Once considered a restaurant graveyard as far as dinner business was concerned, the Loop is back. A resurgent entertainment scene has attracted new restaurants and strengthened old ones, and even Loop-veteran Nick’s Fishmarket is moving — but just around the corner — to a location more visible to street traffic.
Trattoria No. 10 has done well in its nine-plus years in the Loop, drawing lunch and dinner customers in good times and bad. From the beginning, it was never a true trattoria — the term refers to a simple, inexpensive restaurant, not a sophisticated dining environment with prices to match — but its stylish good looks and superior cooking outweigh any concerns of authenticity.
From the street-level entrance, customers descend a winding staircase (there’s also an elevator) to the subterranean dining room. It’s a large room, artfully divided by archways and pillars into several smallish spaces. Splashes of color on the walls compensate for the lack of natural light, and pinpoint lighting adds a dramatic, intimate element. Acoustic ceiling tiles mute conversational noise.
First to the table is a loaf of bread stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, and some crispy parmesan crackers — good stuff that puts you in a pleasant mood right away. Thus fortified, you may peruse at leisure chef Douglas D’Avico’s lengthy menu, which lists more than a dozen appetizers and nearly 20 entrees.
Focus your attention on the primi piatti listings, where lurk D’Avico’s superb pastas and risotto dishes. Ravioli is a particular strength, and the menu typically offers several versions, including one in which the ravioli are hand-twisted, resembling little candy packets, and filled with firm, inch-long asparagus tips and aged buffalo mozzarella; underneath is a slightly sweet tomato sauce dotted with extra asparagus.
Just as good are the ravioli stuffed with butternut and acorn squash, above a sweet walnut-butter sauce. This is a traditional dish that I adore, and D’Avico’s version is as good as any I’ve had.
The risotto one evening was studded with bits of red-skin pears, roasted red pepper and walnuts; there allegedly was some gorgonzola cheese as well, but its presence was not apparent — not so the rosemary, which nearly overwhelmed the dish. Texturally, the risotto was flawless, and the dish was fleshed out with two fork-tender venison medallions.
Among the secondi piatti, excellent grilled beef tenderloin comes with an interesting gimmick; the cute twist is called “horseradish-carrot pasta,” which is carrots sliced to resemble linguine dressed in a horseradish-cream sauce. Roasted chicken breast, stuffed with spinach and parmesan cheese, is very tasty, served with a rich reduction sauce; the accompanying melange of diced vegetables and lentils was less successful, owing to the inclusion of some scraggly, limp pieces of broccoli rabe.
Grilled scallops are a highlight, presented over roasted garlic and butter sauce with orange segments and toasted pine nuts. Firm-fleshed sauteed skatewing is paired with cappellaci, a filled pasta parcooked and pan-seared (in the manner of potstickers), containing ricotta and mozzarella cheese.
Appetizers include soft polenta with wild-game (guinea hen) sausage and broccoli rabe (firm this time). The soft-textured sausage was flavored with port wine and mushrooms, which played well against the broccoli rabe’s sharp, bitter notes. There were bitter notes with the grilled octopus, too, but this was due to an overabundance of rosemary and surprisingly bitter watercress in the dish, and not intentional.
Softshell crabs are in season, and Trattoria No. 10 does a fine job with them, serving a single sauteed crab over a potato galette with a delicious sun-dried cranberry hazelnut dressing. Even better are the steamed Manilla clams, seasoned with saffron and presented in the shell with tiny diced vegetables and bits of pancetta.
The dessert list has a couple of hits and a couple of misses. The warm chocolate truffle cake, topped with an oozing ganache, is terrific, and I liked the pound cake slices drizzled with caramel sauce and three dollops of maple whipped cream, each dollop crowned with a dot of lemon marmalade.
The bittersweet and dark chocolate soup sounds intriguing but tastes flat. A blueberry- and dried-apricot cobbler, not a true cobbler, was served in a fluted tart shell that was much too thick. The dessert sampler, an assortment that feeds two to four for $14, is a cost-effective option that includes a miniature truffle cake.
Service has its moments, but occasional lapses can be troubling. Our waiter one night was very attentive at first but lost interest in us toward the end (how many great evenings have been spoiled this way?). He brought the check before clearing dessert plates, and returned with the credit-card slip with the dishes still uncleared.
Still, highlights far outnumber lowlights. It’s nice to see that Trattoria No. 10, one of the few restaurants that handles business lunches and romantic evenings with equal aplomb, is still cooking.
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Trattoria No. 10
(star) (star)
10 N. Dearborn St.
312-984-1718
Open: Dinner Mon.-Sat., lunch Mon.-Fri.
Entree prices: $13.95-$26.95
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Strongly recommended
Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking available
Rating system
(star) (star) (star) (star) Outstanding
(star) (star) (star) Excellent
(star) (star) Very Good
(star) Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
