Chicago: Davanti Enoteca (Revisited)

I apologize for the gap between my last post and this one.  I don't really have an excuse.  It's not like I was actually studying for my upcoming finals.  In fact, I don't really remember how exactly I spent the last few days.  Huh...

Wait, I remember now.  

All my spare time was entirely devoted to planning my SUMMER TRIP TO TAIWAN, THAILAND, MALAYSIA, AND CAMBODIA.  Woot woot!  That's right, my friends.  Food paradise, here I come!  All that stands in my way are two pesky, little obstacles called finals and the California state bar exam.  No biggie.

So anyway, sorry about the delay.

Before SY left Chicago, we managed to fit in a bigger SSA reunion at Davanti Enoteca.  Queen G and I arrived a little early and then everyone else ended up arriving late, so unable to wait any longer, Queen G ordered the ricotta and honey comb with tuscan toast while we chilled at the bar:

Oh.  My.  Gawd.  I never knew I liked ricotta so much.  If there's food in heaven, this must be at the front of the buffet line.  (And it has to be a buffet because it's heaven.  Duh.)

Once everyone arrived the real ordering started.  I was really excited about the focaccia di recco:

Ligurian-style baked focaccia is thin and crispy.  The soft cow cheese sandwiched inside made every bite amazing.

The mascarpone polenta board with the sausage ragu was a given:

SHP couldn't eat the polenta because there's dairy in it and when our server found out, he was incredibly considerate to come back with a separate bowl of ragu.

We also got the five for $20 salumi board:

We could have picked a couple of cheeses, but why waste board space?  There was prosciutto di parma (dry cured Italian ham), mortadella di bologna (heat cured Italian salami), soppressata calabrese (spicy red pepper salami), cacciatorini ("Hunter's" Italian salami), and capicolla piccante (cured spicy pork shoulder).

There was so much meat it couldn't fit on one board:

For our second round of ordering, SY wanted to try the riccio di mare e granchio, or linguine with sea urchin and crab:

Good, I suppose.  But it didn't knock my socks off.

We also tacked on a pizza della fattoria, which came topped with farmed egg, pork belly, potato, scallions, asiago, and bechamel:

Our server popped the egg quite ruthlessly before I could even squeeze in a photo.

Queen G and I made the bad decision of also ordering a burger:

Don't get me wrong.  The burger was good, with its bacon jam, roasted tomato, cheese curd, arugula, roasted garlic mayo and side of shoestring fries.  It was just too much food.

Davanti Enoteca is a great place to catch up with friends, share some food, and just have a good time.

I really wish SY could have stayed longer, but hey, I'll be back in the Bay in a month and I know I'll definitely see her around all summer.  Hooray for Chicago reunion in the Bay!


Davanti Enoteca
1359 W Taylor St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226-5550
http://www.davantichicago.com/