Tocco was just an unexpected experience - my review really won't do it justice, so just trust me and go check it out. Deanna had mentioned that the food was amazing but the the decor was weird, yet you also felt like you were in Italy at the same time. I didn't know what she was talking about but after eating here that's exactly the correct description of this place.
You walk in and it's kind of got their weird modern space age feel to it. The restaurant is very white and against one portion of the wall is a glass case with bizarre mannequins wearing what must be the latest in Italian fashion. Then the other wall has a movie about Italian tourism projected against the wall and playing on repeat throughout the night (they did a good job b/c I totally wanted to go back to Italy after watching over and over again). The menu has a large pizza section but it also had pastas, salads and meats as well. We got the fried calamari ($14) and the insalata di bosco ($9) to start and I opted for the lasagna ($16) for my entree. The calamari was lightly battered and really fantastic. You could still taste the squid on the inside but it had just enough batter and crunch on the outside to give it a nice salty finish. The key to its deliciousness was that it wasn't too greasy or oily. It was one of the better fried calamari dishes I've had in a while. The salad was with arugula, mushrooms, and shaved parmigiano - incredibly fresh ingredients and it was very lightly dressed so as to not overwhelm the basic but tasty vegetables.
As for my main entree, I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had lasagna in a while or what but I thought it was spectacular. It was a very layered lasagna made with a beef ragu and mozzarella cheese. The pasta was fantastic - very light and clearly home made. It's easy for a lasagna to taste really heavy and filling but this one was light but still incredibly tasty at the same time. It reignited my love for pasta and specifically lasagna. I had a bite of Soph's pizza and it was also quite good - it was a thin crust kind (weird for Chicago) with a heavy hand of prosciutto and mozzarella. For dessert we split, what else, a tiramisu ($8) and it was light, fluffy and perfect.
While I don't associate Chicago with a lot of old school Italians (like I would with Brooklyn), when I looked around the restaurant there were clearly a good handful native Italians (ordering in Italian) eating there and the waitstaff there was also clearly very Italian. There was a table behind us laughing and chatting it up with the chef/owner all in Italian. It was the most oddly non-authentic authentic place I've been to. Given that, you just have to go and experience this place for yourself and luckily you will also get a fantastic meal out of it as well. Total bill: $51/pp with tax, tip and drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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