Our much-anticipated and extensive review of Eataly is forthcoming (we’ll do it after we get at least two visits under our belts). But with Eataly and its associated madness and euphoria now in Chicago, it may be time to remind everyone that our fair city (and the surrounding region) has many, many other places to stock up on domestic and imported Italian cheeses, meats, and other products. But along with them, these stores are local, family-owned, and well-established in the area: aspects that should be appealing to those who object to Eataly on mass-consumerist and New York-transplant grounds.
The west loop, especially west of the Kennedy, is home to some of the city’s oldest Italian groceries. J.P. Graziano Grocery & Company (901 W Randolph), founded in 1937, is a staple grocery in the area, as well as a purveyor of spot-on Italian sandwiches that Yelpers rave about. One of our favorite Chicago food podcasts, Sky Full of Bacon, paid a visit to J.P. Graziano and its fourth-generation owner, Jim Graziano, as he talked about the store, its history, and of course cheese as he lovingly sliced into an unopened wheel of parmigiano-reggiano. Check out their film on vimeo about the experience.
Cheeses, meats, and condiments stacked sky-high at Piatto Pronto.
On the north side, we recently discovered Piatto Pronto (5624 N Clark), a full service Italian deli and food purveyor whose wide assortment of Italian products is jam-packed into their small storefront. Close to our home base, we were thrilled to find high-quality prosciutto di parma, mozzarella di bufala, and a wide selection of panettone just in time for the holidays. It’s now become our go-to prosciutto and cheese shop in the city, both for its location and the high quality of its offerings.
Finally, we are going to recommend all Chicagoans who will spend the time to go downtown to Eataly and wait in line to spend the same amount of time, or even less, to head up I-94 over the Wisconsin border to Tenuta’s Italian Grocery and Delicatessen (3203 52nd Street, Kenosha, WI). Founded in 1950, Tenuta’s easily outshines the offering and variety of any other Italian store in Chicago. We regularly make trips to Kenosha to stock up – seemingly endless aisles of domestic and imported cheeses, meats, pastas, olive oils, spirits, and other goodies leave Tenuta’s unparalleled, and make it easily worth the trip. Our standard purchase includes spicy prosciutto di parma, some samples from their Italian olive selection, parmesan and mozarella cheeses, our favorite Sicilian olive oil, and interesting pasta varieties you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. To top it all off, have a house-made panini while you wait.
Paul Ryan and ETW agree: Tenuta’s is amazing. (Photo: AP / Mary Altaffer).
While we are frequenters of Mexican, Haitian and Thai grocery stores, until this trip we had never visited a British / Irish grocery store in the United States. Selling everything from Dairy Milk chocolates to house-made British sausages and back bacon, Spencer’s can fulfill almost any British grocery craving. When we found out that this little grocery store also served high tea we knew we had to visit ASAP.
If you’re looking for scenery with your sushi, Tsunami definitely impresses. Located on top of the Shaw Center for the Arts, Tsunami is an upscale sushi restaurant with a bar and a terrace with a panoramic view of Baton Rouge and the Mississippi river. We had a very pleasant dinner at Tsunami with M’s dad and his friend Chuck, who are both experts on Baton Rouge restaurants and nightlife. M’s Dad knew we are always looking for good local restaurants, so he wisely picked Tsunami as an upscale option.
The ever-exciting 
Everyone has been raving about Katy’s Dumpling for ages, with buzz bubbling up on LTH forum as far back as the mid-2000s. When I first heard about Katy’s it was only a single outpost in suburban Westmont. However, in later years it has mushroomed into three locations sprinkled throughout the Western suburbs. We had a friend staying near the shiny, new Oak Park outpost, so we decided to finally give the storied Katy’s a try. The Oak Park version had a very modern feel, with big red booths and wood paneling; apparently, the previous tenant was another Chinese restaurant, Hutong, which explains the semi-temporary feel.
We recently read a 
Every once in a while a restaurant comes along that has a concept so intriguing, you have to try it. Asitane has come up with such a concept: using authentic, historical Turkish dishes spanning nearly 1000 years. Each dish has either been re-created from original Ottoman menus, or re-created from descriptions of dishes served at the time. Each dish on the extensive menu is given a date, which may seem gimmicky at first, but really works. The setting of Asitane is quaint and beautiful, and is located on the ground floor of a renovated old building. We were lucky enough to arrive on a pleasant day, so we decided to eat outdoors, though there is also extensive indoor seating.
Like any good rib place, 12 Bones does not give you much time: open only 11-4 on weekdays (or until the food runs out, whichever is first), by the time we arrived at 10:30 there was already a line. We were lucky to be early: there were multiple rub glazes to pick, and at the last minute, knowing the ribs were famous, M decided to opt for a standard 6-bones rack of brown sugar glaze. Among other potential choices was pineapple habanero, but we felt that could have been getting a little too playful if we wanted to get something traditional for our first time. 
There is something primordial about a rack of ribs that come out on an aluminum plate. No sides, no nothing else. And they did not need anything: the rack of ribs in the background of this photo were easily the best we have ever had – just amazing. Perfectly smoked, all the fat had melted away, leaving behind perfectly tender, well-seasoned, and artfully glazed rack of certified culinary cavemanliness. Extra points for the fun outdoor seating area! Meanwhile, as M was salivating over his rib plate, L was busy on her usual: pulled pork. It was good, but not memorable in comparison to the ribs. A solid, light smoke flavor with a sweet North Carolina vinegar sauce made for a worthy contribution to our meal. Between us, we split cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and cucumber salad as sides. But again, the star here is the ribs: if you have a chance to stop in Asheville, definitely pay a visit to 12 Bones.
