Jan. 30--Osteria Langhe (2824 W. Armitage Ave., 773-661-1582), the Piemontese specialist in Logan Square, is taking an interesting approach to its three-course dinner menus ($33 and $44) offered for Chicago Restaurant Week.
The two menus offer the same dishes (one scallop appetizer excepted), but the $44 version glams them up a bit.
So you can order chef Cameron Grant's duck and mushroom ravioli in fontina leek cream, or choose the upscale version, which includes a 2-inch slab of seared foie gras. The plin, Osteria Langhe's signature pasta packets ("plin" means "pinch") filled with La Tur (a tangy, three-milk cheese from Piedmont) and tossed in Parmesan-thyme butter, is a wonderful indulgence, but just wait until you try the luxury version, covered with shaved black truffle.
Those are the starters. Main courses include braised short ribs and root vegetables in a mustard-rosemary jus; and soft crespelle (crepes) with mushrooms, gorgonzola and leek fonduta, with a sprinkling of granola for crunchy texture. Both taste great with black truffles, and as part of the $44 menu, that's exactly what you get.
Sweet meets bitter in the Negroni panna cotta, with blood-orange gelee and gin-Campari syrup; I love the balance in this dessert. The vanilla semolina fritters are more fun, crispy-edged, soft-center dough balls served with berry coulis for dipping.
Owner Aldo Zaninotto patrols the dining room with a watchful eye, and he's filled the reverse side of the RW menu with a short list of matching wine bottles at extremely reasonable prices.
pvettel@tribune.com
I, and other Tribune writers, will be filing restaurant reports every day during restaurant week, so please check back and read about every place we've be so far here. The ninth annual Chicago Restaurant Week runs through Feb. 4. For a list of participants, menus and online reservations, visit www.eatitupchicago.com
