CheekyChicago

I have a confession to make. I had to go eat a snack before I started writing this review because I knew that simply talking about the food at A Mano was going to make me very hungry. Now that the hummus and crackers have settled, I have another confession to make. I am embarrassed to admit, being the foodie-obsessive I consider myself to be, that it wasn’t just recently that I finally embarked to the sublevel of Dearborn Avenue and into the gorgeous, Italian culinary mecca that is A Mano.

I don’t even know how to describe the interior of A Mano other than to simply to say that it feels magical. It’s a sprawling space (with a magnificent open kitchen, a stunning bar and an adorable gelato stand) that simultaneously feels genuinely Italian yet entirely hip and chic. In terms of beauty and design, I believe it could be one of the most underrated locales in the city.

Let’s just say that any restaurant displaying a mouth-watering antipasti table has me at hello. Beautifully prepared Italian meats, cheeses, crostinis, salads and, if you are lucky, oysters and other such seafood make up for this generous, pre-meal tasting station. (Note to the downtown lunch crowd: for $12 a person, this could be one of the best bangs for your buck in River North.) But why stop there when A Mano has a kitchen chock full of super-talents, waiting to make you Italian classics with the utmost flair and flavor? Take their trademark pizzas for example: the Wild Mushroom pizza could just stop at, well, wild mushrooms. But A Mano takes the decadent liberty of adding on caramelized onions, taleggio cheese, hazelnuts and truffle oil to complete it. There isn’t a finer pie this side of the river. Moving onto their appetizers, the A Mano Fennel Sausage is truly a must-have, with creamy white polenta, fontina cheese and salsa verde, served alongside piping hot, highly seasoned and perfectly cooked Italian sausage.

I’m sometimes hard-pressed to find a place in the downtown area that makes its own homemade pasta, let alone great homemade pasta. But A Mano proves once again that they are not only pros at consistency, but masters of authenticity. The Gargenelli (a delicate, thinner penne) is made with boar ragu, raisins and pine-nuts – officially the most outstanding dish I had out of my two trips here. But don’t neglect the Linguini, with a rich, white wine saffron broth and a generous portion of mussels, clams and shrimp. And especially don’t neglect dessert. A Mano’s got some of the best cannollis in town. And they know it. (They give you a plate of about ten of them, just to make sure you know it too.)

Now that my hummus and crackers have digested – or not (let’s just face it: I’m hungry now regardless), perhaps I could just stop by to say hi to the super friendly staff? Drink a glass of that amazing Barbera D’Asti red? And maybe, just maybe¸ find myself accidentally entangled with a Proscuitto de Parma pizza? My final confession: I couldn’t think of a more perfetto situation.