Let me get this right,” McCann, my longtime drinking and dining companion, said as we drove toward the city from O`Hare. ”We`re going to a restaurant Royko recommended?”
Right.
”The same Royko who threatened to punch your lights out when you wrote about his favorite Italian restaurant a couple of years ago?” McCann quizzed.
Right.
”He recommended a restaurant to you?”
Right.
”Something`s screwy here,” McCann said. ”The last time he wouldn`t tell anybody the name of his favorite Italian restaurant because he didn`t want some blankety-blank restaurant critic ruining it for him. Now he`s suddenly friendly and telling all. It doesn`t add up. Are you sure we want to go to this place?”
Look, all I know is that Royko sent me a message via the computer system at work the other day touting this joint and saying he wasn`t going to hide it from me this time. I was a little skeptical, too, until he explained that the place is only five minutes from his home.
”Yeah . . . ?” McCann said and then paused as if anticipating an explanation. Clearly, McCann, who was back in town after a long absence, had forgotten how the city that works works.
McCann, this is Chicago, I exclaimed. The city that never sleeps–at least not until the fix is on. Royko has a vested interest in this place. He likes Italian food and there aren`t many good restaurants up his way. Relax.
Anyway, Royko says the owner, Nicola Iannone, used to work with that chef I told you about–the one they pinched for supposedly knocking off a bunch of people back in Italy. So it could be an interesting evening.
”If you call murder interesting,” McCann groused. Fortunately, he had only picked at the alleged dinner served on his flight to Chicago, and after several years of self-imposed exile to fern-bar heaven in New England, McCann craved a decent ethnic meal. So finally he gave in.
Our destination was Via Veneto. With only 15 tables and a menu limited to four or five appetizers, seven pastas and four entrees–one chicken, one veal, one beef and one seafood–Via Veneto keeps things simple and manageable. The white-clothed tables and understated decor are pleasant but definitely not trendy.
Iannone, who also worked as a captain for Arnie`s on State Street, and his chef, Nicola Barbanente, are still experimenting with the menu to learn what dishes their patrons like; so some items mentioned below may not be available.
Meals start with a complimentary slice of fresh focacia, pan bread, hot from the oven. It is accompanied by a few Italian pickles. The excellent bread brushed with olive oil tides diners over while they relax, chat and study the menu, without spoiling their appetite for what follows.
Among the appetizers, by all means sample the caprese, alternating layers of buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes presented on a bed of lettuce simply dressed with basil and quality olive oil. A rarity in this country, mozzarella made from buffalo milk is common in Italy. Via Veneto`s chef makes the cheese for this dish himself. Totally unlike the rubbery, mass-produced mozzarella most Americans are used to, the silky texture and subtle taste of this cheese make it well worth trying.
Two other dishes, sauteed shrimp and fried calamari, also make good choices. The medium-size shrimp sauteed in olive oil infused with prodigious amounts of garlic turn out tender, sweet and addictive. Although slightly tough, the squid fried in peanut oil has no hint of fishy flavor or greasiness.
Only the frittata fails to win praise among the starters. The dry, overcooked Italian dish, a cross between a crustless quiche and a firm omelette, doesn`t live up to the rest of the dishes.
The quality of the pasta and risotto dishes makes up for anything lacking in the offerings at this young restaurant. The menu features two different risotti. One is flavored with mushrooms and the other with cheese.
Once scarce in Chicago, risotto dishes finally are finding their way into Italian menus around town. However, some versions imitate soup while other resemble rice pilaf. A good risotto falls somewhere in between, the rice firm but tender and thoroughly flavored by the cooking broth and other ingredients. Via Veneto`s risotti achieve the delicate balance of texture and taste beautifully. Risotto al funghi is permeated with the flavor of porcini mushrooms while risotto al formaggi is flavored with gorgonzola, bel paese, fontina and parmigiano cheeses. Both tantalize with their exciting and well-rounded taste sensations.
The authentic pastas derive their strength from a few quality ingredients and care in cooking. Sauces tend to be simple affairs composed of chopped vegetables, fresh herbs and perhaps a bit of cheese.
For example, capellini bella napoli features delicate, thin pasta with only tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella as toppings. Each flavor remains distinct yet harmonizes with the others effortlessly to make the perfectly prepared pasta a masterpiece. Ditto for the tagliatelle verti, green spinach noodles with tomatoes and onions sauteed with wine and topped with parmigiano –simple and excellent.
One should be able to measure an Italian restaurant by its pasta. And measured on that basis alone, Via Veneto merits a three-star excellent rating. However, the restaurant loses a star for its entrees, most of which don`t rise to the standards set by the pasta or risotto dishes. This will not matter to many diners who will easily find satisfaction with just an appetizer and pasta course.
Those who desire an entree should try the veal medallions with mushroom sauce. The excellent quality veal stays moist and tender under a sauce that captures the woodsy flavor of the mushrooms. Another veal dish, a stew, apparently didn`t please the crowds as it was missing from the menu on my last visit. Too bad, because the pure, honest flavors of the veal and vegetables made this an excellent dish. Oddly, given the quality of the meat used for the other dishes, the breaded veal used for the parmigiana preparation was gray, stringy and void of moisture–a dish to avoid.
Small squid stuffed with cheese, bread crumbs, garlic and parsley would benefit from a more aggressively seasoned filling–although it might be argued that the bland main ingredients show off the aromatic tomato sauce to great advantage.
Simplicity works when preparation is precise. However, simple saucing leaves nothing to hide the mistakes, such as the dry breast of chicken that lurked beneath its complement of mushrooms sauteed in white wine.
Healthy portions make dessert unnecessary, but chocoholics will find it difficult to pass up the chocolate cake, so dense it seems like pure chocolate softened only a bit by pure butter. A crisp cannoli shell gives way to a sweet custard-like filling, less pleasing than slightly sweetened ricotta. The cloyingly sweet custard overpowers the fresh fruit topping of the tart.
The wine list is modest, but so are the prices. And there is at least one pleasant surprise. As Royko wrote in his original note about the restaurant:
”When the owner, who recognized me (Royko), popped for an after dinner drink, I asked him if he had grappa, which a lot of the yuppie joints never heard of. Yups aren`t into drinks that taste like paint remover. He brought out a bottle of the best grappa I`ve ever had . . . .”
”No wonder Royko liked this place,” McCann said after dinner as he sat sipping his second round of grappa. ”The prices are low, the food decent and after a couple of slugs of this stuff the state of the world becomes clear . . . .”
Right.
VIA VENETO
(STAR)(STAR)
Italian. 3449 W. Peterson Ave., 267-0888. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 2:30-10 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 2:30 p.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat.; 4-10 p.m. Sun. Price range: Appetizers $2.50-$4.50, pastas and risotti $5.95-$7.95, entrees $7.50-$8.50, desserts $2.50; dinner for two of appetizer, pasta or entree, dessert, tax and tip: $31. Credit cards: American Express, Mastercard, Visa. Reservations: Recommended on weekends. Other: Free parking behind the building.
