Ristorante Al Teatro opened on 18th Street in Pilsen about two months ago. Can an Italian restaurant make it in a neighborhood that is better known for its tacos, burritos and sizzling salsas?
(Scott Stewart/Sun-Times)
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Parking: No
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I say yes. This part of town is becoming more diversified, the food at Ristorante Al Teatro is quite good, and the sprawling ground-floor space is quite appealing. The restaurant is in a building that was once known as Thalia Hall. Thalia was the Greek muse of comedy. The building, which has landmark status, was built in 1892 to host theater and music events. It was modeled after an opera house in Prague.
If you are one who grumbles (as I do) about loud restaurants and elbow-to-elbow eating, you will find Ristorante Al Teatro your cup of espresso. In fact, many of the tables are almost too far apart. Even when the restaurant is half full, it comes off as eerily empty. Part of this has to do with the layout. The big room as you enter has a flowing bar, a few tables and, over in one corner, a gelateria (more than 20 enticing flavors). A left turn past the bar and you are in a big dining room that is framed by a pair of wood-burning ovens.
I am going to go to bat for this ristorante, not only for its unique charm but for its very good Italian food, with particular emphasis on the pizza. The entire first page of the menu lists no fewer than 20 different pizzas, and the style of the pizza is as Italian as it gets. The very flavorful crust is thin through the middle and has a raised edge (known as il cornicione or "large frame") that is nicely crispy (as is the bottom of the pizza). The tomatoes are but a light smear across the crust. When cheese is used, as in the "bufala" pizza, it is but dabs of that elegant mozzarella di bufala here and there along with a few leaves of fresh basil. The same tasty goodness was found in the "Valtellina Bianca" pizza, with shingles of thinly sliced prosciutto covering tender leaves of arugula, fresh mozzarella and crumbles of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It was a white pizza with whopping good taste. One size (about 12 inches in diameter) fits all for the pizzas. And the prices are quite reasonable ($11.95 to $14.95).
The pasta dishes sampled were every bit as good as the pizza. Gnocchi ai formaggi, for example. Tender nubbins of gnocchi (not made with potato, so there was a good chew in each one) got a gentle glaze of a sauce made with Gorgonzola and Fontina cheeses. This lusty combination (the kitchen went easy on the Gorgonzola, which can be overpowering) married with the gnocchi so romantically it was love at first bite.
A lustier and more rustic pasta dish was the linguine ai frutti di mare (pasta with seafood). There was perfect balance in this pleasing and well-made dish. Mingling with the perfectly al dente pasta were several fresh clams and mussels, shrimp and rings of tender squid. Fresher than fresh with meaty tatters of tomatoes to round out the flavors.
Entrees number but eight and include chicken, veal and lamb chops (there are several announced specials, as well). Two were sampled. The scaloppine di vitellino in Marsala sauce (lemon sauce also available). There was a good portion of the thinly sliced veal and a wealth of mushrooms, but the veal wasn't all that tender and the surface was a bit gummy (from the flour). A better entree was the galletto al teatro, a half-chicken roasted to a turn, with a slight charring of the skin. Moist and tender to the bone, a simple lemon sauce accented the chicken with fresh rosemary, and it was served with a julienne of vegetables (carrots, zucchini, peppers).
A good finisher here would be a few scoops of gelato, but next to the gelato assortment I saw a deli case with desserts. An order of tender cream puffs (two to an order) stuffed with vanilla gelato and drizzled with chocolate sauce was quite good.
The spumoni cheesecake was not about spumoni (as we know it); rather, more in the style and texture of ricotta cheesecake with a hint of pistachio flavor. There were two generous slices (actually one slice would have been enough), so one found its way home to be enjoyed later.
Pat Bruno is a local free-lance critic and author. E-mail brunoeats@aol.com. Listen to Pat Bruno talk about food and wine Tuesdays at 6:23 p.m. and 10:23 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 7:53 p.m. on WBBM News Radio 780-AM.
