ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 7 - November

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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HERE AND LEFT: West Loop Salumi is Illinois's first USDA-certified salumeria. C hicago is having a very Italian moment. Throughout 2013, the city has enthusiastically participated in the nationwide celebration of the Year of Italian Culture with concerts, stage performances, and, most notably, the stunning summer light installation Divina Natura at The Field Museum. But as the nation revels in Italian culture, in the Windy City what it's really shaping up to be is the year of Italian cuisine. The Windy City's connection to Italy has always been passionate, dating back to the early 20th-century wave of immigration, during which a large percentage of new residents settled near Taylor Street, with culinary traditions helping create a sense of community among the immigrants. "Everyone was living in apartments together, so they would all share recipes," says Alex Dana, a 40-year restaurant veteran, founder of the Rosebud Group, and lifelong Chicago native. "You could smell the flavor in the houses in those days. Whether it was soup or sauce, there was always a pot of flavor on the stove." As people began to cook at home with less frequency, traditions were lost, sending patrons flocking to red-sauce spaghetti restaurants for what Dana lovingly calls "the flavors of home." These first restaurants were pioneers—before the 1980s, they had no access to modern staples like truffle oil or buffalo mozzarella. Instead they used what was fresh and prepared it simply, the tried-and-true philosophy of the Italian kitchen. Tony Mantuano, chef/partner of Michelin-starred Spiaggia says, "You couldn't even get fresh basil back then, and if you ordered radicchio, they'd send you red cabbage." So with youthful optimism and enthusiasm he set out to bring Italy to Chicago by learning its region's culinary traditions and techniques and painstakingly sourcing ingredients from the peninsula. Spiaggia's Executive Chef Sarah Grueneberg playfully refers to him as "The Godfather" since he blew open the possibilities for Italian restaurants. Mantuano chuckles and chimes in, "Be careful who you say that around." How things have changed. Suddenly, contemporary Italian is all the rage in Chicago—2013 alone has seen the opening of a half dozen prominent spots, from Centro and Tre Soldi Trattoria to J. Rocco Italian Table & Bar, and big guns like Mario Batali and Paul Kahan are swooping in to add their four-star touch. Comforting, affordable Italian is what Chicago's zeitgeist craves right now—as local foodies head into winter ready to shell out their dough for a taste of these chefs' specialties. Italian fashion, wine, and design continue to send Chicagoans swooning, but it's the food, with our city's deeply rooted Italian heritage, which most richly expresses Chicago's love for all things Italian. Local chefs have had a few years to play with the super-luxe ingredients that have finally made their way from the peninsula, so the timing of this Italian renaissance couldn't be more perfetto. The New Artisan GREG LAKETEK, WEST LOOP SALUMI Burned out by his consulting job, Inverness native Greg Laketek traded his tie for a toque at Kendall College culinary school, then trained in Parma under meat maestro Massimo Spigaroli. After months of producing almost 1,000 pounds of salumi daily, he returned home, joined forces with Publican alum Jesse Katzman, and opened West Loop Salumi, the first Illinois USDAcertified salumeria. What inspired you to start an artisan salumeria? I grew up going to Italy and would visit farms that family and friends owned. They would make their own bread, cheese, salumi.... So I grew up in that culture and decided I wanted to bring it back here. What was your "aha moment" that salumi was your destiny? I was helping my parents, and I found my grandpa's old butcher's union card—they never told me he was a butcher. I thought, Wow! This is in my blood. What else would you like to bring back from Italy? A little tabaccheria with Italian gourmet products, ventresca, Italian sodas, and an array of salumi.... That would be awesome. Why can't we just drive up on our scooters, sit outside, grab a newspaper and an espresso, and be out? MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 118-125_MA_FEAT_Culinary_Nov13_V3.indd 119 119 10/21/13 5:46 PM

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