. Hey, we were hungry, it was the first marginally promising place we found, so why not?

“Give us what Rachel had,” I asked our extremely helpful and gregarious server who showed just the right amount of interest in our meal, balanced with an understanding that no customer enjoys a hovering host.

Following in the footsteps of Ms. Ray, we had a pizza Margherita, which had a crisper crust than I’d expected (characteristic, our server told us, of Puglia, which is where the owners are from), and a restrained use of housemade mozzarella and basil. We liked it okay, but The Wife observed that it didn’t have much personality (though if that were her main criteria for attraction, I’d still be single). It was a decent if not awesome app.



The pizza was cooked on what must be one of Chicago’s oldest wood-burning 'za ovens:



Ottavio, the owner (pictured below), installed this oven in the late 80s, and he’s proud of it. If I understand him correctly, this particular type of wood-burning oven is no longer permitted in Chicago, but it was grand-fathered in (I have no idea if this contention is accurate; it’s what I was told, but I’m not sure how this oven is technically different than ones at Spacca Napoli, etc.).



We very much enjoyed the capellaci, so named because the toothsome housemade pasta is shaped to look like pointed little hats, stuffed with a mild veal paste, splashed with a saffron sauce and draped with spinach, well worth having…worth perhaps even a return trip.



To try on next visit: housemade lemoncello (creamy).

Fornello Trattoria & Pizzaria
1011 W. Irving Park
773.404.2210

Sounds worth a try, DH! The capellaci looks just right.

toothsome housemade pasta

I'm building a synonym list for toothsome, since we've taken to anglicizing the heck out of al dente. May I suggest for next time:

-dentrific
-molaricent
-incisive
-crownable
-enamellary
-maxillanimous
-fangable

Santander wrote:I'm building a synonym list for toothsome, since we've taken to anglicizing the heck out of al dente.

Yeah, I wanted to avoid the over-used al dente, but this pasta really goes beyond that: it's thick, firm and chewy.

Toothsome is one of those words that's changing its definition through usage. It originally had nothing to do with texture.

My 1996 Webster's New World defines it as:
"1. pleasing to the taste; palatable. 2. attractive, esp. sexually attractive."

However, I see www.merriam-webster.com defines it as:
"1 a: agreeable, attractive. b: sexually attractive <a toothsome blonde>. 2: of palatable flavor and pleasing texture: delicious <crisp toothsome fried chicken>."

David,

You were a short walk from TAC, next door to Byron's, and across the street from a pretty good taqueria whose name escapes me at the moment. But I'm glad you went to Fornello. A friend used to live nearby and really liked it. I've always been very suspicious, and when I saw the Ray signage, I decided I would never visit. You've changed my mind. The pasta dish is downright courageous for that kind of place in the neighborhood. I've had the pizza before, takeout. I'll give them the benefit and say it didn't travel well.

JeffB wrote:I've had the pizza before, takeout. I'll give them the benefit and say it didn't travel well.

When we lived in the neighborhood, we had delivery pizza from there a couple of times and I'll agree with Jeff. Nothing about that pizza ever made me want to visit the restaurant in person. The pasta dish looks really good, though.

JeffB wrote:You were a short walk from TAC, next door to Byron's, and across the street from a pretty good taqueria whose name escapes me at the moment. But I'm glad you went to Fornello.

The taqueria is El Palomar, and it was a very tempting alternative (as was Byron's).

I'm with you and stevez regarding the relative uneventfulness of the pizza; not great, not horrible, but a cut above so-so.

I am a big fan of this place and regularly eat there before or after cub games. They are very nice and the food is always good. In fact I will be doing dinner there tomorrow night.

The owners son has a slightly more dressed up restaurant at Halsted and Diversey called Sapori Trattoria which I really like.
http://www.saporitrattoria.net/

third coast foodie wrote:The owners son has a slightly more dressed up restaurant at Halsted and Diversey called Sapori Trattoria which I really like.
http://www.saporitrattoria.net/

According to our server, the family owns several restaurants in the area; she also mentioned Pescatore (and she may have meant Pescatore Palace on River Road, but I'm not sure). Fornello, however, seems to be the oldest property in this mini-empire.

This has been a go to place for us as we live about 3 blocks away. Wait staff is great.

I tend to order the Pasta Romantica ($14.95) more times than not. "Bow tie pasta sauteed in oil and garlic with chicken, shitake mushrooms, prosciutto, diced tomatoes, basil and a touch of parmesan". Huge portion, enough for 2 more lunches sometimes, depending on how hungry I am that night. Hubby usually orders the veal parmesan ($16.95).

The grilled eggplant appetizer ($5.95) is also tasty. If you get a flyer, there is a coupon for a free app with a purchase (delivery or carryout) of $25 or more. The eggplant travels well.

All in all, one of our more regular destinations (for dine in and carryout).

David Hammond wrote:

Looking at this picture, I remembered that when we lived in the neighborhood around 9 - 10 years ago, this restaurant underwent a name (and presumably ownership) change. It used to be called Il Fornillo, then one day the name was changed to Fornello. If you look at the sign, you can see that the sign has been modified. That's why the name of the restaurant is so off center (the name used to be longer). The delivery pizzas changed around that time and the exterior of the place was spruced up, too.

And before that it was Ottavio's, and possibly even something before that, if memory serves. I believe that not all these changes of name involved changes in ownership, but I can't be certain.
When I was living in Uptown, we used to order delivery because "a cut above so-so" was about as good as we could get delivered. (I don't actually believe that anything that sits steaming in a cardboard box for 15 minutes will ever get much better than that, though it can certainly be worse.)
When I was working at Live Bait Theater over the years, I would go there a lot, either before or after. Had many very nice meals there. I recall liking the grilled squid a lot, also an app. with grilled or roasted portobellos topped with something and drizzled with balsamic. (No great innovators there, but all nicely done.)

One little wrinkle, and I don't know if it's still true: If you want a slice to go, you approach the counter to the rt. of the bar as you go in and they take a slice of plain cheese from some pies that appear to be kept warm at the ready, and top it how you want, and then slide it into the oven, but for a sufficient time and temp. time to let the toppings cook in a bit and the bottom achieve some crunch and crackle. (I can't recall if the cheese is under this already, or added on top.) But my recollection is that the wedge that comes out is very generous and very NY, i.e. foldable, greasy in the best way, "toothsome." And while I don't remember the exact price, I recall thinking that it was a great bargain.

mrbarolo wrote:And before that it was Ottavio's, and possibly even something before that, if memory serves. I believe that not all these changes of name involved changes in ownership, but I can't be certain.

Ottavio is the name of the current owner, so it's possible there was no change in ownership over the last few name changes.

For some reason, I seem to recall the previous name being Il Fornaio at some point. I think they changed it to make it easier to pronounce.
Thanks for reminding me of this place; I enjoyed quite a few good meals there in the late 90's, and the current pictures are quite appealing. A return visit is in order!!

It was called Il Fornaio, and I suspect that they received a cease-and-desist letter from a bigger gorilla at some point.

The house-marinated artichoke salad is to die for!

I've actually eaten at the Bigger Gorilla.....Il Fornaio (Sacramento). Overpriced, a bit pretentious and just okay food. In Sacramento it's a hangout for state legislators and lobbyists with expense accounts. It's a stones throw from the capital bldg.

I found much to enjoy about my maiden visit to Fornello last night. At the top of the list was that gorgeous wood oven which was fronted by the welcoming 10-seat bar just a few feet away. On a cold fall evening, it was hard to beat sitting at that bar with a glass of red wine, taking in the faint aroma of burning wood, and listening to the crackling fire in the company of friendly staff in a place where everyone seems to know everyone else's name. In some places like Fornello - where it seems that most patrons have been regulars for years - newcomers can feel like unwelcome outsiders. Nothing could have been further from our experience last night, where we were instantly made to feel like family.

We started with grilled eggplant - four 5"X3" pieces sliced incredibly thin, grilled to give beautiful markings and flavor, and topped with chopped tomatoes marinated in very good olive oil. A simple, delicious dish even with mediocre November tomatoes.

Main courses were the Hammond-described veal capellacci, and a dover sole special sautéed with lemon-pepper and served with angel hair pasta. I loved the saffron broth served with the capellacci, and the house-made noodles themselves were OK, though a little too dense and chewy for my taste. The veal filling was mild, as Hammond described, and had a nice, light texture which at first I thought had too much filler, but then I decided that it married well with the brothy sauce. The sole dish was pretty much a complete failure, with its mushy, greasy texture which I presume resulted from being started in a not-hot-enough pan. It's very difficult to cook angel hair well because the cooking time is so fast that the margin of error is small. Matters are made worse when you serve it with a very thick cream-tomato sauce as they did at Fornello. What you end up with is sticky globs of creamy dough that break apart into a starchy mess when you stick a fork in the dish. Unfortunately, there was nothing redeeming about this entree.

We ended with a couple of espressos that were rather poor (no crema), and a really delicious tiramisu that had intense coffee flavor, just as I like it.

I'll be back in the winter to try the pizza and get more time in at that beautiful bar in front of the oven.

My favorites are the Margarita pizza and asparagus salad.

luvtruffles wrote:My favorites are the Margarita pizza and asparagus salad.

luvtruffles,

I'm not surprised that you like Fornello. Isn't it owned by the same family that owns that place you very frequently rave about in Hoffman Estates: Amore Mio?

Kennyz