In early 2007 a little restaurant called Baccala opened in Wicker Park, inspired by chef John Bubala’s visit to Piemonte, in northwestern Italy, one of the greatest food regions in the world. Bound on three sides by the Alps, it has given the planet a lot of treasure: revered wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, and Asti; cheeses like robiola and Castelmagno; egg-rich pastas like agnolotti and tajarin; classic dishes like vitello tonnato and the magisterial bollito misto; and the king of the Tuber genus, the white truffle of Alba. It’s also home to the headquarters of the Slow Food movement, the kitchenware design firm Alessi, and the very first Eataly.
One of the more elegant presentations of a humble regional specialty is a fonduta, a rich puree of fontina cheese, cream, eggs, and butter that forms the base for a molded flan of emulsified artichokes and asparagus; sprinkled with baby beet greens, it’s a dish that’s somehow both buoyant and sumptuous. The latter trait is echoed with a seared scallop paired with a deep-fried sweetbread, both sitting on a blanket of cauliflower puree dotted with golden raisins, capers, and hazelnuts.
Here’s hoping Logan Square’s more welcoming than Wicker Park was.
2824 W. Armitage 773-661-1582osterialanghe.com
