If everything goes according to plan, this summer, at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Beacon Street, an 8-foot-tall replica of Sebilj fountain in Sarajevo may be constructed beside the Fontana Grill & Wine Bar. If you squint, even now, you can see the cool springs rising above the cobbled courtyard and black wrought iron fence beside this 5-month-old restaurant.

That is the dream of chef-owner Nino Divanovic, who left Sarajevo 15 years ago and started on the local dining scene as a busboy. Except, you know, there is this economy, he said. "Everything I have, and everything I don't, is already invested in Fontana."

Which is not a bad bet—not a great bet (we've had better Italian, his restaurant's signature cuisine)—but with large windows overlooking a quiet stretch of Uptown and bright red leather booths glowing in the soft light of small candles, Fontana's tough to beat for North Side cozy.

We have here a meld of memories, a reminder of Divanovic's Eastern European heritage, and a reminder of the food he grew up eating. Which would be Italian. When I asked if there was something dissonant about an Italian-Serbian joint, he said, dismissively, he ate a lot of lasagna back home, a lot of pasta, a lot of pizza. (Plus, the former Yugoslavia kept a border with Italy.)

All of which, anyway, is how you arrive at a dish like the Lasagnetta Della Mamma ($5), which is a filo pastry topped with lasagna strips and a (somewhat Turkish) cucumber-alfredo-dill sauce. The filo made a cardboard-ish foundation for the noodles, but that dill lent a surprisingly refreshing counterpoint. This bright touch of creamy vegetable showed up on the polenta, on ricotta-spinach-stuffed filo; it balances the richness and (occasional) oppressiveness of traditional Italian better than this Italian expected.

Incidentally, we hung at this end of the menu a while: poached shallots stuffed with minced Angus had a nice comforting homemade feel (and only included in a large $6 sampler); the gold rectangular brick of polenta was nicely grilled outside, creamy inside. Both were accented with streaks of creamy dill. But about that polenta ($5)—in his most obvious meld of Palermo and Sarajevo, Divanovic serves griddled cornmeal beneath stubby cevapi.

Cevapi are traditional Balkan beef and lamb sausages, and they make a better entree ($10), nestled in fresh house-made pita, coated in dill and diced onion.

The rest of the main dishes are a pretty predictable range of chicken Parmesan ($13, prepared in a mushroom-brie sauce) and pastas—the papardelle al tartufo ($13) had the warm texture of doughy homemade macaroni, but the butter sauce was all we could taste.

(The more intriguing dishes—squid steak, for instance—veer outside the Cheap Eats $13-or-less price range.)

If, however, by now, you haven't figured out the welcoming embrace of this place, at the center of the menu are a handful of quite simple stone-fired pizzas for around $9—none of which wow, but a few of which remind us of mama's.

Sounds like home.

cborrelli@tribune.com

Ratings key: don't miss it

one of the best

very good

good

Cheap Eats reviews restaurants where entrees are $13 or less. Reviews are based on anonymous visits by Tribune staff members; meals are paid for by the Tribune.

Fontana Grill & Wine Bar

1329 W. Wilson Ave.

773-561-0400

fontanagrill.com

Hours: 5-11 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Credit cards: A, D, M, V

Noise: Gentle conversation, rock music turned up to 5ish.

Delivery: No, but friendly toward carry-out.

Parking: Street parking.

Price: Appetizers and pizzas, less than $10; entrees around $13, but steaks breaking our glass ceiling.

Don't miss: "Trio from Grandma's Kitchen" ($6), stuffed shallots, stuffed grape leaves, a goat cheese and ricotta-stuffed filo pastry—from Grandma's kitchen, indeed. Also, early next month, Fontana expects to add a unique wine option—12 ounces of wine for $10, divided by as many wines as you like.

Take a pass: The Viagra Vera pizza ($10), with too few mussels to make an impact.

Best for: Cozy drop-bys (if your neighborhood is Uptown and Edgewater).