Food

The fourth-generation owners of Italian Village Restaurants, a nearly century-old mainstay in downtown Chicago, launched their new dining concept, Sotto, in the basement of the restaurant at 71 W. Monroe St. The eatery has an “elevated menu and relaxed vibe that owners hope will attract a younger crowd,” Block Club Chicago reported. Started by immigrant Alfredo Capitanini in 1927, Italian Village has become a Chicago staple, serving classics such as chicken piccata, cannelloni, lasagna and more. It is now run by siblings Jonathan and Giovanna Capitanini, both in their 20s, who led the renovations of the basement that used to …

  Known for its flagship location in Chicago’s “Restaurant Row” on Randolph Street, Bar Siena unveiled its third location “without much fanfare” about a year ago at O’Hare International Airport, Eater Chicago reported. Located by Gate M34 in Terminal 5, the O’Hare eatery is open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and until 8 p.m. Sundays. Travelers can order breakfast or dinner off a menu of crowd-pleasing pastas, pizzas and salads. “Boasting a menu that features an expansive Italian street food and pizza bar component, along with small plates constructed to share, Bar Siena literally raises the bar for culinary …

According to the restaurant recommendation website The Infatuation, Monteverde is the best Italian restaurant in Chicago, with hit items such as cacio whey pepe (Mancini bucatini, pecorino Medoro, lemon ricotta whey and a four-peppercorn blend, with the optional fresh burgundy truffle at an extra charge) and ragu alla Napoletana (tomato-braised pork osso bucco, soppressata meatballs, Italian sausage, fusilli, wilted escarole and wild oregano). It is also one of the hardest places to score a reservation. The Infatuation suggests opting for lunch Tuesday through Sunday, or coming solo for a first-come, first-served spot at the bar. For more, click here.

Ferraro Foods, a leading distributor of specialty Italian foods and supplies to pizzerias and Italian restaurants, launched an app in partnership with the e-commerce platform Pepper, which provides AI-driven solutions for the food distribution industry. The Pepper app is designed to enhance and simplify how Ferraro Foods interacts with its extensive network of over 8,000 customers across 26 states. “At Ferraro Foods, we pride ourselves on truly understanding our customers through highly personalized service, and the Pepper app will help us play to that strength by providing a faster and more straightforward ordering process,” Ferraro Foods CEO Dan Hill said. …

The cacio e pepe at Chicago’s Rose Mary restaurant earned the distinction of being the most popular pasta dish in Illinois, according to Yelp Elite members, Business Insider reported. Owned by chef Joe Flamm and located at 932 W. Fulton Market, Rose Mary features a blend of Italian and Croatian cuisine reflective of Flamm’s Italian heritage and his wife’s Croatian heritage. The restaurant is named after Flamm’s grandmothers, Mary and Mary Rose, and the herb rosemary, which grows natively along the Italian and Croatian coastlines. “Rose Mary is the culmination of everything I have done with my career. But more …

Iconic Italian steakhouse Gene & Georgetti, now owned and operated by the third generation, was named among Chicago’s best family-owned restaurants by Eater Chicago. Gene Michelotti and Alfredo Federighi (nicknamed “Georgetti”) founded the restaurant at 500 N. Franklin Street in 1941. It was then purchased by Michelotti’s son-in-law, Anthony “Tony” Durpetti, who ran it with his wife, Marion. The restaurant unveiled an expansion in 1997, with two second-floor dining rooms and fire doors that separated the newly constructed building from the original erected in 1872. Durpetti died in September. Now, his daughter Michelle Durpetti keeps “the flame burning bright by …

For one week this month, Boka Restaurant Group will run a pop-up of Balena, a popular Italian restaurant in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood that closed after a fire in 2017. The transient dining experience will run from Jan. 19-26 at The Wellsley, a private-event venue at 504 N. Wells St. in Chicago, Time Out reported. According to an official press release, Balena’s temporary iteration will feature “many iconic dishes cherished by guests,” including the Kale Tonnato Caesar Salad, Tagliolini Nero with Uni and Crab, Grilled Hanger Steak with Salsa Verde, and the signature tiramisu. ⁠The five-course, family-style meal will cost …

Crust Fund Pizza is “like a pizzeria, but it’s kind of mythical, and mostly exists in my head, except for when it exists in an alley a couple nights a month.” That’s how John Carruthers described to the Chicago Tribune the charitable pizza-making project he launched in 2020. The project had raised more than $80,000 by October and was expected to raise more than $100,000 by the end of 2024. “Crust Fund Pizza is a way to share the love of tavern-style pizza,” he said about his Chicago-style, thin-crust, square-cut pies. “And to shine a light on the places doing …

Nando Milano Trattoria in Champaign, Illinois, was the only Italian restaurant named among the “Best in Central Illinois” by Eater Chicago. “Guests can expect to pay $100 per person for dinner before drinks and tip, and yes, lest you think your eyes deceive you, that is a $600 bottle of wine on the list,” Eater writes. However, the high prices are not a deterrent to the restaurant’s popularity in town. Chef-owner Alessio Vullo, who first opened Nando Milano in Chicago, launched the second location after moving with his wife, who embarked on her medical internship in Champaign. Appetizers include beef, …

Celebrity chef Fabio Viviani opened his new restaurant, Giostra, in October in suburban Chicago’s South Barrington. Located in The Arboretum shopping center, the restaurant is named after the carousel that anchors Piazza della Repubblica in Viviani’s hometown of Florence, Italy, the Daily Herald reported. Giostra’s menu centers around classic Italian dishes crafted from recipes passed down from Viviani’s mother and grandmother, blending tradition with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Viviani, who lives in Barrington Hills, also co-launched Jars, a gourmet-dessert franchise, and Lago Italian in Lake Zurich. For more, click here.