Piccolo Sogno

Outdoor Patio Seating

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

We went to dinner at Piccolo Sogno in Chicago.  We had heard about it on Check Please almost 2 years ago and we wanted to make sure we went there in the summer to take advantage of the beautiful patio space. We made a reservation a month ago and were surprised that it took that long to make a reservation for a weeknight, but then we realized than just a couple of days before we made the reservation that it had been briefly mentioned on Chicago's Best - the power of tv.

We heard this is one of the best places for al fresco dining in the city.  So when we made these reservations about a month ago who knew it would be the hottest day of that week at 100 degrees.  We figured since the patio is mostly shaded by umbrellas and trees we could make it.  A lot of other people also were eating outside.  It was very warm but we made it through.  But about 15 degrees cooler would have been just perfect. The interior space actually looked to be much smaller than the patio so they must get most of their business in the summer.  You truly do feel like you are in an outdoor oasis in the city.

Burrata con Culatello

Every table gets bread with Piccolo Sogno's own olive oil and balsamic vinegar - the vinegar is sweet and has an amazing taste. You can purchase it to go in bottles.

What we ordered:

Insalata di Barbabietole

Insalata di Barbabietole - mixed beets, shaved fennel, imported buffalo ricotta, local greens, citrus oil.  Once again we are continuing our new tradition of beet salads.  It was refreshing.  The cheese with beets was good.  Overall it was nice and cool on such a hot summer day.

Pappardelle con polpettine

Burrata con Culatello - Pugliese, hand-stuffed mozzarella and artisan style prosciutto - creamy fresh cow's milk mozzarella, stuffed with cream, very different than any cheese we've ever had.  Once again, nice and chilled and refreshing on a hot summer day.

We ordered appetizer sizes (smaller versions) of each of the pastas so we could sample more.  All of them were great and we would have enjoyed the larger versions of each.

Stracci di Farro

Stracci di Farro- farro flour pasta triangles, asparagus, mushrooms, garlic, truffle oil.  The truffle oil with asparagus gave it a garden fresh feel.  It was surprisingly light for a pasta dish.  The triangle shapes were neat and held the sauce well.

Paglia e Fieno con Vitello - "Stray and Hay" green and white ribbon noodles with veal ragu - veal ragu sauce very flavorful, like a light bolognese sauc.  It was very colorul with the green and white pasta and red meat sauce.  It was Natalie's favorite pasta of the three.

Pappardelle con polpettine - wide pasta, spicy lamb meatballs with pine nuts, golden raisins and a ragu of eggplant, roast peppers and green onions.  This was Nick's favorite pasta of the three.  The eggplant and peppers grounded this dish and allowed the flavor of the pasta to come through.  Everything complemented each other.  We enjoyed the lamb meatballs but the dish would have been great without them as well.

Paglia e Fieno con Vitello

Tortino di Gianduja - Chocolate and Hazelnut cake with hazelnut Gelato. Decadently sweet with hazelnut flavors.  It was surprisingly molten on the inside, almost like eating a melted candy bar.  We had to hurry and eat the gelato before it melted on such a hot day.

Mille Foglie - Thousand Layers of crispy pastry dough, layered with vanilla custard and chocolate chips.  This was a great summer dessert.  It wasn't too heavy with the light pastries and custard and sweet whipped cream.  It was very different than any other dessert we have ever had.

Final Thoughts on Piccolo Sogno:

Tortino di Gianduja

Food - none of the pastas were super heavy. We were a bit apprehensive to order the pastas on such a hot day dining al fresco but none were too heavy to make us feel overfull.  All of the food was great and we would order any of it again.
Service - very good, for the price of the meal it should be that good

Mille Foglie

Atmosphere - see above comments on the outdoor patio.  Even though it was very hot outside, everyone on the patio was enjoying themselves.  We actually chose to sit outside on the hot day since we heard the patio was the place to be. It is a beautiful garden scape.   It would be wonderful to recreate that look in a backyard. A comment we continued to hear around us was that it doesn't feel like we are in the middle of Chicago, especially a busier intersection.

Trees and Ivy in Outdoor area

Outdoor Patio Seating