Imagine a looming dystopian future in which Italian restaurants have replaced all the city’s faux Irish bars, and the only things left to go out for are risotto and little scraps of raw fish. That’s where we’re headed. But truthfully—excepting the 800-pound gorilla on Ohio Street—2014’s most unoriginal restaurant concept has had a pretty good track record so far, as witnessed by the Reader‘s own reviews of Joe Fish, Nico Osteria, Cicchetti , and Azzurra EnoTavola.
There are more inspiring ways to approach Cocello among the simple salads, such as a dish of peas and favas with whipped ricotta that is the embodiment of spring, or among the antipasti, such as a bouquet of fried artichoke hearts, simply seasoned with Parmesan and chile, lemon providing the fundamental foil for the crispy and salty vegetable. Among the vegetable side dishes there’s a “Friulan frico,” a kind of panfried cheesy latke that could teach poutine how to be edible.
It comes up again at dessert, where among the affogato, tiramisu, and zeppole there’s a tall slice of warm olive-oil cake, jiggly and moist and mined with orange zest, that beats all with its beautiful simplicity.
354 W. Hubbard 312-888-9195cocello.com
