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Sabatino's, how I miss you

Sabatino's, how I miss you
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  • Sabatino's, how I miss you

    Post #1 - June 16th, 2022, 5:11 pm
    Post #1 - June 16th, 2022, 5:11 pm Post #1 - June 16th, 2022, 5:11 pm
    Hi, everyone. Long time no type. Mrs. JiLS and I moved away from Chicago in 2018 and have been enjoying our lives in Central New York, where we are happy and Italian-American food prevails.

    When we lived in Chicago, we were quite possibly Sabatino's best customers. We sort of lived there, had dinner sometimes four or five times in a week. Twice, they gave us Christmas presents.

    Anyway, Sabatino's went away shortly after we did (we hit them for one final meal in August 2018).

    We were so pleased when we heard about Avvio, which would have all the Sabatino's recipes we missed, cooked by the chef who had cooked them for us back at Kenneth and Irving. But ... when we made our way to Avvio on a visit to Chicago, the experience was disappointing to say the least. No liquor license, just a big sparsely decorated room, no bar, no ambience, all kind of stale boring and "meh." The fact that the food was exactly the same as Sabatino's actually somehow made the experience worse. It certainly was no substitute for the overall dining experience of Sabatino's.

    So, that off my chest ... What currently available spot in Chicago might possibly meet our Sabatino's expectations or create new ones for us? We have been and will continue to be regular visitors to our long-term former home city, and would love somehow to replicate or at least come close to matching our sentimental old favorite, while acknowledging that perhaps you truly can't go home again.
    JiLS
  • Post #2 - June 16th, 2022, 5:51 pm
    Post #2 - June 16th, 2022, 5:51 pm Post #2 - June 16th, 2022, 5:51 pm
    Nice to hear from you, JiLS.

    There's no perfect simulacrum. For the cave-y windowlessness I sometimes get bursts of nostalgia at Tom's Steakhouse in Melrose Park, The Golden Steer in Forest Park, or even The Italian Village. For the particular food aromas, maybe Tufano's or Hugo's. For some of the specific salty tastes, Freddy's in Cicero, from which I regularly recreate the bresaola appetizer (with their driest capicola, the house one, haven't seen any dried beef in a while) or pastas. All places on your radar I'm sure. Gaetano's (which came back with a wonderful provisions shop) is also fork-done at this point.

    Oddly in another cuisine Casa de Samuel scratched the same itch but I haven't tried again it since The Plague began.
  • Post #3 - June 16th, 2022, 7:44 pm
    Post #3 - June 16th, 2022, 7:44 pm Post #3 - June 16th, 2022, 7:44 pm
    Yay, Jim! Glad to know you're doing well.

    This seems to be a tough, ever-dissolving category these days. Hardly matches but maybe analogs would be Bruna's or Tufano's?

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #4 - June 16th, 2022, 9:02 pm
    Post #4 - June 16th, 2022, 9:02 pm Post #4 - June 16th, 2022, 9:02 pm
    Some restaurants are not replaceable. We were huge Sabatino’s fans too and celebrated numerous occasions there.

    Agree with Ronnie that Bruno’s might be the next best thing, but it lacks the showmanship factor.

    Should you find yourself in Madison, WI, definitely check out Porta Bella. Been there since 1968 and the closest vibe (and menu) to Sabatino’s I’ve experienced.

    https://portabellapaisans.restauranteng ... n-2022.pdf
  • Post #5 - June 16th, 2022, 9:43 pm
    Post #5 - June 16th, 2022, 9:43 pm Post #5 - June 16th, 2022, 9:43 pm
    No piano in the bar, but Mirabella comes to mind. Old school vibe, solid food.
  • Post #6 - June 21st, 2022, 11:58 am
    Post #6 - June 21st, 2022, 11:58 am Post #6 - June 21st, 2022, 11:58 am
    Both Sabatino's and Mirabella for me @ least were never better than good. Never great.
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #7 - July 13th, 2022, 2:52 pm
    Post #7 - July 13th, 2022, 2:52 pm Post #7 - July 13th, 2022, 2:52 pm
    Thanks, all, for your kind and thoughtful replies. You can't go home again, and we knew that when we left Chicago four years ago. We enjoy an abundance of decent to very good Italian-American dining options in our new home of New York State, and can be content with that and our memories.
    JiLS
  • Post #8 - July 13th, 2022, 4:54 pm
    Post #8 - July 13th, 2022, 4:54 pm Post #8 - July 13th, 2022, 4:54 pm
    Quite the question--what restaurant is in the same sphere of Sabatino's?

    Ki-i-i-ind of in the same realm, Gene & Georgetti's would suffice I think. More big city than neighborhood, but quality at least to Sabatino's standards. Haven't been in at least 5 years, however.

    But my favorite--Jim, if you took people from out-of-town to Sabatino's, then I feel the same way about Bruna's Ristorante on Oakley, thus would be a more-than-fair substitute. To me, quintessential old-school Italian. Have depended on Luciano & his family for 40+ years, and through all that time the top dishes--penne puttanesca & linguine/white clam sauce have amazingly stayed pretty much the same and continue to be my gold standard.
  • Post #9 - July 14th, 2022, 7:09 am
    Post #9 - July 14th, 2022, 7:09 am Post #9 - July 14th, 2022, 7:09 am
    Bruna's is a good call.
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #10 - July 14th, 2022, 10:13 am
    Post #10 - July 14th, 2022, 10:13 am Post #10 - July 14th, 2022, 10:13 am
    In a prior life, we celebrated a lot of special and not so special occasions at Il Vicinato —I always enjoyed it but haven’t been in 25+ years. Anyone been in the past decade or so?
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #11 - July 14th, 2022, 2:53 pm
    Post #11 - July 14th, 2022, 2:53 pm Post #11 - July 14th, 2022, 2:53 pm
    boudreaulicious wrote:In a prior life, we celebrated

    Living in Russia? :)
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #12 - July 14th, 2022, 7:42 pm
    Post #12 - July 14th, 2022, 7:42 pm Post #12 - July 14th, 2022, 7:42 pm
    Jazzfood wrote:Bruna's is a good call.

    Dined at Bruna's in March for the first time since before Covid, and then again this afternoon. We were one of three parties in there--I think the lockdown & aftermath really put a hurting on these Oakley Ave. restaurants.

    Ordered my staples: mussels marinara, stracciatella (Italian egg drop) soup, linguine with white clam sauce, penne alla puttanesca. All great, just as remembered.

    Please give some of these joints your business. It's extremely tough economically for restaurateurs, and one of these days places like this...<poof>...they'll be gone. Then you'll have to live with Biaggi's & Olive Garden.
  • Post #13 - July 14th, 2022, 9:30 pm
    Post #13 - July 14th, 2022, 9:30 pm Post #13 - July 14th, 2022, 9:30 pm
    G Wiv wrote:
    boudreaulicious wrote:In a prior life, we celebrated

    Living in Russia? :)


    It wasn’t that dire ;)
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #14 - July 21st, 2022, 9:20 pm
    Post #14 - July 21st, 2022, 9:20 pm Post #14 - July 21st, 2022, 9:20 pm
    JimInLoganSquare wrote:We were so pleased when we heard about Avvio, which would have all the Sabatino's recipes we missed, cooked by the chef who had cooked them for us back at Kenneth and Irving. But ... when we made our way to Avvio on a visit to Chicago, the experience was disappointing to say the least. No liquor license, just a big sparsely decorated room, no bar, no ambience, all kind of stale boring and "meh." The fact that the food was exactly the same as Sabatino's actually somehow made the experience worse. It certainly was no substitute for the overall dining experience of Sabatino's.
    I can see if it is just the two of you how you might feel this way. We had a dinner a couple months ago at Avvio with 4 couples. We could have cared less about the ambience as the food lived up to the bar we all expected. They now have a liquor license.

    We continued the evening across the street at the Hock Shop bar. With that comment I guess it's clear now I really don't care ambience :-)
    I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.
  • Post #15 - July 29th, 2022, 5:23 pm
    Post #15 - July 29th, 2022, 5:23 pm Post #15 - July 29th, 2022, 5:23 pm
    Thanks for that update. Looking at Avvio's website, I see they dropped BYOB in May 2022, but they don't show their wine list on the website. In general terms, how good was the wine list compared to that of Sabatino's, if you recall (which was compact but well thought-out, in my opinion)?
    JiLS
  • Post #16 - August 3rd, 2022, 12:08 pm
    Post #16 - August 3rd, 2022, 12:08 pm Post #16 - August 3rd, 2022, 12:08 pm
    JimInLoganSquare wrote:Thanks for that update. Looking at Avvio's website, I see they dropped BYOB in May 2022, but they don't show their wine list on the website. In general terms, how good was the wine list compared to that of Sabatino's, if you recall (which was compact but well thought-out, in my opinion)?
    Sorry JimInLoganSquare, I can't compare as we brought our own wine.
    I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

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