This is what I got: ---- Go to Bruna's Ristorante. You take I-55 (is that the Stevenson? I think so) to Damen avenue and go north to Blue Island and then turn left and go a few streets down and turn right. It is on a corner about two streets down on the left. It's good, though, and the Spaghetti Carbonera is NOT alfredo sauce + bacon + spaghetti. It is good good good. I would recommend the Mussels Marinara as an appetizer and the Fettucini Paglio et Fieno (I think that's right. It means hay and straw). The Zuppa de Pesce is good but rather expensive. Don't get it if you got the mussels since they are kind of similar. Same chef, you know. The Linguini con Calamari is kickin', too. ---- Hi: Have you tried The Babaluci, it's at Webster and Damen? I think it's great Italian food (some of the best to compare with what I've had in Italy). To me it is also reasonably priced. Check it out. Let me know how you like it. I have recommended it to about 4 other people and they all liked it very much. Don't try it on a weekend, but week nights you can usually get a table with no waiting. The service can be a bit surly at times, but I think the food makes up for it. I never tried the Carbonara, so I can't comment on that. It's all Northern, so maybe they don't even offer carbonara, which is traditionally a Southern dish. I've been there about 5 times, and have not been through the entire menu yet, I usually order the special. Another place I frequent is Trattoria di Roma on Taylor Street. The wait staff (and kitchen) is Italian, and the food has always been perfect. The Quattro Stagione is exactly as I remember it in Italy. Order it for an appetizer (if you like raw eggs on your pizza!). ---- In early October, I ate at Pane Caldo, which is just off Michigan Avenue near Bloomingdales. I enjoyed my pasta, prices were moderate. One nice aspect about Pane Caldo is that they open very early (7:30 a.m.?) as a bakery/coffee place, and stay open until late at night as a restaurant. I also ate at a Lettuce Entertain You place (maybe called Tutte Milano) which I did not enjoy as much, and it was noisy and crowded. Cafe Spiaggia (not Spiaggia, but the Cafe) was also good. The cafe is much cheaper than the main restaurant, and it is the same food. Convito Italiano is supposed to be especially good for risotto, but I have not tried it. Get a Chicago magazine; it is helpful in finding places. Rosebud is supposed to be good Italian, but I have not tried it, either. All is good time. ---- Try some of the places on Taylor street, near UIC. Start at the intersection of Taylor and Morgan, and go west. There's Tuscany, Trattoria Roma Terza, Rosebud...Tuscany is pricy but the food is tremendous. Reservations are definitely needed if you want to avoid a long wait. It's much easier to get into some of the smaller places at dinnertime; that strip does a lot of lunch business from UIC and even offices in the Loop. A memorable dish last winter at Tuscany was tortellini stuffed with wild mushrooms...<ecstatic sigh> ---- My favorite Itailian place in Chicago would have to be Anna Maria's Pasteria. It's at 3953 N Broadway. It's a very small place but I think they take reservations. Entrees' are around $10, they don't sell alcohol so bring your own. They are extremely flexible, so if you don't see what you want on the menu they will probably be able to make it anyway. ---- There's a small italian rest. across from UIC that serves fresh hand made everything. The name is Tufanos (sp) but there's no sign on or in front of the building. The building is in the middle of the block directly across a UIC parking lot. It's between Morgan and Racine on Vernon Park Place. You'll know when you've found it by all the cars double parked in front of it. ---- My two favorite spots would be La Gandolla on Ashland just north of Fullerton and Stefani's on Fullerton just west of Sheffield. ---- Try the Como Inn. Downtown, off of Milwaukee, I think. ---- No one has mentioned the four or five restaurants on Oakley Street just North of Blue Island. It's about 2400 S. Oakley. Tuscano's and Bachanalia are there along with a few others. We used to go there a lot. All the restaurants are moderately priced. My boyfriend grew up in Italy and at one time they were our favorite restaurants to go to. Of course, we're both students and were stretching our finances just to go there. Once we discovered Trattoria Gianni (1711 N. Halstead) we stopped going to Italian restaurants (except in Italy). Trattoria Gianni was great, but it always wound up costing about $30./each which is too much for us most of the time. Two Italian restaurants I recommend everyone avoid are Tutto Posta and Trattoria Dinotta. The waiter at Tutto Posta recommended the scallops, which were excellent - all two of them! I cannot forgive a $9 main course which can be entirely consumed in four moderate bits. The scallops were accompanied by a single peeled tomato. The meal was definitely too expensive, but as comedy we got our money's worth! To be fair some other members of our party fared substantially better. The food was barely ok at Trattoria Dinotta and the atmosphere was worse. The owners apparently invested in only one Frank Sinatra tape which they played over and over while we were there. They must have played only one side as we did not linger. I recommend Trattoria Gianni for those who can afford it, although I have not been in a while. Try the crustini. ---- yeah, definitely Tuscany. I don't eat out very often, so when I went there I had a true 'dining experience'. I went during the summer, early in the afternoon, they open all the front doors, and the light comes very majesticly, and the food was great. I felt like I was in Italy (not like I've been there before). ---- I dunno which one you mean. I live here in Little Italy, and for my money, Rosebud is the best of the bunch. Tuscany is too pricey and the food is not as good. The chefs are not exactly subtle there and the wine list is...well...overpriced. The guy who owns Rosebud is a real "comer" in the Chicago cuisine biz and for good reason. Anybody notice the UPS ad on TV that shows how they deliver to all over the world, and they flash a shot of the Italian Ice place here on Taylor? I thought that was great. ---- Try Bella Vista (on Belmont, one block west of the el stop in a renovated bank building). The pasta entrees hover around $10 (some are less); and other entrees go higher. But if you and a friend share an appetizer and a main dish, it's possible to escape well-fed and not completely broke. My other favorite is Tucchi Benuch (sp?). It's located in Bloomingdale's building--the new swanky-dank mall located at the northern end of Michigan Ave. It's also a bit more expensive than you might wish--but well worth it. ---- I'm not sure about the "around $10" part, but give Luciano's (downtown) a try. I recommend linguini and clam sauce with a glass of chianti....mmm mm mmm....the atmosphere does much for the experience also. Reservations are not required but are probably a good idea. Just a warning, this place will ruin the Olive Garden for you!
Chicago, IL