Lincoln Square does an admirable job of packing every kind of ethnic cuisine you could ever want onto one walkable strip on Chicago's North Side. A stroll down Lincoln Avenue is not unlike visiting Epcot Center's World Showcaseexcept the food is much better and there slightly fewer screaming children. From Indian and Japanese to German and French, you name itLincoln Square has just about any type of ethnic cuisine you could want, including plenty of good old American bar grub.
And now, there's a new Italian in the Square. Massimo Di Vuolo, a native of Naples, Italy and Chicago restaurant scene veteran, opened Due Lire earlier this month. The Lincoln Avenue space is at once cozy and contemporary. A smattering of 18 dark wood tables, dim lighting, soft-but-upbeat background music and neutral walls lined with abstract art make this place an ideal spot for a romantic date or a dinner with friends.
The menu, like the space, is classic with a twist. It's small and simple, and has all the makings for a proper Italian feast. House-marinated Italian olives are so fresh, I had to wonder if Di Vuolo is secretly growing olive trees in the back alley. The antipasti selections also include fried calamari and a better-than-average zucchini and smoked mozzarella-stuffed eggplant dish. Don't miss the Arancini Milano, which is essentially a creamy and fragrant asparagus risotto rolled into a ball and fried. Oh, and it is served in a finger-licking delicious pool of Fontina fondue. Why hasn't someone thought of this sooner?!
I'd recommend trying one of Due Lire's three salads, which combine ingredients creatively, without trying too hard. I had the Insalate di Pere, a refreshing mix of endive and radicchio glazed in a gorgonzola dressing, topped with paper-thin pear slices and studded with spiced pecans and big chunks of gorgonzola.
Due Lire is BYOB for now, with a reasonable $5 per bottle corkage fee. So get while the getting in good! When Di Vuolo gets his liquor license, he'll be offering a global selection of wines priced from $25 to $40.
If you're in the mood for a more substantial appetizer, check out the crostinis. Topped with fresh Italian ingredients like basil pesto, spicy salami and pecorino, these thick slices of toasted bread will fill you up. The bread was a little burnt and could have used another brush of olive oil, but the toppings were delizioso!
I'm a fool for homemade pasta, and Due Lire does not disappoint. The delicate tortellini are stretched so thin they're almost translucent, and bursting with bright green Swiss chard. They're drizzled with a perfectly executed butter sage sauce, and I think the dish is a refreshing departure from the butternut squash and pumpkin ravioli you'll see on most menus this time of year. In another updated take on Italian classics, Due Lire's meat ravioli isn't stuffed with sausage or beef, but with tender and flavorful meat from short ribs. Who knew? It sounded like an unusual combination to me, but it's topped with a rich porcini mushroom sauce and ample shavings of fresh Parmigianoand it works very well.
It's tempting to fill up on pastas and antipasti at a place like this, but don't overlook the secondi course, where you'll find just a few meat and fish options. The Filetto di Manzo was an obvious pick for me as soon as I glanced at the menu. This thick and juicy filet mignon is wrapped in pancetta and nestled in a bed of perfectly-seasoned polenta.
Ending an Italian meal without tiramisu just feels wrong to me, and Due Lire's version is just fine ( at least fine enough for me to eat the whole darn thing even though I was already full! ) . But, I actually preferred the panna cotta, which is the thickest, creamiest panna cotta I've tasted in a while. What's more, this surprising panna cotta is pomegranate-flavoreda welcome change from the typical chocolate or vanilla versions most Italian restaurants serve. The tart pomegranate is a perfect complement for the creamy custard, and the light pink delicacy is drizzled with a tangy balsamic cream and fresh pomegranate seeds. Bravo!
Whether you live down the street or across town from the Lincoln Avenue strip, Due Lire is worth a visit. The relaxing atmosphere, friendly service and accessible but inventive Italian cuisine all encourage diners to linger. So, make a reservation, and be prepared to wait.
Due Lire is located at 4520 N. Lincoln; call 773-275-7878 or visit www.due-lire.com .
Want to know what I'm eating and what I think about it between my columns? Follow me on Twitter @SugarAndSpiceMS.
AMUSE BOUCHE
Turkey and
wild-rice soup
By Ames Hawkins
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I'm driving to DeKalb to get organic, farm fresh turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, you read right: turkeys. I'll be getting two 15-pounders for the event.
Twenty-one people ( and counting ) will be present for our celebration. We've got 14 members of the family living in Chicago. My mom will come in from Michigan as will two other friends who would otherwise be spending the holiday alone. A boyfriend here, a great friend of the family there and the house will be full of people we love, people we love to have over for feasts such as this one.
In the past 15 years, we have only hosted Thanksgiving a couple of times. When we all lived in Michigan, the holiday was hosted by Corrine's mom and dad. But it seems now, since much of the family is here, we'll be taking on this holiday, becomingat least for the next wave of timethe center for this event.
After 15 years of marriage I am grateful in a way I hadn't been before. Not only for my partner and our children, for our friends and family, for being lucky enough to have stable jobs and be in great health. But for what the event ultimately represents: evidence of what we have built.
My partner and Iin collaboration with our children, in consultation with friends and familyhave built for ourselves a space that can accommodate a large number of people, have maintained and nurtured friendships, have support and reinvented the parameters of family. What we have built is relationship, a network of individuals who, through these kinds of events, come to be with us, and come to know each other as well.
Holidays are important, to be sure. But I am most grateful to realize that this holiday isn't an insular event. It'll be larger than usual, but it doesn't carry the kind of weight it does in some households, in houses where meals ( home-cooked or not ) aren't shared on regular bases, in families that will be at best, working to "tolerate" their GLBTQIA family members, and at worst, refusing to invite them at all.
I'll be roasting two ducks as well as the turkeys: it's kind of a tradition. As a family of hearty Midwesterners, the duckas I well know from past Thanksgivingswill go fast and go first. But the turkey? Who knows? It's a crap shoot really. Some years, almost all of it disappears. The first two years we deep fried a turkey it was as if we had deep fried ambrosia. The fried flesh was chosen above the sides.
But, I have to say that most of the time folks seem to really enjoy the company of the green beans and the rolls, want as much face time as possible with the sweet potatoes and stuffing. Some years, the spinach dip and brie are the life of the party and by the time dinner rolls around, well, it's really the turkey that is left holding an empty dance card.
Which can be great, really, because half of the reason we all make these huge Thanksgiving mealsif we're being honestis for the leftovers, right? That day-after sandwichthe layering of turkey, stuffing and cranberry saucesome people swear by. I prefer a reprise of the night before, loading a plate with turkey and mashed potatoes. And gravy. There has to be gravy.
The thing is, in our house, with all of these people, it can often be that basically, the only thing left IS the turkey. What to do? There's only one answer, really: make soup.
And so, with this leftover turkey I'll make turkey and wild rice soup and I'll invite a different batch of people over to our house, individuals who most likely were at their own families' homes for Thanksgiving, but people that may, in the future, end up at our house one of these random holidaysfor whatever reason. We'll sit down to the same turkey, in different form. Celebrate yet another meal. And, I know, I will be just as thankful the second time around.
Turkey and wild rice soup
½ cup wild rice
¾ cup of basmati or other white rice
Two cups leftover turkey cut into bite-sized pieces
Two 48-oz. boxes of chicken ( or if you see it at Trader Joe's! ) turkey stock
3 stalks of celery
3 medium carrots
1 medium onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
2 tbs of oil
Fresh rosemary, thyme, sageto suit your taste
½-¾ cup of water
Bay leaf
Cracked pepper and salt to taste
1 ) Pre-cook the wild rice according to directions
2 ) Finely chop the vegetables and garlic
3 ) Heat oil in the bottom of a stock pot
4 ) Add vegetables, garlic and fresh herbs. Cook until the onion and celery are translucent.
5 ) Add the turkey stock, water, turkey, wild rice and uncooked white rice and bay leaf to the pot.
6 ) Bring soup to a boil and then turn down to simmer
7 ) When the white rice is cooked, the soup is done
8 ) Salt and pepper to taste