We were suggested this restaurant by our concierge at the Hyatt. It is at 1924 S State Street, Chicago IL 60616 in a blue collar part of town. It is small, quant, and rustic; and the smells from inside attack you immediately before you even open the door. This is exactly the little Italian style restaurant you want to eat at in the big city. The rest of the neighborhood does not seem to be striving as well as Cafe Bionda.
We walked in and were greeted by a friendly hostess very promptly. At a glance you can see the place is a full house. We are quoted a 20 minute wait time for a table, and as hungry as we are, we decide to wait for a table. The food smells intoxicating and must be worth the wait. Besides, 20 minutes is not a long wait for a table at any good restaurant. So my friends and I pull up to the bar for some drinks while we wait. The bartender is a transplant from Lithuania and told me a plane brought her here. Funny. Almost immediately, I spy a locally brewed beer in the fridge surrounded by the usual suspects of beers.
Goose Island Chicago 312 is a local legendary beer. It is described as an Urban Wheat beer and is kind of a sweet hybrid of a lager and a hefeweizen. It is light on the pallet and smooth. I like it.
Then the hostess came to tell us our table was ready, but it had only been 10 minutes. That's a bonus.
They seat us in the small dining area with eight tables. I'm told there is a back room with more tables and there are four more in the bar. I'm not kidding when I say this place is small.
With in 2 minutes our waiter, Manny, greets our table and offers to explain the nights specials while the busser sets down bread and marinara. The marinara here is delicious. Come for that alone. Yes it's that good. So, they are out of the lasagna tonight. It must be good. Then, Wes's friends show up to join us, so we ask if we can expand our table. As a service industry professional I know that this is a pain in the butt request, but they don't even bat an eye at it and as luck would have it the table next to us is about to leave. So we order some fried zucchini and baked clams for an appetizer whole they throw our tables together. Big props to Manny and the hostesses! Manny is the man.
The baked clams melt in your mouth. They are creamy and fantastic. I definitely recommend them. The fried zucchini are good and come with more marinara and a sweet chipotle sauce for dipping.
It's hard to tell from my picture, but this is a NY Strip Steak cooked perfectly medium rare with tons of pepper and garlic crusting; and some thick cut jalapeños. I'm not gonna lie! This is a massive steak that blows away a lot of steak houses steaks I've had. It's big thick and juicy with a generous helping of spice and it's swimming in it's own juices. This is a mighty meal. I may have died and gone to beef heaven. Oh yes, it comes with some potato wedges that are nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside; but worthy of being ignored for this monstrous steak. We all tried each others food and everyone at the table enjoyed every dish, but not one of us could finished our plates. Just a bit of potato on my plate but enough. The food here is amazing and I would move to Chicago just to eat here on a weekly basis. Yes, we are all too full for dessert, but I did ask and the Tiramisu is the only in house made dessert and promises to be fantastic. Somebody come eat dessert here and tell me about it. I'm spent. I highly recommend this place. The food is sick, the restaurant is chill, and staff is excellent. 5 stars! Thanks again, Manny! Thank you, Cafe Bionda, for a great evening and for hooking up this little food critic with complimentary coffees for the table. Thank you manager, Maria.
If you come to Chicago then you absolutely must eat at:
Cafe Biona
1924 S State Street
Chicago IL 60616
Www.cafebionda.com
312-326-9800
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Location:S State St,Chicago,United States
