Dining

Lucca Osteria & Bar in suburban Oak Brook is the vision of Italian chef and veteran restaurateur Claudio Ulivieri, who co-founded the eatery with Steve Hartenstein on May 1, 2021. Located at 1415 W. 22nd St., across from Oakbrook Center mall, Lucca features a broad menu of authentic Italian dishes including pizza, antipasti, soups, salads, pasta, seafood, meat dishes and sides. Ulivieri was born in Lucca, Italy, and raised on a farm in the town of Altopascio, a small village outside the city. “He learned winemaking from his father and helped him harvest the crop every year,” Lucca’s website recounts. …

The new restaurant Provaré at 1523 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago pushes boundaries with its convergence of Creole and Italian cuisines. The menu is “perfectly aligned with the saucy and spicy fare,” according to the Michelin Guide. Provaré is the brainchild of chef and partner Jourdan Higgs, a native of suburban Oak Park. “On the menu, the chef pays homage to his Sicilian grandfather, and the results are just full of surprises. Our experience involved ‘crabby fries,’ shatteringly crisp calamari tucked with jalapenos and banana peppers, and tossed with cognac-splashed shrimp scampi,” Michelin writes. Higgs told Forbes magazine that he …

Worth booking weeks ahead, Pizz’Amici in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood sets the new standard for tavern-style pizza, according to Eater Chicago. Located in a former barbershop at 1215 W. Grand Ave., Pizz’Amici is owned by Cecily and Billy Federighi. The dimly lighted eatery has a cozy feeling with seating for about 30 and another eight spots at the bar. Its tavern-style pizza is made with “an impressive cracker-thin crust that’s the perfect base for Chicago-favorite toppings like fennel sausage, Italian beef and giardiniera,” Eater Chicago writes. The menu also features dishes like sausage and peppers, meatballs, caponata, homemade focaccia and …

Bongiorno’s Pizza & Italian Deli has a new owner but continues to offer some of the same well-loved Italian recipes, according to ABC7 Chicago (WLS-TV). The restaurant at 405 N. Wabash Ave. can be “a little tricky to find” but is worth the hunt, thanks to its extensive menu of about 20 pizza varieties, including “rossa” and “bianca,” and toppings including prosciutto cotto, soppressata, sausage, pepperoni, tuna, eggplant, zucchini, bacon, artichokes and many more. The menu also features salads, sandwiches, calzone, pasta and meat dishes. Desserts include cannoli, tiramisu, gelato and Italian cookies, and the drinks selection features beer and …

Featuring a variety of southern Italian family recipes, Cucina Bella celebrated its 20th year in downtown Algonquin earlier this year. Owner Tony Colatorti opened the Italian restaurant in 2005 after operating Luke’s Italian Beef locations in the area, the Northwest Herald reported. One of Colatorti’s favorite menu items is the Suprema sauce, created when marinara sauce was accidentally mixed into Alfredo sauce; it has become one of the restaurant’s best sellers. “Lots of people try to duplicate it. Without the exact marinara ratio, it’s hard to do,” he told the newspaper. For more, click here.  

A new spot in Chicago’s South Loop owned by former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije boasts offering “the world’s best amaro party.” Buttercup, located at 75 E. 16th St., is a coffee bar during the day and an amaro-focused cocktail lounge and bistro in the evening, Eater Chicago reported. The 900-square-foot space features a 40-seat room with an 11-seat, chrome-topped bar. Starting at 7 a.m., the coffee menu offers custom blends for espresso and drip from Chicago-based Sparrow Coffee, alongside baked goods like pastries, blueberry-corn muffins and sticky-toffee bread. The evening menu starts at 4 p.m. and features Italian-leaning classics like …

Sometime this winter, “Top Chef” alum and celebrity chef Joe Flamm will open Bar Tutto, an Italian all-day cafe and restaurant in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood, Eater Chicago reported. Located at 1110 W. Carroll Ave., Bar Tutto will serve breakfast pastries and espresso in the morning, and salumi, pastas, and spritzes for lunch and dinner. With seating for about 100, the space will feature an open kitchen, wood-fired grill, outdoor patio and walk-up window. Bar Tutto is the fourth Chicago restaurant from Flamm and Day Off Group, following Roman-cuisine focused Il Carciofo, the Italian-Croatian restaurant Rose Mary, and BLVD Steakhouse. …

Emilia D’Albero of Philadelphia became the first American to win at the Mondial du Fromage, one of the world’s top cheese competitions, held every two years in France. D’Albero earned the title of Meilleure Fromagère du Monde (Best Cheesemonger in the World) at this year’s event. D’Albero’s love affair with cheese began at La Scuola di Eataly in New York City, where she worked in education and event planning, The Washington Post reported. “When it came time for me to make a decision about what I was going to do next in my career, I decided I wanted to learn …

The Vatican is teaming up with two Chicago hospitality heavyweights, chef Art Smith and restaurateur Phil Stefani, to open a restaurant at Borgo Laudato Si’, located within the historic Papal Villas of Castel Gandolfo. The collaboration was announced in early September as part of the inauguration of the 135-acre property, with Pope Leo XIV presiding over a ceremony, Eater Chicago reported. The yet-to-be named restaurant is expected to open in spring. The restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch, and “will highlight farm-to-table Italian cooking with global touches, drawing influences from Chicago and Peruvian flavors in honor of Pope …

Steve Lewis of Meadowlark Hospitality has opened Little Lark, his newest concept, at 3132 N. Rockwell St. in the Guild Row space in Chicago. Lewis is the restaurateur behind Michelin-recognized Lardon, Union and The Meadowlark bar in Chicago. Little Lark’s “high-quality yet approachable cuisine set in a carefully crafted social space makes for a special immersive dining experience on the city’s Northwest Side,” a press release states. The menu features wood-fired neo-Neapolitan pizzas, ranging from familiar favorites like sausage or margherita, to more inventive like the ‘Nduja, featuring Lardon’s spicy house-cured salumi. The sweet corn pizza includes local farm fresh …