Ciao, Italia (xTwo)

With the announcement of the Rancic's in-the-works partnership with the Melman's underway, the downtown Italian dining scene just keeps getting better. As if a Mama DePandi presence wasn't enough reason to head to River North, two Chicago favorites might be able to change your mind:

Piccolo Sogno Due
Ask any food-loving Chicagoan what their favorite 312 restaurants are, and 9 times out of 10, Piccolo Sogno will come up. With a patio that is to die for, it’s a go-to spot for lunch’ing, fine dining and wining. Onto the good news: a second PS location (Piccolo Sogno Due) is opening in February, this one with an emphasis on the seafood of Italy. Both menus will keep their crowd-pleaser wood-fire pizzas on the menu, and will undoubtedly boast a vast, something-for-everyone wine list.

Panza
Delve’s love for the Scott Harris/Luigi Negroni team is not a secret. We could go on for days about Little Italy’s Davanti Enoteca (as we sort of already did here) – the wine list, the décor, the excessive use of truffle oil - we're happy to go on the record saying this is a Delve favorite. And now we hear that a new Davanti (called Panza) is opening on the corner of State and Hubbard, causing us to rethink our upcoming party planning locations. With the name meaning “belly” in Italian, the 150-seat spot will focus on sharable pastas. Exact opening is TBD, but you can rest assured that we’ll be pacing up and down State in anticipation.


*Pictured: Davanti Enoteca (via Chicago Mag)