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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Osso buco from Merlo on Maple. Merlo on Maple's Mozzarelline allo speck e asparagi. "The availability of Italian products has never been greater, and it grows daily." —JOHN COLETTA For this new wave of Italian cuisine, authentic ingredients are key. "The availability of Italian products has never been greater, and it grows daily," says John Coletta, chef/partner of River North staple Quartino. "That's allowing for a more authentic Italian dining experience." A purist at heart, Coletta points out that it's impossible to exactly replicate what one gets in Italy—"but you can come very close." His bustling State Street restaurant serves up homemade salumi, cheeses, seasonal pastas, and crisp-chewy Neapolitan-style pizza from a wood-burning oven. "We have a homogenization of Italian cuisine, meaning the regions are blended, and we do the same thing at Quartino," he says. "While we stay true to a specific dish, it would be unheard of in Italy to serve tagliatelle Bolognese with an offering of burrata." Coletta boasts encyclopedic knowledge of all things Italian—mention rice and he embarks on a dizzying discourse on types, how they are to be used, harvesting and processing procedures, and climactic conditions in the Po valley—but when asked what it means to him to serve this food he loves so much, he simply beams. "I am humbled and fortunate," he says warmly. "It has been a lifetime of pure enjoyment and satisfaction." The son of Italian immigrants, Coletta credits his parents with passing on not just culinary skills, but "the value and merit found in the Italian culture that are directly related to La Cucina Italiana." That's a common theme among Italian chefs in Chicago. Long before veteran Tony Priolo began his career, the executive chef/owner of Piccolo Sogno and Piccolo Sogno Due was learning the secrets of the Italian kitchen from his grandmother. "Italian food is three to four ingredients on a plate," he says. "It's simple, like The Beatles or The Ramones, who proved you only need three chords to be good." Though a traditionalist at heart, he welcomes new chefs to the scene. "I love [the new guys]," he says, "It's great for the city and great for Italian food." And there are new Italian chefs aplenty in Chicago, as a movement toward comfort and accessibility has made Italian fare the hottest dining trend in the city. It all started in 2011 with the opening of Balena, a modern take on Italian paired with an impressive selection of amari, which effectively filled the gap between red-sauce favorites like La Scarola and Tufano's and 120 The Traditionalist LUISA SILVIA MARANI, MERLO ON MAPLE Bologna native Luisa Silvia Marani started her career as a luxury sweater manufacturer for clients like Max Mara and Lagerfeld, but cooking has always been part of her DNA. On the brink of retirement, a trip to Chicago inspired her to move across the Atlantic and open an authentic Bolognese restaurant in the Gold Coast. More than a decade later, she and her husband, Giampaolo Sassi, are still serving up la cucina vera. What surprises you about American diners? They are so enthusiastic—it is funny. Sometimes there are people who say, " Ooh, oww, eee," over food, and Italians are not used to that. We go in a restaurant, and the food is good, so we come back. But we say, "Oh, it was very good. Punto. Basta." What's the spirit of Italian cuisine? Every day is a celebration. When you finish the working day, you have dinner, and it's a little celebration for the finish of the day and coming together with the family. Is there an intersection between food and fashion? For sure! The colors, plus the presentation of the plate. The attention to quality and the details—it's the same in food and fashion. MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 118-125_MA_FEAT_Culinary_Nov13_V3.indd 120 10/21/13 5:46 PM