Italian Restaurants in Chicago
Italian Restaurants in Chicago
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Post #31 - June 15th, 2006, 10:13 pmSadly, Stefani's on Fullerton has been closed about a year. Phil was made an offer for the property by a real estate developer that he couldn't turn down. He has several other restaurants in town and does the food service for the parks department.
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Post #32 - June 16th, 2006, 6:05 amYourPalWill wrote:Sadly, Stefani's on Fullerton has been closed about a year. Phil was made an offer for the property by a real estate developer that he couldn't turn down.
I have these nightmares that, someday soon, Chicago will consist entirely of newly constructed boring three-flat condo buildings and there will not be any place left to eat or shop.
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Post #33 - June 16th, 2006, 7:35 amjohnny wrote:YourPalWill wrote:Sadly, Stefani's on Fullerton has been closed about a year. Phil was made an offer for the property by a real estate developer that he couldn't turn down.
I have these nightmares that, someday soon, Chicago will consist entirely of newly constructed boring three-flat condo buildings and there will not be any place left to eat or shop.
It is the unique nature of many American cities that they tear themselves down and rebuild every 30 years or so. The pace of this process is actually directly related to the economic strength of the city and period - when things go well, the tearing down accelerates, and it slows when times are bad. One can bemoan this for many very good reasons, but it is part of what defines American cities, and I suppose it guarantees that the horrid apartment buildings of the 50's and 60's will soon be history, as well as many lovely buildings from earlier in the 20th century.
As to best Italian, hard to pick one. Spiaggia is excellent, and I have a fondness for Bacchanalia and Sabatino's. I also have had more than a couple of very good meals at my local Francesca's outpost. La Sorella di Frnacesca in N'ville, though I do have to be steeled for the atmosphere which is N'ville's version of chic.
Also had a surprisingly good veal chop a while back at Phil Stefani's 437 Rush. It was a business dinner, and my expectations were low, but it was an excellent meal.
Personally I rarely can say there is one best place - they each have their strengths and weaknesses. But if price is no object, Tony Mantuano certainly has it at Spiaggia.d
Feeling (south) loopy
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Post #34 - June 16th, 2006, 10:05 amReading this thread, I could not stop humming the old folk song: The great historical bum.
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Post #35 - June 16th, 2006, 12:22 pmdicksond wrote:Also had a surprisingly good veal chop a while back at Phil Stefani's 437 Rush. It was a business dinner, and my expectations were low, but it was an excellent meal.
This place is much better than its lame name and the way Stefani's promotes it at as a steakhouse would lead one to believe.
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Post #36 - June 16th, 2006, 1:55 pmI had a lobster bisque at Stefani's 437 that was great.
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Post #37 - June 16th, 2006, 4:26 pmMistee, you are absolutely right. No one deserves a sarcastic answer to a sincere question. I'm surprised Gary is from Milwaukee, rather than New York or Philadelphia -- "I can't stand rude behavior in a man, I won't tolerate it". - Captain Woodrow Call, "Lonsome Dove".
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Post #38 - July 28th, 2006, 5:17 pmJack wrote:Mistee, you are absolutely right. No one deserves a sarcastic answer to a sincere question. I'm surprised Gary is from Milwaukee, rather than New York or Philadelphia -- "I can't stand rude behavior in a man, I won't tolerate it". - Captain Woodrow Call, "Lonsome Dove".
Jack Off board, in PM, would have been a better place to chastise me for my pure folly of making a joke.
I'll try to stay closer to topic in the future, you've made me a better person, thanks for your input.
Love to you and mistee,
Gary
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Post #39 - July 28th, 2006, 5:51 pmJack wrote:Mistee, you are absolutely right. No one deserves a sarcastic answer to a sincere question. I'm surprised Gary is from Milwaukee, rather than New York or Philadelphia -- "I can't stand rude behavior in a man, I won't tolerate it". - Captain Woodrow Call, "Lonsome Dove".
Isn't this a little rude with regard to those who hail from New York and Philadelphia?! I think so...
Gary: you're in good company!
AntoniusAlle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
- aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
________
Na sir is na seachain an cath.
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Post #40 - July 28th, 2006, 6:25 pm"He told me once that, whenever it was `feasible,' he preferred to eat the rude. `Free-range rude,' he called them.”
Barney to Clarice, speaking of Hannibal Lector, Hannibal"Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
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Post #41 - July 29th, 2006, 8:17 pmOn the SW side of the city try Palermos Restaurant & Pizza at
3751 W. 63rd Street (773)585-5002
Everything is excellent - You won't be disappointed. They have a wonderful selection of entrees and have The best thin crust pizza with an amazing sweet sauce! This location is the original, NOT the one in Oak Lawn
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Post #42 - July 31st, 2006, 8:29 amMy current favorite Italian is Jay's Amore on Madison. It is not far from the U/C (1330 W. Madison St), there is cheap parking across the street and the food is outstanding and fairly priced. They also have a good wine list. This is NOT Spiaggia, but a great local place and very cozy. More often than not, Jay will greet you directly to welcome you there...
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Post #43 - August 3rd, 2006, 4:15 pmIf someone wants to know which LTHForum thread will survive the apocalypse along with the cockroaches, this most surely is the one.
Gary, you rude lout!! Think of what you have done to the reputation of those who hail from Milwaukee. Previously we thought of them as our slightly dull brethren to the north, addled by too much fresh air, clean living, beer and brats and thus drawn into a lifstyle of civility and misguided liberalism.
I even was considering relocating.
But now you have outed them as snarky buggers. I would be careful when next you choose to cross the border. The punishment for miscreants from the south can be severe I am told. (I could launch into a long story about a friend who was attending a Brewers game and partaking of some beer - he leapt up to cheer and a witty and drunken friend decided to grab his shorts as he leapt up. About 14 hours later they released him from the County Stadium holding cell where they throw Illinois residents who choose to expose themselves at the ball game, but I won't).
It has been a crazy week and I am almost feeling better now. Off to Wisconsin in the morning
d
Feeling (south) loopy
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Post #44 - August 3rd, 2006, 5:36 pmWe really like Vinci. Very good food, reasonably priced wine, and an excellent corkage policy - if the wine is older than 10 years, no corkage fee. They have monthly wine dinners, sometimes the wine makers come from Italy. Lots of fun! We go fairly regularly before shows at Steppenwolf.
Vinci
1732 N. Halsted St.
ChicagoLeek
SAVING ONE DOG may not change the world,
but it CHANGES THE WORLD for that one dog.
American Brittany Rescue always needs foster homes. Please think about helping that one dog. http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org
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Post #45 - August 3rd, 2006, 7:55 pmJack Off board, in PM, would have been a better place to chastise me for my pure folly of making a joke.
I'll try to stay closer to topic in the future, you've made me a better person, thanks for your input.
Love to you and mistee,
Gary
Where is the Jack Off board?
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Post #46 - August 3rd, 2006, 7:57 pmsaps wrote:Where is the Jack Off board?
Gee, guess that should have Jack off-board.
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Post #47 - August 25th, 2007, 4:36 pmMike G wrote:Misstee,
Thank you for your input.
In fact, the thread has lots of possible answers in it. (It also probably has a higher goofiness quotient than almost any previous thread here, so I grant that you have a certain point.)
That said, nobody here is under any obligation to answer any question and the broader and more general the question, the less likely it is to attract interest. You see this on Chowhound all the time, someone comes on and says "Where should I eat in Chicago?!?" with no indication as to whether they have the money for Alinea or merely Hot Doug's, like experimental cutting-edge cuisine or just steak, etc. Not surprisingly, few such queries attract any answer at all, let alone one that's very useful to the person who asked the question, or anyone else.
While there is not, strictly speaking, a requirement that one contribute before asking questions, the fact is that the site is built on the sharing of information, not a one-way flow of it from "regulars" to anyone else. At the least it is polite, and probably more useful to you, to use the Search function or poke around for fairly obvious clues like a whole section labeled "Great Neighborhood Restaurants" before posing basic-level queries. No, I'm not saying anyone is not permitted to pose such a basic question. But I'm not saying anyone is obliged to answer one, either.
So: you've apparently been reading for a while, and now you've posted one post. How about making your second one about what you think the best Italian restaurants are?re: Indy... don't forget Wes Montgomery (nobody is as cool as Wes), Freddie Hubbard, The Big "O" Oscar Robertson, Letterman, Rev. Jim Jones (Kool-Aid related, not cool) and of course, Kurt Vonnegut.
Wichita... uh, Stan Kenton, Louise Brooks, Don Johnson... and Tammy Faye Bakker's second husband!
To be fair, the search function on LTH often casts a frustratingly opaque net on the rather particular offerings housed on this site. I myself use Google instead--search results there are more transparent, readable. Just pull up a google search box (or go to google.com) and use the following syntax for your lth searches:
site:lthforum.com "search terms"
(with or without the quotes, depending)
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Post #48 - August 30th, 2007, 3:39 pmThis city is chock full of so many great Italian restaurants.
Love Mia Francesca Clark st and Forest Park, was forced to sit downstairs last October because Jennnifer Aniston had rented out the upstairs.
Panino's on Waveland,
Q's in Hillside makes "ricotta" Gnocchi like my Grandma used to.
Love living in Elmwood Park, Pepinno Trattoria, Caponie's and many other great neighborhood places.
Love Rosebud, both Taylor and Rush.
Italian Village is good too.
Also like Anna Maria, used to be on Broadway I think its on clark now, just discovered Zia Trattoria in Edison Park and loved it.
Also love Basilica on cumberland.
La Bella in Oak Park, but haven't been there in a while.
Paul Enzo's in Bloomingdale is good.
Anglina's on Broadway.
I am sure there all more. But these are many I have had great experiences at. Hope I didn't ramble too much.
JD
