Chicago - August 17, 2009

Eat It While It's Hot

Summer Dish

Restaurants are sprouting like alfalfa right now. You’re not the only one having a hard time keeping track. Here’s a sampler of the best dishes at the neighborhood newbies.

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar
Pedigree: Three Webster Wine Bar vets and chef Remy Ayesh beget high expectations — and exceed them.
Eat: A twist on panzanella salad (heirlooms, zucchini ribbons, goat cheese, Tuscan bread); flatbread with La Quercia prosciutto, orange blossom-honeyed melon, shiso, and house-made ricotta.
Wash It Down: Crisp Malvira Favorita; unfiltered, bottle-conditioned Belgian Witkap Pater.
Now Go: 954 North California Avenue, at Augusta Boulevard; 773-292-1616.

Browntrout
Vitals: Sean Sanders’s (Bin 36) new Lincoln Square spot serves contemporary American food with an emphasis on local fare.
Fun Fact: Daily fish specials are flown in ten-hours fresh from Foods in Season, a sustainable fishery.
Taste: Idaho golden trout, cooked New Zealand style (brown butter, peas, walnuts) in honor of the owners’ first honeymoon dinner.
Get Going: 4111 North Lincoln Avenue, at Warner Avenue; 773-472-4111.

Ciao Amore
Helmed: Cesar Pineda, Italian chef and bon vivant.
Fare: Fresh, handmade pastas from the homeland.
Psst: Ask and Pineda will make anything your heart desires, including his off-menu specialty — seared mahi mahi atop black squid ink pasta with Spanish saffron.
Andiamo: 1134 West 18th Street, at May Street; 312-432-9090.