Francesca's Is An Italian Staple In Chicago

Chicago has a glut of ethnic restaurants, and Italian restaurants in particular probably number in the hundreds. Most of them try to be as authentic as possible, and some even focus on regional Italian cuisine. But one of our favorites here at The Local Tourist, and a Chicago staple, is Francesca’s. It is a true old-school Italian joint where everybody knows your name and the food arrives in Flintstone proportions.

There are many iterations of Francesca’s throughout the Chicagoland area, but our favorite is Francesca’s on Chestnut—not only because of its convenient Gold Coast location, but for its wonderful service as well. You may want to start with the famous beef carpaccio that looks like a painting—cheese and basil scattered atop evenly colored pink slivers of carpaccio. There’s definitely a lot so you may want to share with a couple of people. Another great starter is everyone’s favorite, bruschetta: perfectly toasted bread with olive oil drizzle, roma tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, garlic and basil.

For a main, definitely try the orecchiette pasta (concave shells) with shaved Parmesan and basil, tossed in a slightly sweet tomato sauce. But a warning: the portions are not for the faint of heart. If you have more than a healthy appetite, you’d even find the size of this dish daunting. As it turns out, we ended up eating the pasta over a two-day period after dinner. My dining partner also had a healthy portion. Her salmon was perfectly pink and almost an entire salmon fish. The only thing missing was the head and tail.

Though Francesca’s is distinctly Italian, their wine list boasts a well-curated (and well priced) mix of Italian, as well as American, wines.  For Instance, from the Caymus family, the Belle Glos pinot paired well with the bruschetta as well as the salmon. Also, you can find quintessentially Italian wines such as Barolo, sangiovese and brunello. And when you go, tell them that The Local Tourist sent you—they’re sure to treat you like family.

J'nai's meal was provided by Francesca's