Originally published October 20, 2005
3 stars (out of four)
Rating key:
4: Outstanding
3: Excellent
2: Very good
1: Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
When is a Francesca not a Francesca? When it makes itself utterly different.
Francesca's Forno (click for address, maps, hours) is the 14th sequel to the iconic Mia Francesca, which opened in 1992. But Forno has broken with the formula that has worked so well for Mia and its offspring.
The touches that define Francesca--the handwritten menu, the daily risotto, the heavy reliance on pastas and chicken dishes, the gotta-have-em bruschetta, four-cheese pizza and chicken alla Romana--are absent here.
"I wanted a bit of a twist," says partner Scott Harris. "A place that did food the way I like to eat--a lot of antipasti, some salumi, al dente pasta."
The result is a menu full of what corporate chef Patrick Concannon calls "fun" food. "Simple, three-ingredient cuisine," Concannon says. "No reinventing the wheel."
First-course options are highlighted by a half-dozen antipasti, which can be ordered individually or in assortments. Given the small portions and the price break for multiple ordering (pick four for $14), it makes sense to order multiples.
But it's hard to skip any of them. I love the sweet cipolline onions, dunked in a sweet-sour red-wine sauce, and the runny fontina fondue that turns roasted potatoes into something sinful. Those wondering what the fuss over white anchovies is all about can try them here, their delicately briny flavor (relative to ordinary anchovies, that is) contrasted with sweet roasted red-bell peppers.
High-quality pecorino cheese dresses up an assortment of fava beans and sweet peas, which are seasoned simply with olive oil, sea salt and pepper; imported Sicilian tuna is bathed in a puttanesca-style sauce of capers and olives. And the roasted beets, mingling with soft pieces of gorgonzola dolce and crowned with hazelnuts, are sweet enough to serve as dessert.
Salumi (various cured meats) and cheese are presented in the same format--available individually or in groups (three for $16, five for $25). The stars here are the excellent prosciutto di parma, shaved to order on a hand-cranked slicer; pecorino cheese accented with a whiff of truffle oil and soft ricotta cheese drizzled with acacia honey.
Pizzas are not the thin, blister-crust concoctions you'll find at other Francescas (though the sauce is the same); these crusts are a bit more substantial and toothsome. And the occasional special appetizer might include a prawn bruschetta, an enormous, lightly cooked prawn atop a large square of bread, doused with a tart lemon-caper sauce.
Entrees are not large, but all are priced less than $20, and most of the small-scaled pastas are less than $10. (Normal-sized pastas--what a novel concept.) That includes the $9 bargain known as "naked ravioli," which is a ravioli stuffing--ricotta, spinach, nutmeg--bound by a bit of flour. In texture, it resembles a potato-free gnocchi. Tossed with sage-seasoned brown butter and dotted with tomato sauce, these slightly gummy nuggets are a lot of fun.
Also good is the skirt steak, with a dry-rub of powdered porcini mushrooms and sugar that turns into an earthy crust when it hits the grill; and salmon, coated with caramelized onions and cheese then baked to a crunchy finish. The ever-changing fish special might be grouper puttanesca, or gently cooked mahi-mahi with dried tomatoes and roasted artichokes.
Elvia Granados, who oversees the dessert operation at most of the Francesca restaurants, handles the sweets here. There are a couple of ubiquitous selections, including tiramisu and creme brulee, but she shows real imagination with an assortment of homemade biscotti arrayed around a parfait of chilled espresso, vanilla gelato, Frangelico liqueur and whipped cream. Even better is the trio of gelato sandwiches: vanilla between tiny squares of almond cake with raspberry drizzles, chocolate-hazelnut over a phyllo roll studded with bittersweet chocolate chips and pistachio with chocolate-coated pistachio macaroons.
Service won't dazzle you, but waiters are chummy and get the food out in a hurry, which is good, because the 70-seat dining room is packed on weekends. One Friday night, I couldn't get a reservation before 9 p.m., and they couldn't honor it until 9:30. ("People just aren't getting up tonight," our exasperated waiter said by way of apology.)
The simplicity of the menu is more than matched by the dining room, which is set with distressed (not artfully distressed, well-worn) wooden tables and chairs, seemingly no two alike. There's not a scrap of fabric on the windows, though Harris says that's about to change, if only to cut down on the noise reverberation that has bedeviled this space since it was called Soul Kitchen. (At least Forno plays its music at gentle levels.) Soul Kitchen's old pressed-tin ceilings and exposed ductwork are painted copper, which adds a bit of color; mottled wall mirrors let you scan the dining room without craning your neck.
I like Mia Francesca and all the little Francescas running around the city and suburbs. But I think I like Forno even better.
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Francesca's Forno
1576 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-770-0184
Phil Vettel is the Chicago Tribune restaurant critic.
