Piccolo Sogno Chicago....Review

I found out the hard way that getting dinner reservations in Chicago is not an easy feat. I tried for Girl & The Goat but there's a 3 month wait.  I attempted the Bedford but not a seat was to be had....the same with the Publican and so the story goes. When, at the last minute, I was able to secure us a table for 3 at Piccolo Sogno for 8:30pm on a Sunday I jumped on it.

I had read several good reviews about this place on ChowHound so I was pretty excited to get a reservation. I'll admit though I had second thoughts as the cab driver came to a stop in front of this West River establishment. Not much to look at from the outside...almost unnoticeable actually. But my fears where put to rest as we entered the main dining room.  The exposed brick walls and beautiful crown molding gave off a sort of rustic yet elegant feel.  They say the back patio is perfect for a romantic dinner but unfortunately I didn't make it out there.

Upon being seated we were immediately brought a small basket of bread; which included these amazing anise bread sticks. The flavor reminded me of the Italian bakeries from my youth. The ones that made cookies oozing with anise. But I'm digressing.

Back to our meal...we started with the house antipasto platter which was a chef selection of roasted veggies, hand sliced Proscuitto and pecorino cheese. Although it looked and tasted delicious I don't think this was the best option for splitting between three people. Variety was large but portions were small.

I'll admit that I had decided on my entree before we even left the hotel. I had glanced at the menu and noticed they had pasta with wild boar ragu...at that point nothing else really mattered. I'm a huge wild boar fan so when I see it on a menu it's pretty positive that's what I'll order.

Even though my boar was extra delicious I was barely able to put a dent into the large portion I received. My husband's milk braised pork shank was probably the biggest piece of pork I'd ever seen and it was so tender it fell right off the bone tender. It was accompanied by braised kale mixed with pancetta and perfectly mashed potatoes. Our dining companion ordered the salmon pasta special which he assured me was equally delicious.
 

 For dessert we shared the molten chocolate hazelnut cake served with hazelnut ice cream....though I thought it could have been slightly more creamier for a lava cake it was still extremely yummy.
 

 
All in all it was a great meal and I think we were all happy to have gotten such a wonderful last minute reservation in a city were reservations are very hard to come by.

Piccolo Sogno
464 North Halsted St # 1
Chicago, IL 60642-7687