La Scarola...first time there the other night. Fantastic!

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Sabatino's....coming off the list.

https://www.facebook.com/oldirvingparkassoc/photos/a.227654337251661/2311392562211151/?type=3&theater

(BTW - Ate at Bruna's a couple weeks back. Ehh. Preferred Bacchanalia, interested to try Ignotz's)

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Too bad about Sab's. I knew that was coming sooner or later.

I agree that the food is better at Bacchanalia than Bruna's, but I love the bar at Bruna's. Also, last time I was down there I stopped for one at the private club on the block. They had the door wide open. I told the bartender that Provincia di Lago would offer reciprocity.

Also, Mart Anthony's belongs on that list.

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

I was at Colletti's the other day figuring out rosters for next year. I guess I had not recognized before what a great bar they have. I think the neighborhood drunks frequent it as a little bit out of the way to hide their peccadillos. That's why I chose it as well as the subject matter of the meeting needs discretion but I'll be damned if I didn't get a text the very next day from someone saying "a little bird told me you were at Colletti's with..." and pumping me for info.

The only safe place is to build a bar in your basement

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I like Colletti's. Good food. Sexy lil waitresses.]

Live music in the summer too.

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Anybody been to Dino's ? Northwest side, on Higgins or some shit. Near Higgins and Harlem I think.

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Whadayouse peoples got against Italian Villages?

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Yes, love that place. Classic Chicago thin crust pizza.

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Italian Village? Great atmosphere, bad food.

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Hot take! Its not great, but there's much worse Italian food in the downtown area.

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If there is, I've never had it. Italian Village is strictly for suburbanites/tourists/IMU.

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Sienna Tavern had the most god-awful meat lasagna. Don't even get me started on Maggianos.

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Siena Tavern is great, though I've never tried a meat lasagna.

Squid Ink Linguini is my most ordered item. Octopus as a starter.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Made it to Ignotz's for my wife's birthday. Great food and service. My favorite of the 3 on Oakley.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

My FIL has been frequenting Italian Villages since the 60s. His office was across the street. Mad Men type.

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Dolphin is right. There are a few restaurants on Taylor that should have been listed.

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@audioidkid

Jimmy's Place in Forest Park and Jim and Pete's in Elmwood Park are both respectable options for that kind of thing. I really like Jimmy's personally. They shrunk the martinis though...

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Nice! The owner Roger is a buddy of mine. He's a goalie, we've been playing with and against each other for almost 20 years. I'm embarrassed that I haven't made it to his place yet. He keeps giving me a hard time about it.

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We were there in late April, so the NHL playoffs were going on I believe. Roger was terrific, welcomed everybody, checked tables, etc. I believe he is friends with the owner of Macchina or another Evanston place, my old lady would remember. He said to name drop him when we were up there next.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

I'll have to give them another try then. It came in a bowl with the fresh mozzarella baked on top but it was so hard that I needed a knife to cut through.

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Mambo Italiano if you are in the burbs.

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@audioidkid

Is Jim and Pete's better since they expanded, because they used to be pretty pedestrian for Italian.

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No its the same. It's not like visiting Palermo, but its fine for the genre.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Fair enough. Its one of those neighborhood places that any time we decided to go out to eat, we would bring up and always end up somewhere else.

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My wife doesn't like it either, so maybe you and her can go someplace while I relax there.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

That sounds like the start of a really bad NetFlix movie.

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I'm going to start name dropping shakes and Telegram Sam every place I go.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I feel bad that I almost never get in there. It's fan-fucking-tastic!

I almost never go out for Italian food. Pasta sauce and noodles...what's the big deal?

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You might as well. I went into Club Lucky with my Hazardous Youth shirt on and all I got for free was dirty looks.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

this thread is poorly titled.

Change the title!

I never woulda thought it was a thread about Italian food.

I need to use this thread for ideas.

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