Mia Francesca

Chicago’s new trend in urban dining: amazing, authentic cuisine served in a bustling, modern atmosphere.

Who: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.

Mia Francesca Trattatoria is the flagship restaurant in a family of rustic Italian cuisine with a modern twist. The famously loud din and snaking queue out front is a sure sign of brilliant food.

When Chef Scott Harris opened the doors to Mia Francesca on North Clark Street in 1992, he created a trend in the Chicago restaurant scene that has become a benchmark for urban dining. Mia Francesca, touted an immediate success by the press and patrons alike, was one of the first restaurants to encourage the lively art of dining with a contemporary, casually sophisticated trattoria ambiance. Featuring simple, rustic cooking, friendly service and fair prices, Mia Francesca won accolades from Chicago Magazine as "Critics' Choice – Rookie of the Year."

The recipe for success? Generous portions of relatively sophisticated Italian food at reasonable prices. Carpaccio fills a platter here; tomato-sauced mussels are heaped in a bowl. The menu changes daily, but look for individual pizzas, risotto with wild mushrooms and ravioli with four-cheese and tomato sauces. Decent wines are served by the glass or bottle. Desserts, from Bittersweet bakery, often include the city's best chocolate sorbet.

The space, which was originally a candy store, was renovated in 1992 with painstaking attention devoted to preserving as many of the original fixtures as possible. Sleek lines are softened by warm woods; the well-lit dining rooms reflect the animation of the diners; striking black and white photographs of rural Italian life by Paul Elledge line the walls to create a comfortable, decidedly urban setting.

Waiting for a table at the beautiful antique bar is part of the charm of Mia Francesca. The plush upstairs dining room and lounge can be reserved for private events, as can the more intimate coachhouse tucked away behind the restaurant. The coachhouse is the perfect place to sit down with some friends and a bottle of wine while waiting for your table. In the summer, al fresco dining is also available on a charming cobblestone terrace.

A charming cobblestone terrace is available for dining al fresco in the summer but Mia Francesca’s rustic delights taste yummy all year round.

The dress code is casual but the food is top-notch so slip into a pair of your favorite jeans, add a cute blouse, jewels and a fabulous bag.

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