Brian S. wrote: > > My office recently moved to a different location in the city, > and I now sometimes travel home on Grand Ave. I came across > a neighborhood that I've never seen before; it's west of Halsted > on Grand. There is a small concentration of Italian restaurants > and a couple Italian bakeries. Is anyone familiar with this > area? Any recommendations of restaurants or bakeries? What > about a grocery store? > The area that you're talking about runs between Noble and Racine, more or less. Most of the Italian restaurants are fairly new, actually. Oggi, on the corner of Noble & Grand, is an inexpensive, home- cooking kind of place (a glorified sandwich shop). Good value for what you're paying. A few doors east of there is Bella Notte. More expensive, but also more food. I can take it or leave it, but I have friends who love it and frequently eat there or order carry-out. The Broken Spoke, at Ogden, caters to bikers, but is not a biker bar. Good burgers, according to friends, but the service can be slow. (You can't miss it - there's a pole out front with a skeleton astride an old motorcycle). Next comes my favorite - Savannah. Good southern-style food. Not cheap, but worth it. Just a few doors east of Racine. The last restaurant that I recommend is not on Grand, but just a few blocks south of Grand on Morgan at the Metra tracks. It's called La Borsa, and they have excellent Italian food. Bonuses: you get to want the Metra trains go by, amd there is an excellent view of the downtown skyline just outside the door. Bakeries / dessert: All three bakeries (Atlas - just west of Noble, plus the one at May, and the other one block east of Noble) are good. Atlas is more of a traditional bakery with French, Italian, 2-lb donut shaped rounds of very delicious bread. The easternmost one sells mostly bread, cookies, and pizza bread - thick pieces of bread slathered with tomato sauce. The one between the two also has cookies and tiramisu in a cup. If you're looking for something a little lighter, stop at the Italian lemonade stand just west of Noble. Have fun, and don't eat TOO much! Karen PS. I've only mentioned the places that I've had personal experience with - that's not to say that the other places aren't good.
Chicago, IL
little Little Italy?
Someone wrote: >The Broken Spoke, at Ogden, caters to bikers, but is not a biker >bar. Good burgers, according to friends, but the service can be >slow. (You can't miss it - there's a pole out front with a >skeleton astride an old motorcycle). It is actually called the Twisted Spoke. No matter what you call it, however, the service is, for the most part, really bad. One waiter/manager, in particular, is the main reason why I refuse to go in there. For me it is not so much the speed of service, as much as the service is really annoying. In the menu it hints that the service is intentionally "bad". If I want that, I will go to Dick's Last Resort. As it turns out, I never want that. >Next comes my favorite - Savannah. Good southern-style food. >Not cheap, but worth it. Just a few doors east of Racine. For me, it is not cheap and not worth it. >The last restaurant that I recommend is not on Grand, but just >a few blocks south of Grand on Morgan at the Metra tracks. It's >called La Borsa, and they have excellent Italian food. Bonuses: >you get to want the Metra trains go by, amd there is an excellent >view of the downtown skyline just outside the door. I have never eaten inside at La Bonsai yet...I wonder if it is the same experience as being outside. > >Bakeries / dessert: All three bakeries (Atlas - just west of For bread, I head over to the D'Amato location at Grand and May. I bet one of the ones you described is a D'Amato satellite store. >PS. I've only mentioned the places that I've had personal >experience with - that's not to say that the other places >aren't good. My favorite Grand Avenue restaurant is one you haven't been to yet. It is called Furio's, and it is really "down home". Do not expect Fine Dining. John