Dining

The menu of Osteria Trulli in Arlington Heights, in suburban Chicago, celebrates authentic Pugliese cooking, including house-made pastas and seafood dishes that reflect the simplicity and flavors of southern Italy. Chef and owner Giovanni DeNigris opened the eatery at 1510 E. Hintz Road a decade ago, after relocating from Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. “I wanted to do food from my land, my region, where I grew up with my mother and my grandmother,” DeNigris told the Daily Herald. DeNigris said he sources food from Puglia as much as possible, including extra-virgin olive oil, burrata, some pasta and wine. If he …

Buona Beef opened THE BEEF STAND at 1750 W. Division St. in Chicago in September, offering an old-school way to experience one of the most traditional food rituals in Chicago: walk up, order an Italian beef and enjoy. While the pop-up is new, its inspiration goes back generations. Before Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto opened the first Buona restaurant in Berwyn in 1981, Joe’s brother Carl “Uncle Junior” Buonavolanto and his brother-in-law Tony Ozzauto opened Chicago’s well-known beef stand, Mr. Beef. Operating out of a walk-up window at the Original Rainbow Cone Shop, THE BEEF STAND will remain open through the …

Tievoli Pizza Bar celebrated an extraordinary performance at the Real California Pizza Challenge, held in August in Anaheim, California, where owner and chef Giovanni Labbate and his son Rocco Labbate competed against pizza makers from across the country. The eatery is located at 44 W. Palatine Road in Palatine, in suburban Chicago. The Tievoli team returned home with four first-place awards (pizza in the pan, fastest pizza maker, fastest box folder, largest dough stretch) and one second-place finish for gluten-free pizza. Rocco captured first place in the pizza in the pan competition with his Detroit-style creation, “Cluck Around and Find …

An Italian restaurant run by the same family for nearly 70 years in the Central Illinois city of Lincoln is one of the state’s best steakhouses, according to the website, Only In Your State. Housed in a historic downtown building, Guzzardo’s Italian Villa still uses many original recipes created by founder Dominic “Doc” Guzzardo. Born in Italy, Guzzardo was a milkman who would drive from Lincoln to Chicago delivering milk and selling frozen pizzas on the side. He eventually turned an old horse stable into the restaurant in 1957. In addition to steak, Guzzardo’s serves pork and fish entrees, along …

Sapori Napoletani at 8235 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago opened in July. The fledgling eatery features Italian cuisine, Neapolitan pizza and craft cocktails across two floors, two bars and a rooftop. The menu is rooted in tradition and in recipes passed down through generations to owner Antonio Vitiello, who was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Vitiello runs the restaurant with his wife, Ewelina, a native of Poland who met her husband after she moved to Italy. “His journey began at just 8 years old, working alongside his family in their pizzeria, where he learned the art of Neapolitan …

Bucktown Pizza opened in July at 1912 N. Western Ave. as a casual, counter-service spot serving thin-crust slices and pies, Block Club Chicago reported. Owner Joe Smith moved to the Chicago area, where his wife grew up, a few years ago. This is his first restaurant in the city, after previously working at and running pizzerias in the Chicago suburbs and in several locations on the East Coast, including his native Newark, New Jersey. Smith said his focus is on quality ingredients. “Everything we do is by hand, hand-roll the dough, hand-stretch the dough, homemade sauces, personalized service,” Smith told …

Two Italian wine cooperatives are the best in the world, according to an article in WineNews. They are “Cantina Terlano, a jewel of South Tyrol and among the first wineries to recognize the aging potential of great white wines, and Cavit, the Trentino giant which, with 5,250 winegrowers, manages more than 6,000 hectares of vineyards, representing 60% of the region’s total vineyard area,” according to the news site, which cited the 2026 competition organized by the German magazine Weinwirtschaft. In the global ranking among the top 20 cooperatives, the French cooperative Plaimont follows Cantina Terlano and Cavit on the podium, …

After 24 years in suburban Ingleside, Zaza’s Steakhouse & Italian Eatery closed its doors in July. In a Facebook post, the owners attributed their decision to the yearlong closure of Washington Street, which they said resulted in a 75% customer loss. The road reopened in spring 2025 after a realignment project by the Lake County Division of Transportation. “To every guest who walked through our doors, shared a meal, recommended us to a friend, left a generous tip, celebrated a milestone or simply made us part of your routine: thank you,” the post said.

Pelago Cafe, an Italian spot that recently opened at 325 Waukegan Ave. in north suburban Highwood, celebrates a family’s heritage and culinary traditions based in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. The cafe is owned by cousins Mada Ugolini-Hitchmough and Ruthie Amidei, and its name honors two neighboring towns, Sant’Anna Pelago and Pievepelago, “where generations of family, food and tradition shaped the values carried forward today,” the business’ website states. “When our families emigrated from Italy, they planted their roots in Highwood. We both live here today and love this community deeply,” Hitchmough and Amidei told Patch. “Highwood has such a rich appreciation …

Founded in 2022 by a former McDonald’s executive and his family, Lantern Pizza Co. at 1420 Ogden Ave. in Downers Grove has developed such a following that it expanded over the summer, enclosing a patio to add 65 more seats to the 38-seat eatery, the Daily Herald reported. Former McDonald’s Executive Chef and Vice President of Culinary Innovation Dan Coudreaut said he embarked on his pizza venture because he missed the immediacy of making food for people in front of him. The menu features handcrafted 12-inch pizzas made with fresh ingredients and cooked in a brick oven For more, click …