DiSotto Enoteca: A Possibly Perfect Wine Bar
By Melissa Wiley in Food on Apr 13, 2012 6:00PM
If this elegant little wine bar were perched in some splashy, mercilessly trendy spot on Damen Ave. in Wicker Park instead of adjacent to the subterranean bathrooms on Francesca’s on Chestnut, there would be no end to the public clamor for its wares. Which would be a shame, because DiSotto Enoteca was perfectly designed for hushed tête-à-têtes and a sense of stolen pleasure. As it is, this Streeterville wine cellar is an unspoiled hideaway, where the antipasti are satisfying enough to make for a light meal in themselves and the servers all double as affable, unpretentious sommeliers.
Despite the fact that this is a wine bar, you should be barred from entering if you’re not intending to order the truffle egg toast with fontina and asparagus. In fact, it’s making it on our last meal list right now—there, done! Some things are just that easy. Our server, incidentally, told us that the thick, spongy toast forming the base of this succulent dish was nothing more than the Italian version of Wonder Bread. Needless to say, this made us more than a little wistful for the quotidian Italian life, what with all those endless olive groves and diurnal naps. The spongy Wonder Bread is just the superfluous cherry on top.
The bruschete make up the bulk of the available repast along with a plush selection of formaggi and salumi. We opted for the pear, taleggio, and toasted pistachio bruschete and a ricotta and honeycomb spread with toast. A dessert menu also appeared on our tastefully backlit radar, but we (perhaps foolishly) declined, feeling fully sated in the dolce department once the honey was generously outlaid.
Yes, in hindsight our petite meal was a little toast heavy, but its myriad toppings were all so alluringly ambrosial that we didn’t even notice the toast motif until we starting writing our consumption down. Suffice it to say our two glasses of Rioja didn’t do anything to sharpen our critical faculties. But who needs those anyway? Isn’t happiness really the thing? The folks at DiSotto Enoteca seem to think so, doing their darnedest to lull any and all patrons into a state of dreamy tranquility fit for a Tuscan siesta. We personally couldn’t condone their methods more.
DiSotto Enoteca is located at 200 E. Chestnut Street.