Dinotto Ristorante

215 W. North Ave.
Old Town
Italian
312.202.0302

I have walked by this restaurant hundreds of times yet have never tried it until now. The place is smaller than I expected, but they do have a nice outdoor patio on the side with the wonderful North Ave. sidewalk view. Dinotto is cozy and cute, which is nice for the location. For the appetizer I tried the grilled calamari which was wonderful! It was grilled perfectly and was topped by tomatoes, basil and olive oil. I would highly recommend it! Unfortunately I made a poor choice in the entree selection: I ordered the goat cheese ravioli in a pesto sauce. First, the goat cheese was way too strong--normally i can handle subtle amounts but I guess you have to be a goat cheese lover to appreciate this dish. Second, the pesto made the whole entree really salty and oily. Fortunately, my dining companion ordered a tasty dish, the shrimp crispy risotto, so I kept on eating off his plate. For dessert I ordered the tartufo. Now, every time I go to an Italian restaurant that has tartufo I have to try it! This, by far, is the best one I have ordered in Chicago so far...(note: nothing can compare with what drew me to tartufo in the first place: Figlio's in Minneapolis' tartufo, pre-2000; of course, they had to change it and now it will never be the same!) I would definitely give Dinotto one more try...choose a different entree, and of course, get the tartufo again!