Singled Out: Arancini

Lighter-than-air hand-shaped spheres can be found at Fianco.

By our count, there are at least a zillion Italian restaurants in Chicago, but only a handful dare to make arancini—deep-fried rice balls. Maybe because they usually turn out like oversize lead pellets that take up permanent residence in the pit of your stomach. Not so the lighter-than-air hand-shaped spheres at Fianco. When you break into these panko-breaded, risotto-stuffed globes, the puffy/creamy vialone nano rice oozes fontina cheese. The garlicky, grassy bed of rapini pesto could make tomato sauce obsolete, and the crown of Parmesan shreds rounds out the already perfect orbs. 3440 N. Southport Ave.; 773-327-6400.

Photograph: Nathan Kirkman

This article appears in the September 2009 issue of Chicago Magazine.

Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to Chicago Magazine »

 

 E-Mail  Print