Tomato Time on Menus
This time of year is ripe with tomatoes. Across Chicago, the fresh fruits are making their way onto menus in ways sweet, savory, and drinkable. Here are some top picks for tomato creations.
From peaches to sweet corn, the menu at Charlatan covers all the bases in terms of seasonal essentials. Tomatoes are no exception, given due diligence in dishes like a new farro tagliatelle strewn with salt cod, heirloom tomatoes, sweet Vermouth, ricotta, and micro basil.
Potable tomatoes can be much more than Bloody Marys as evidenced by the latest crop of cocktails at Oak + Char. The River North restaurant unveiled a new drink list complete with a libation called the Jillian, which contains St. George Chili Vodka, smoked tomato-pineapple shrub, and Cava.
Tony Priolo is the tomato-whisperer. The chef of Piccolo Sogno and Piccolo Sogno Due maximizes the season in a big way at both restaurants, utilizing a plethora of tomato varieties throughout his menus. At Piccolo Sogno, dishes include a panzanella heaped with mixed heirloom tomatoes, gnocchi mixed with oven-dried tomatoes, and grilled salmon with roasted tomatoes, asparagus, artichokes, lemon, thyme, and white wine. Over at Piccolo Sogno Due, meanwhile, the seafood-oriented restaurant peddles wood-roasted prawns with calamari, octopus, clams, mussels, and tomatoes; tubular pasta with shrimp, zucchini, green onions, tomatoes, brandy, and shellfish broth; and Sicilian shrimp with mussels, ocean fish, tomato, saffron stew, and pickled fennel.
Tomatoes are a fixture at Formento’s new antipasti bar. A unique chef-driven interpretation of a lunchtime salad bar, the weekday option is vivid, seasonally driven, and refreshing, brimming with items like roasted heirloom carrots and green bean salad with blistered cherry tomatoes.
Roma tomatoes lend luster to a new menu option at The Meatloaf Bakery’s Chicago French Market location. Now available in sandwich form, meatloaf dishes include the Mother Loaf sandwich topped with lettuce and Roma tomatoes on a pretzel roll.
The tomato salad at Intro is a far cry from your standard tomato salad. Under the helm of new chef-in-residence Aaron Martinez, one of the dishes on Intro’s current menu is a tomato and summer melon salad made with cured ham, seaweed, and flowering coriander.
Heirloom tomatoes are all over the menu at Davanti Enoteca. From the salad section, where heirloom tomatoes adjoin Grana Padamo and eight-year balsamic, to the pastas and sides, they’re sweetening up the seasonal menus in all sorts of ways. For pasta, there’s a tagliatelle preparation made with marinated heirloom tomatoes, stracciatelle, and basil, while side dish options include heirloom tomatoes with cucumbers, red onion, and fried bread.
Charlatan
1329 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago
(312) 818-2073
Website
Oak + Char
217 W. Huron Street, Chicago
(312) 643-2427
Website
Piccolo Sogno
464 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
(312) 421-0077
Website
Piccolo Sogno Due
340 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 822-0077
Website
Formento’s
925 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 690-7295
Website
The Meatloaf Bakery
131 N. Clinton Street, Chicago
(312) 631-3658
Website
Intro
2300 N. Lincoln Park West, Chicago
(773) 868-0002
Website
Davanti Enoteca
1359 W. Taylor Street, Chicago
(312) 226-5550
Website
