Paula Haney and some of her chocolate cream pies Rob Warner

May 11, 2007

Hoosier Mama Pie Company
773-758-2076
hoosiermamapie.com

PAULA HANEY BEGAN jonesing for a pie -- good old-fashioned, homemade apple pie -- while working in the pastry kitchen at Trio under Grant Achatz, the wunderkind chef who now runs Alinea. Achatz was developing his style of whiz-bang molecular gastronomy, and although Haney loved her job -- she calls it both thrilling and terrifying -- it deepened her desire for something simple.

"I wanted to come home and have a good piece of pie," says Haney, who's 39. "And I couldn't find any."

She started developing recipes on her own, and in the fall of 2005, after a few years of serious baking and consumption, Haney and her husband, skilled apple peeler Craig Siegelin, founded Hoosier Mama Pie Company, baking at Kitchen Chicago, the shared-use kitchen in Ravenswood Manor. Painstakingly made -- the double-crust apple takes three hours -- a Hoosier Mama pie has the taste of something bygone, something you'd given up wanting. The pies, which cost between $18 and $21, are now sold at a half-dozen Chicago cafes and at the Green City Market (which starts up May 16); for varieties and locations, see hoosiermamapie.com. They're also available by bike messenger, secured inside a cart made in Indiana by the Amish.

Haney grew up in Indianapolis, where, when she was eight or nine, she started making pies for her father. His preference was "apple, and nothing fancy," but soon her creations got more elaborate. "I had to make the fanciest, most ridiculous thing I didn't know how to make" -- like a cake with caramelized sugar, she says. "I'm lucky I didn't burn the house down." After graduating from Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Haney took a job baking at a coffeehouse in Bloomington. "It was so much fun, and I just kept saying, 'All right, I'll look for a real job in a couple of months.' And that went on and on and on. And finally I was like, 'If I have to force myself to find a different job, I should really look into this."

In the mid-90s Haney moved to Chicago, where she was hired to work in the pastry department at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. The work was anonymous and monotonous. "I'd spend all day segmenting oranges or cutting the tops off of cakes," she says. "But it was great training, and they were willing to put up with me knowing nothing."

She learned fast: after a year or so she enrolled in the pastry program at Kendall College only to leave the school after landing the job at Trio. "I just got too busy," she says. Haney was Trio's pastry chef for six years. When chef Shawn McClain left to open Spring and was replaced by Achatz, she was the only employee who stayed on besides owner and front-of-the-house manager Henry Adinaya. "I said they kept me on because I was the only person who knew where anything was. But then they moved everything." Finally, after years of six-day work weeks -- "a 12-hour day was a luxury -- that was a short day," she says -- Haney left. She worked for a year or so at Pili Pili and less than a year at Trotter's to Go before launching Hoosier Mama. "Timewise I figured it couldn't be any worse," she says.

Like baseball, another iconic American activity, pie making has always lent itself to endless theorizing: a sizable percentage of cookbook pages in America are devoted to the intricacies of crust. Haney herself is adamant on the subject: "I really believe it has to be butter. I just hate shortening." Before she started Hoosier Mama, she ransacked old cookbooks for pie recipes. Many of them "assumed everyone knew how to make pie," she says. "They wouldn't even tell you how to make the filling. They'd just list the ingredients and say, 'Make the filling.' Or they'd list the ingredients and say, 'Make the dough.'"

But the old cookbooks still had the best recipes, she says. True to her roots, her first offering was a classic apple pie; she also makes pumpkin, maple-pecan, lemon chess, key lime, apple-quince, and chocolate, banana, and coconut cream pies, adjusting her menu seasonally. "When I was developing recipes, I was a little afraid: 'Is anyone going to recognize what pie is supposed to taste like? Am I going to have to make something that tastes like a Jell-O pudding pie?'" she says. "But luckily we weren't that far gone yet."

In fact, many of her customers pass on what their mother or grandmother used to bake. Her neighbor gave her a couple of his grandmother's old recipes for Christmas. "I get a lot of recipes," she says -- not that she necessarily needs them.

"I ran into a lady at Stanley's the other day -- I was buying a ton of rhubarb, the first rhubarb of the season." Rhubarb is Haney's favorite pie, although only strawberry-rhubarb sells. "And a lady walked up and asked if I was going to make pie, and I said yes, and she started telling me how to make it. At first I was kind of like" -- she makes a mock offended face. "But she doesn't know I'm obsessed with pie! What are the chances of that?" --Nicholas Day

For more on restaurants, see our blog the Food Chain.

Tout de Sweet

Some of the best desserts in town

Aigre Doux Restaurant and Bakery
230 W. Kinzie | 312-329-9400

$$$$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL | LUNCH: MONDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, MONDAY-THURSDAY TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: STICKY TOFFEE BREAD PUDDING

Mohammad Islam and Malika Ameen, the married couple in the kitchen at Aigre Doux, have celebrity chef pedigrees (the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Jean Georges, Balthazar, Craft), and the promise of their new restaurant earned it blurbs in glossy magazines months before it opened. Given the boldface print, it's gratifying and somewhat surprising to discover that the food isn't crying for attention: it's simple, elegant, and good, full stop. Islam's dinner menu offers graceful variations on New American ideas -- for example, rack of lamb with truffled grits and fennel, an artichoke soup with Nantucket Bay scallops, mussels with a coconut curry sauce and butternut squash that are almost ethereally light. And Ameen's desserts should not be skipped: sticky toffee bread pudding with candied kumquats and Devonshire cream ice cream is shameless, over-the-top, and irresistible. Tucked in behind the Merchandise Mart in the former Pili Pili space, Aigre Doux has a high-heeled, high-profile location. But it wants to be more of a neighborhood place: a drop-by bakery component offering sweets and lunch is scheduled to open this summer. Nicholas Day

Ambria
2300 N. Lincoln Park West | 773-472-5959

F 8.5 | S 8.3 | A 8.9 | $$$$$ (7 reports)
FRENCH | DINNER: MONDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY

BEST DESSERT: SOUFFLE

Perennially touted as one of Chicago's best, this warm, wood-paneled restaurant, open since 1980, is perfect for special occasions. Gabino Sotelino (with chef de cuisine Christian Eckmann) continues to flawlessly execute intriguing contemporary French selections. Starters might include oysters on the half shell and osetra caviar with traditional garnish. Dishes from sweetbreads to fish are available a la carte, but degustation menus are the best way to sample the chef's talents, particularly now that Ambria's closing has been announced. Through June 29 there's a six-course valedictory "Best of Ambria" degustation for $125; on June 30, the restaurant's final day, a special menu is planned. The outstanding wine list ranges from affordable to astronomical, and be sure to save room for dessert -- especially pastry chef Michel Briand's famous souffles. Whether Grand Marnier, chocolate, raspberry, lemon, or Frangelico, they're magically both creamy and fluffy, light and rich, and always heavenly. Laura Levy Shatkin

Baccala
1540 N. Milwaukee | 773-227-1400

$$
ITALIAN | DINNER: WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY-TUESDAY

BEST DESSERT: PANNA COTTA WITH ROASTED PEACHES

John Bubala's Italian awakening continues with this recasting of Thyme Cafe as Baccala, a Piedmont-influenced trattoria. Bubala is known for his rigorous sourcing of local ingredients, here manifested in a short menu of simple, deeply satisfying dishes prepared along northern Italian models. That means meats cooked low and slow, a liberal use of butter and a conservative use of olive oil, and more polenta and risotto than pasta. Pork predominates: whether shank, butt, or luscious belly, the high-fat cuts are fully flavored and luxuriantly tender. Same goes for the dino-size beef short ribs and a curveball -- lamb tongue in red wine sauce, its heavy richness brightened by grilled fennel, grain mustard, and dried tomatoes. Baccala, the restaurant's namesake puree of reconstituted salted cod and milk -- otherwise known as brandade -- comes with chunks of scallop and potato; squid is stuffed with sweet sausage in a rich mascarpone sauce. Pastas are represented by three stuffed varieties, including porcini tortellini in a broth dancing with tiny dice of lardo, a cured lard overlooked here but treasured in Italy. There's a small but well-chosen selection of some two dozen Italian reds and whites, plus four bubblies and ten Goose Island brews. And don't miss the dessert specials: a very simple, creamy, fresh panna cotta with roasted peaches was transcendent. Mike Sula

Bittersweet
1114 W. Belmont | 773-929-1100

$
AMERICAN, BAKERY, ICE CREAM | 7 AM-7 PM TUESDAY-FRIDAY, 8 AM-7 PM SATURDAY, 8 AM-6 PM SUNDAY | CLOSED MONDAY | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED

BEST DESSERT: CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

The delectable sweets of Judy Contino, former Ambria pastry chef and Lettuce Entertain You corporate pastry chef, are the attraction at this Lakeview bakery. Each day there's a light lunch menu -- a soup, a couple sandwiches, salads, and quiche. Dessert might be a rich butter-crusted apple bistro tart, but the absolute winner when it comes to pastry is the brioche, its buttery egg dough by far the best in town. Ice cream, made in-house year-round, is also outstanding: "In my gastrocosmology," writes Reader critic Nicholas Day of the chocolate, "this is the ice cream that immediately precedes the rapture." Laura Levy Shatkin

Bombon
1508 W. 18th | 312-733-7788

$
MEXICAN, BAKERY | 7 AM-8 PM MONDAY-SATURDAY, 10 AM-8 PM SUNDAY

BEST DESSERT: MACAROONS

This panaderia, co-owned by pastry chef Laura Cid-Perea and her husband, Luis Perea, is in a class of its own, creating magnificent special-occasion cakes (several models of which are on display) and mouthwatering, painstakingly detailed individual pastries. Mocachino is a pecan pie with layers of coffee cream and chocolate ganache; tres leches is a rum-soaked cake layered with several flavors of whipped cream; and the tartaleta de limon is a miniature key lime pie topped with marble-size dollops of browned meringue. There's also a heavenly apple tart with hazelnut cream and melt-in-your-mouth macaroons and polvorones de avellana (hazelnut cookies). A new Bombon Bakery has just opened at 3748 W. 26th (773-277-8777), bringing the total in the Bombon mini empire of bakeries and sandwich shops to six. Laura Levy Shatkin

The Depot
5840 W. Roosevelt | 773-261-8422

$
AMERICAN | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED

BEST DESSERT: RED VELVET CAKE

There's a nostalgic vibe at this new space occupying a longtime diner -- 52 years and counting -- in the far-west-side enclave called the Island. The menu offers egg creams -- the east-coast specialty made with milk, sugar, vanilla, and seltzer water -- and other homey standards like open-faced roast beef sandwiches and blue plate specials such as meat loaf or grilled pork chops with country gravy. The chicken noodle soup is obviously homemade, with fresh chunks of carrots and celery, and it's a real deal at "$2:17" (in a bit of gimmickry, all the prices are styled like arrival and departure times). The pot roast sandwich is mounted on a substantial bun custom-made by a local bakery and heaped with fried onions. It comes with coleslaw and gravy fries for $6.59. Lasagna had a ricotta filling so fluffy it was practically a light pasta dish; a club sandwich was stacked high with fresh roasted turkey and bacon. For dessert the crowd-pleaser is red velvet cake, a mild, not terribly sweet, deep red chocolate cake with cream-cheese frosting ($3.52). David Hammond

Erba
4520 N. Lincoln | 773-989-4200

$$$
ITALIAN | DINNER: SUNDAY, TUESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED MONDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED

BEST DESSERT: APPLE CROSTATA

Erba, the "urban Italian" restaurant from the owners of nearby Brioso, is sleek and dark, with the barest hints of decoration; the menu's equally spare. Choices include a variety of homemade pastas, among them "discombobulated lasagna," and larger plates like herb-crusted rib eye, roasted pork loin, and sea scallops served, according to the menu, with "expensive olive oil." On a recent visit my companion and I started with bruschetta topped with rapini, grape tomatoes, basil, and pecorino Romano; our other appetizer, prosciutto with asparagus, Parmesan, and white truffle oil, was delicious but seemed a rather paltry portion for $9. Our entrees -- pesto-and-goat-cheese gnocchi that oozed flavor and a fillet of wild-caught salmon served on a warm fennel-and-tangerine salad -- were gorgeous and packed with character. For dessert we had the one and only option: an exceptional chocolate-hazelnut cake so crunchy it seemed to be mostly nuts. On another occasion it was a rustic apple crostata recently featured on the cover of Chicago magazine -- and no wonder. The wine list is reasonably priced, with a wide range available by the glass. Chip Dudley

Fiddlehead Cafe
4600 N. Lincoln | 773-751-1500

F 6.9 | S 7.1 | A 6.0 | $$$ (7 reports)
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: CHEESE FLIGHT

Under chef Robert Levitt (Del Toro, North Pond) the kitchen at this casual, warm, wine-centric cafe offers a range of global appetizers and spiffed-up bistro standards like the signature three-way steak frites, served with russet, sweet potato, and polenta fries. A new spring menu has ushered in farm-grown seasonal ingredients such as green garlic, asparagus, and ramps; a recent special featured pan-roasted sablefish with organic baby carrots and pistachios. With a wine list of more than 350 bottles plus a couple dozen reds, whites, and bubblies available by the glass or in flights of three, it's hard to go wrong. But to get to a knockout like a 2004 cab-merlot-Syrah blend from Washington State's Hedges winery, you have to first figure out how to interpret the cutesy little icons that indicate traits like "dry," "complex," "berries," or "oaky." Still, to a person the staff at a recent visit was unflaggingly friendly, and a French cheese flight -- a nutty sheep's-milk Ossau-Iraty; a rich, creamy Edel de Cleron by Perrin Vermot; and a devastating co-op-produced bleu d'Auvergne -- really soared. Set flights of three are $9; you can choose your own from a selection of 20 to 25 cheeses for $10. Martha Bayne

First Slice Pie Cafe
4401 N. Ravenswood | 773-506-7380

$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL, BAKERY | 9:30 AM-7:30 PM MONDAY-THURSDAY, 9:30 AM-6 PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED | CASH ONLY

BEST DESSERT: LEMON BARS

Mary Ellen Diaz put in time as head chef at Printer's Row, as chef-owner of her own place, and as a corporate chef for the Lettuce Entertain You empire. But her dream had always been to work in a restaurant modeled on Jane Addams's community kitchens. In 2002 she launched First Slice, a nonprofit that makes hand-cooked meals for the homeless. To fund it Diaz originally used money from her subscription meal service; in 2005 she opened First Slice Pie Cafe in the Lillstreet Art Center to further increase the amount. In the tiny space -- there are just a few tables -- she offers slices of several truly scrumptious pies, from basic apple to red wine and poached pear, plus cakes, cookies, bars, and fair-trade coffee served in mugs made at the center. Savory offerings include simple, hearty dishes such as creamy tomato soup, turkey chili, black bean tamales with pepita salsa, a shredded duck sandwich on sourdough, and a grilled number with goat cheese, roasted vegetables, and poached pear that one Rater calls "the best sandwich I have had in recent memory." Susannah J. Felts

Graze
35 W. Ontario | 312-255-1234

$$$
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL, SMALL PLATES | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, OTHER NIGHTS TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: CHEESECAKE "RAVIOLI"

Heavily reliant on logs, oversize sunflowers, and lots of glossy, grassy tile, the design team behind River North's Graze appears to be going for some sort of sunny "preschool pastoral" theme, but the execution is half-baked: I can't even guess what the deal is with the square of Astroturf mounted on the bathroom wall. Under chef Bob Zrenner (X/O, Tournesol) the small plates menu (good for grazing -- get it?) covers a lot of promising if familiar ground, but of the six dishes tried only the ahi tuna "nachos" (tuna tartare on wonton crisps topped with yuzu and wasabi caviars) and two tasty, tiny crab cakes really delivered. Jordan Rappaport's elaborate desserts are more successful, the crispy cheesecake "ravioli" served with blueberry sauce and strawberry-cracked-pepper ice cream a particular standout. Or check out the pineapple spring roll, stuffed with banana cream, served with warm hazelnut cake, a vanilla-rum syrup, and kiwi puree, and dusted with sweet red pepper. Martha Bayne

The Handlebar
2311 W. North | 773-384-9546

F 8.4 | S 7.3 | A 7.8 | $ (26 reports)
GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC, VEGETARIAN/ HEALTHY | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 1:30, OTHER NIGHTS TILL 11:30 | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED

BEST DESSERT: PLANTAINS FOSTER

The food at this dimly lit cyclist hangout is cheap, satisfying, and vegetarian friendly: most entrees are under $10, the only meat option is fish, and while the chefs don't do anything flashy, they do a little bit of everything well. For appetizers the samosas with tamarind chutney are on par with any you'd find on Devon. The West African ground nut stew, a hearty mix of sweet potato, zucchini, and kale served over brown rice and garnished with peanuts and toasted coconut, is tailor-made for Chicago winters, as are the black beans maduro, served with mounds of fried plantain and a slow-burning chipotle-tomato sauce. They also do a bang-up job with comfort food: the short list of seitan and tofu sandwiches come with coleslaw and a variety of sides, including a respectable vegetarian version of southern collard greens and a totally addictive smoked Gouda mac 'n' cheese I'll crave on my deathbed. David Wilcox

Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen | 773-489-1747

F 8.6 | S 6.0 | A 8.0 | $$$ (9 reports)
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL | LUNCH: TUESDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SUNDAY, TUESDAY-SATURDAY; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | CLOSED MONDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, THURSDAY TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: MEYER LEMON BAKED ALASKA

Heretofore Mindy Segal has been best known for her stints as pastry chef at MK, MK North, March, Charlie Trotter's, and Spago, but at Hot Chocolate Segal serves a small, perpetually rotating dinner menu of seasonally inspired creations -- for example, pan-roasted sole with heirloom tomatoes, fennel, and preserved lemon or Gunthorp Farms chicken with polenta, sauteed mushrooms, and a chicken jus. Of course, Segal's credentials guarantee an impressive dessert list. Her confections often have spare names, but many of them are really multiple desserts in one. Take the Meyer lemon baked Alaska: lemon shortbread, frozen custard, and meringue served with ruby red grapefruit brulee, vanilla-bean-grapefruit sorbet, and blood orange syrup. There's hot chocolate as well, offered in four varieties along with "black and tans" (two-thirds hot chocolate, one-third hot fudge) and "half and halfs" (half espresso, half dark hot chocolate). Segal swears she wasn't thinking of cocoa when she named the place, but the decor is pure Hershey's -- even the occasional white accents in the warm brown room evoke lush marshmallows floating in a mug. Anne Ford

Jack's on Halsted
3201 N. Halsted | 773-244-9191

F 8.4 | S 7.6 | A 7.7 | $$$ (14 reports)
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL, GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SUNDAY BRUNCH | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11:30

BEST DESSERT: DOOR COUNTY CHERRY PIE

The decor at chef-owner Jack Jones's namesake place is looking a little dated these days, but the food is as unpretentious and appealing as ever. Appetizers might include crab cakes, tuna tartare, or butternut squash ravioli; entrees can range from seared coriander-crusted ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes to pan-seared scallops with mushroom-Parmesan polenta to a simple but perfectly prepared roast free-range chicken. Sit at the bar and you may wind up with more than a well-prepared dirty martini -- patrons have been known to offer their neighbors bites of the knockout Door County cherry pie a la mode. Note: Jack's is "taking a break from" its popular Sunday brunch after May 13. Laura Levy Shatkin

Kristoffer's Cafe & Bakery
1733 S. Halsted | 312-829-4150

$
BAKERY, MEXICAN, AMERICAN | 7:30 AM-9 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8 AM-7 PM SATURDAY & SUNDAY

BEST DESSERT: TRES LECHES CAKE

Lactose intolerants, consider yourselves warned. The tastiest dessert at this Pilsen cafe is the traditional tres leches cake, made with whole, condensed, and evaporated milk. Owners Carlos and Cristina Chavarria offer the classic vanilla rendition as well as a bouquet of about ten variations, all startlingly moist. Cristina does the baking, a craft she learned while apprenticing at her sister's small home-based bakery in Guanajuato, Mexico. The tres leches recipe is her sister's, but Cristina's favorite dessert, flan with cheese, is her own creation. Made with cream cheese, it has an almost fluffy texture, like flan-flavored cheesecake. Besides breakfast, desserts, and Intelligentsia coffee, the menu offers standard sandwiches and salads, plus a couple of ethnic dishes. Tamales come in two forms: Mayan (wrapped in wet green banana leaves and filled with potatoes and chicken) and Mexican (bundled in the usual corn husks and stuffed with jalapenos and cheese). Anne Ford

Latin Sandwich Cafe
4009 N. Elston | 773-478-0175

$
LATIN AMERICAN, CUBAN | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED | BYO

BEST DESSERT: PASTEL MIL HOJAS ("THOUSAND-LAYER CAKE")

Billed as the "House of Empanadas," the Latin Sandwich Cafe offers Puerto Rican and Mexican selections, but if you've got a hankering for Chilean chow, this is the place to go. Authentic Chilean empanadas are made here of pino, a savory blend of ground beef, raisins, chopped egg, and olives, all baked in a wheat-flour shell. Baking is big here, and rolls made fresh on the premises are used for the sandwiches, including the chacarero, a Chilean specialty featuring tender steak, tomato and, surprisingly, green beans. Humitas are Chile's version of tamales; "blind" (no filling, just sweet cornmeal), they benefit from a little salsa. The dish that captured my heart (and most of my stomach) was pastel de choclo, a baked bowl of masa with ground beef, onion, olives, egg, and a chicken leg: the cornmeal was caramelized and crisp around the edges, while in the center the casserole had the consistency of corn pudding. Pastel mil hojas, a cake of a "thousand layers" and caramely dulce de leche, is so good you forgive the hyperbole. Reservations are accepted Fridays and Saturdays only. David Hammond

Lula Cafe
2537 N. Kedzie | 773-489-9554

F 8.4 | S 7.1 | A 7.9 | $$ (42 reports)
GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER: SUNDAY, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY; SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | CLOSED TUESDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | RESERVATIONS NOT ACCEPTED

BEST DESSERT: CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING WITH BANANA-MALT ICE CREAM

At this point I've taken dozens of people to Lula Cafe, and I don't say this lightly: it may be the best neighborhood restaurant in Chicago. One side of the menu is dedicated to cheap, surprising, delicious entrees in the $6-$12 range, like the Moroccan tagine: warm cinnamony chickpea stew with chunks of sweet potato over couscous, with fresh greens strewn on top. The Tineka sandwich is -- of all things -- a spicy peanut butter sandwich with cukes and red onion and lots of other veggies, plus something they call "Indonesian sweet soy sauce." There's beet bruschetta, and peanut sesame noodles, and a great roast turkey sandwich. Appetizers include a shiitake-spinach quesadilla and vegetarian maki. Then there's a more expensive menu ($12-$24), as if the owners just thought, "What the hell, this'll be fun too." These items change constantly but have included a scallops appetizer that makes vegetarians very sad to be vegetarians, a roast leg of lamb with sherry-braised mission figs and cippolini onions, and an ocean trout served with brandade-stuffed peppers. I brought a friend who's a professional chef in New York, and he stuck around for hours to order nearly everything on the menu. And then we came back the next night. Ira Glass

Mulan
2017 S. Wells | 312-842-8282

$$$
JAPANESE, CHINESE, MEDITERRANEAN | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, MONDAY-THURSDAY TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: GREEN TEA CHEESECAKE

With a pedigree like Kee Chan's (he's the chef-owner of Heat), you'd expect Mulan, his Chinatown surf-and-turf "experience," to knock you out. But the kitchen at this clubby aerie hidden just beyond the east gate of the Chinatown mall still seems to be working out some puzzles. A lovingly constructed tuna sashimi appetizer was drowned in pureed avocado, and a corn soup with fried oyster croutons came with the cream separated from the corn; elk steaks with panko-breaded scallops in a sweet miso sauce were chewy but had no game. The chef is trying to make use of some of the unusual sea creatures commonly found in the neighborhood: dried deep-fried sea horses top the duck breast, and one night there was an abalone special, though I can't say the execution fulfilled the prized shellfish's potential (or the market price of $65). Still, whoever put together the coconut milk and lemongrass panna cotta with cherry sake "soup" or the green tea cheesecake with wasabi syrup and warmed bananas rolled in panko has a firm grip on Kee Chan's promise. Mike Sula

Old Fashioned Donuts
11248 S. Michigan | 773-995-7420

$
BAKERY, BREAKFAST, BURGERS | 6 AM-6 PM MONDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY | CASH ONLY

BEST DESSERT: APPLE FRITTER

This Roseland shop gives the magical Dat Donut a run for its dough, with artisanal classics sold in a less fortresslike atmosphere more amenable to the appreciation of fine fried cake. Here the bulletproof barriers are almost an afterthought -- you can reach over and shake hands with the baker, who will alert you to a new batch of fresh, shiny glazeds about to be unspooled in the display case. The blueberry is riddled with bright constellations of something that tastes suspiciously of real fruit. The doughnuts also come in pineapple and caramel frosted, buttermilk and honey wheat, coconut and toasted coconut, but the crown jewel is the apple fritter -- not a doughnut, per se, but a six-inch discus of crispy, chewy, soft, sweet, spicy, fruity synergy. These dunkers, lovingly hand cut in the window and "Fried in Pure Vegetable Oil," as the sign says, eclipse a perfunctory protein menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, and fried fish. Mike Sula

Oysy
50 E. Grand | 312-670-6750

$$
ASIAN, JAPANESE | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11:15

BEST DESSERT: MANGO ICE CREAM

As at the popular original location in the South Loop, the maki at the River North Oysy are artful -- tightly rolled and filled with fantastically fresh ingredients. The nigiri list changes daily and is reasonably priced -- $4-$8 gets you two pieces of fish. Cold dishes include a seaweed and cucumber salad, grilled eggplant, asparagus, a mushroom and spinach salad tossed in lemon dressing, and a tender chilled octopus salad dressed with lime juice. Lunchgoers get the best deal -- $12 bento boxes contain your choice of fish, teriyaki chicken, or steak plus tempura shrimp, Japanese salad (tossed baby greens and shredded carrots in a ginger vinaigrette), fried tofu cake, and slices of maki. The room is quiet and pretty, done up in shades of pistachio and tangerine, with exposed ductwork and giant cement beams that double as service stations. Laura Levy Shatkin

Pasticceria Natalina
5406 N. Clark | 773-989-0662

$
BAKERY, ITALIAN | 9 AM-7 PM WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY, 11 AM-6 PM SUNDAY

BEST DESSERTS: CANNOLI, CASSATINE, CUCCIDATTI, PIGNOLATE

Since opening their pastry shop Pasticceria Natalina on Valentine's Day, Natalie Zarzour and her husband, Nick, have labored to the point of exhaustion to introduce their customers to the culture of Sicilian dolci, where there are no shortcuts, the cannoli are filled to order, and it's appropriate to indulge in something sweet anytime but dessert. In addition to more common items like cannoli, Zarzour's been rolling out an exotic, ever changing selection: orange blossom or rosewater rice puddings; a boozy rum baba; zeppole, deep-fried fritters filled with custard and sour amarana cherries, traditionally served for Saint Joseph's Day; spicy iced fig cookies called cuccidatti; shell-shaped, ricotta-filled Neapolitan sfogliatelle; and delicate, savory fazzoletti ("little handkerchiefs"). You can also get exotica like cassatine, a miniature version of cassata, the elaborate glazed and fruit-bedecked Sicilian Easter cake. Choosing among the offerings can be agonizing, and they're expensive -- the pignolate (pistachio cookies) go for more than $20 a pound. But that's the price you pay for quality ingredients and painstaking, labor-intensive authentic recipes. Note: the bakery sometimes closes early, depending on supply. Mike Sula

Pizza D.O.C.
2251 W. Lawrence | 773-784-8777

F 7.6 | S 6.9 | A 6.6 | $$ (36 reports)
ITALIAN, PIZZA | LUNCH: SATURDAY-SUNDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS

BEST DESSERT: CROCCANTINO (FROZEN MASCARPONE ZABAGLIONE WITH WALNUT BRITTLE)

Cesare D'Ortenzi (La Bocca Della Verita) and Lucia Mazzocchetti named their restaurant after the stamp of approval given to Italian wine, cheese, and other culinary products of verifiably high quality, and they hold their own food to the same exacting standards. Pizza crusts are rolled thin with a dowel and topped with combinations of tomato, mozzarella, artichoke, porcini, and even ham and egg, then cooked in a wood-burning oven. For heartier appetites there's a variety of pasta dishes (the gnocchiti al formaggi incorporates mascarpone, Parmesan, and blue cheese), a porcini risotto, and specials that might include Cornish hen or osso buco alla Milanese. Tasteful black-and-white photos of Roman ruins hang on the walls, and a few large feathery plants soften things up. This place blows away the majority of Italian-American restaurants that call themselves authentic. Laura Levy Shatkin

Scylla
1952 N. Damen | 773-227-2995

F 9.3 | S 8.5 | A 8.2 | $$ (12 reports)
MEDITERRANEAN, EUROPEAN | DINNER: SUNDAY, TUESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED MONDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11

BEST DESSERT: FRIED LEMON VENETIAN CREAM

Stephanie Izard's Bucktown operation has been getting consistently glowing press since it opened two years ago with a creative, seafood-centric menu. But in the wake of a menu revamp that broadened the focus beyond fish -- and knocked the prices down a notch to boot -- Scylla is hands-down one of the best restaurants in Chicago. Izard, a vet of Spring and La Tache, plays with flavor and texture at a jaw-dropping level of sophistication and confidence. An appetizer of grilled baby octopus paired the sweetly chewy tentaclettes with crispy slivers of grilled prosciutto, shockingly green fava beans, and, because it's spring, spicy little ramps. My crew of four shared two appetizers (the second grilled calamari stuffed with rich wild boar sausage) and three entrees: gnocchi with clams in a heavenly poblano-truffle broth, seared diver scallops, and rare, tender slices of lamb sirloin served with a new-potato cake, spring onions, artichoke jus, strawberry compote, and a caper vinaigrette. Weird! Delish! Under pastry chef Jessica Oloroso desserts stun as well, like "fried cream" -- fried lemon Venetian cream breaded in brioche and pistachios and served over blueberry compote with creme fraiche. Martha Bayne

Sukhadia's Snacks & Sweets
2559 W. Devon | 773-338-5400

$
INDIAN/PAKISTANI | LUNCH, DINNER: SUNDAY, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED TUESDAY

BEST DESSERT: GULAB JAMUN

This tiny corner store, the first Chicago franchise of a family-run chain, is a feast for the eyes. Two huge display cases are filled with Indian sweets in all colors and shapes: orange ground-almond cookies, cashew flour and fig paste tubes, and deep-fried pink rounds of chickpea flour. Homemade cheese balls come soaked in sweet syrup (ras gulla) or swimming in creamy milk and garnished with saffron and pistachios (ras malai). Beyond these cases is a counter where Indian fast food is served -- lilva kachori (deep-fried rounds of green peas and chiles), khaman (square cakes of savory chickpea flour colored bright yellow), and patra (taro leaves rolled with ground chickpeas and pungent spices). Dishes are served with poori (deep-fried wheat bread) and two tasty sauces: a spicy cilantro-jalapeno one with ginger and mint, and one of sweet-and-sour tamarind. A variety of crunchy, salty mixes of spiced nuts, sesame sticks, and other snacks are available by the pound. Ask for the laminated card with pictures and descriptions if you find the selection overwhelming. Laura Levy Shatkin

Tru
676 N. Saint Clair | 312-202-0001

F 8.4 | S 9.0 | A 9.2 | $$$$$ (7 reports)

BEST DESSERT: LATE-NIGHT THREE-COURSE TASTING MENU

The cheapest way to eat at Tru, the Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand temple, is to skip dinner and just show up for dessert. Tru offers a few late-night reservations, subject to availability, for their three-course dessert tasting menu, which runs $25 -- a steal considering that a single dessert on the regular menu is $15. In any case, there's no question it would be foolhardy to have dinner at Tru and then order the dessert tasting (I recommend an early-evening salad and a preparatory nap). There's a round of "fruit and custard" desserts, followed by a chocolate round: that's a total of eight different desserts for the four of us at the table, and although there were a few misses -- the chocolate-port semifreddo was inexplicable -- things like the gianduja napoleon with layers of frozen caramel mousse and hazelnut nougatine were breathtaking. To top it off out came a dollhouse-size float of house-made root beer and Kahlua ice cream, and then -- just to be polite -- the staff brought by, first, a tray of truffles and a jar of madeleines, then an entire cart of candies and miniature pastries (nougat, lollipops, truffles, macaroons, gelees). At 1 AM I walked out dizzy with sugar and luxury, convinced I'd never want dessert again and grateful that Northwestern University Hospital was across the street, just in case. Nicholas Day

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