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Once home to "speakeasies" and other prohibition era establishments, including Al Capone's headquarters, I had the pleasure of dining at Gioco in the South Loop, where all this excitement and mystery took place many years ago. Surrounded by two adjacent buildings from the 1890's Gioco is quaintly tucked in between and if you stand on the street long enough and close your eyes you can almost picture all the action around you, but then again, I watch too many movies and have a very wild imagination! (I was recalling the movie with Robert DeNiro where he whacks the guy with a baseball bat)...but I digress....
Nothing about Gioco says 1890 though, it's a very hip, rustic Italian eatery with a storefront for alfresco dining, weather permitting. I love the lights, reflecting orange and red, very warm and romantic. The Dirty Martini's were dirty and delicious and the smell of the place was of the wood fire grill and the garlic and olive oil were in the air. This place was named the Best New Restaurant and Bon Apetit's favorite new places in 2000. So, clearly, I'm a little late in promoting this as new, but there's no shortage of words to describe the delicious, and subtly romantic experience. Seated by the window in a private corner (and close to the door in case I needed my getaway car), we began our meal with the Carpaccio alla Harry's Bar with Arugula, Radicchio, and Parmigiano. The beef was so thin you could see through it, and it blended nicely on the plate with the other flavors. This was followed by another Dirty Martini, oh and the Entrees, Spaghetti con Polipo Speziato, which was pasta with tomato, and red chili braised octopus with fresh basil - another OMG moment. I don't usually venture into Octopus as my main course, but how could I resist? and thankfully, I didn't! My date, who thankfully, did not require me to exercise my "back up", had the Bucatini con Gambero, which was rock shrimp braised in tomato and garlic sauce with capers and Gaeta olives (truly, I had never heard of these before). Outstaaaaaanding is all I can say. It's really a very private place, and I'm always looking for that perfect "snuggle up to your date" restaurant to turn up the heat a bit (if that's your thing!). 