Finally, Bucktown has a bona fide neighborhood restaurant to call its own, and an exceptional one at that. Chef Danny Grant (of luxe steakhouse Maple & Ash, Etta’s sister spot) arrived in the neighborhood bearing all manner of carbohydrate comforts: blistered-crust pizzas strewn with smoky pepperoni and conserved tomatoes, tufts of focaccia meant to be slathered with ricotta, tangled tendrils of bucatini in a meaty ragu — all satisfying enough to make you scout nearby real estate listings before you’ve even paid your check.
1. The Leather Weather cocktail combines vodka, pomegranate, rum, and tonka bean. 2. The whole branzino is roasted in the kitchen’s wood-fired oven. 3. A chef mans the hearth. 4. Pepperoni pizza gets its well-worn char from, you guessed it, the oven’s open flames. 5. Sleepless in Siena blends rum, vermouth, and blood orange. 6. Housemade bubbly flatbread accompanies the spicy meatballs. 7. The chopped salad features smoked salmon, stracciatella cheese, everything-bagel seasoning, and green goddess dressing.
