Conscious Choice: Quartino Offers Big Taste of Fun

May 2006 | Conscious Dining

Quartino Offers Big Taste of Fun

By Janine MacLachlan

This is so fun. That’s what I hear every time I take someone to Quartino.

They don’t mean “fun” as in the food-as-theater kind of fun that’s found in other eateries.

Rather, Quartino’s fun comes in the robust, interesting flavors and the opportunity to have the pleasure of sharing everything and tasting a lot.

Heading up the stoves is Chef John Coletta, a mainstay in the Chicago culinary community, known for supporting Chicago’s Green City Market and buying from local growers. He continues his hand-crafted approach here with a half-dozen housemade salumi ($4 each). These cured and aged meats include salami, soppressata and prosciutto. And they offer the best place to start — because one needs a strategy here, as ordering one of everything, while a good goal, will not make a case for portion control.

All in all, the menu can feel overwhelming. But you can order a little or a lot, making it right for a variety of budgets, as well as early and late eating. So here’s some suggestions.

Definitely taste the duck prosciutto and the bresaola, an air-dried beef. They are delicious wrapped around the accompanying candied mustard fruit, one of a trio of garnishes. Balance the salumi with a few of the Italian cheeses ($4) on the menu, in particular the gorgonzola dolce, a sweeter blue cheese, or the taleggio. The cheese also comes with a trio of embellishments, including a lovely apricot rosemary puree, grape salad and fennel. And then order an assortment of olives to round out the experience.

Share and savor

Hot plates ($6) and cold plates ($4) are meant to be shared, so it’s a good idea to have a sizable group. For the hot plates, you might want to order one of each: Roasted baby octopus, organic chicken with bean ragu, crispy fried smelt and polenta fries, which could use a little more salt for my taste, but are set off well with a vibrant red bell pepper salsa. In particular, don’t miss the broccoli rabe, cooked up with garlic olive oil and red chili for a nice spice.

Cold plates? Start with the caponata, an eggplant dish with tomatoes, capers and olives, then round out the meal with classic roasted peppers, little flat cipollini onions braised in red wine and balsamic vinegar, and artichokes with onions and carrots. The salads offer a contrast to some of the richer dishes, like the caponata. The wild arugula and citrus salad is a delicious combination of the bitter green and fragrant orange.

No Italian-inspired restaurant is complete without pasta, potatoes and rice, the three pillars of yum. A trio of risottos ($7 each), including one with fresh asparagus and another with Tuscan sausage tomatoes and peas, offer even more flavor. And gnocchi, tiny potato dumplings with arugula pesto, are a favorite, as is the orecchiete, an ear-shaped pasta with fennel and sausage ragu. And you can get good old-fashioned linguini with red or white clam sauce.

Specialites ($12) strike me as for those who want a center-of-the-plate experience. Try the farmhouse chicken cacciatore or crisp duck leg. Or move on to some thin-crusted pizza like that found in Naples.

For dessert ($4) try the Nutella panini, little grilled sandwiches filled with the hazelnut spread Italians use like butter on their morning toast. Also try the profiteroles, the cream puffs filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate. The only slight disappointment was the caramelized apple coppetta — the mascarpone gelato. Usually this will intrigue me any time, but it was icy, as if it had melted and was later refrozen. But it was easy to console myself with another Nutella panini, or sumptuous chocolate fondue ($9), with strawberries. For a small charge, we can also dip apples, pears, pineapple and cookies.

Where Wine is Cheaper than Water

While Quartino’s claim that their wine is cheaper than water may be a slight exaggeration, it does indeed have a number of well-priced selections from Italy. Most wine is served by the carafe, with the smallest a quartino, a quarter-liter, which is about a glass and a half, creating a perfect climate for trying a variety of tastes by selecting a few to share. Kind of like the food.

From a pricing standpoint, quartinos run from $4 to $15 with liters topping off at $60, and the selection is pretty broad, about 10 selections each of white and red. Since the menu is so fun to peruse, you might want to start out with a Bellini ($8 for a quartino), the classic Italian drink of white peach puree topped with Prosecco sparkling wine.

The Final Word

Quartino is indeed fun, the food is good, and it’s a relaxing place to linger or have a quick lunch. And this is one of those places that deserve a washroom check: the vintage-style oversized sinks and hexagon tiles are reminiscent of a place with history, even though Quartino is in a spanking new building. Finally, $5 valet parking is the best deal in the neighborhood, if not the city.

Quartino, 626 N. State St., Chicago, 312-698-5000. Open 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Bar open until 2 a.m.

Janine MacLachlan is a freelance writer, cooking school owner and farm groupie whose search for well-raised food is a passion.

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