Bread basket & Spiaggia Olive Oil
Baby arugula with toasted pear chips, Alto Adige I.G.P speck, goat cheese & balsamic vinaigrette
Hand crafted butternut squash filled pasta with amaretti, Parmigiano Reggiano, brown butter & sage
Pistachio, Espresso, & Chocolate gelato
Last month Olivia and I got together for lunch during Restaurant Week at Cafe Spiaggia. Restaurant Week is is a great opportunity to try out high-end restaurants without spending a ton of money. In Chicago more than 130 restaurants participated and offered a 3-course prix-fixe menu for $22 at lunch and $32 for dinner. Now, $22 isn’t something I could afford for lunch very often, but to try a resataurant I’d never be able to afford otherwise, it was fun.
Cafe Spiaggio is the less formal, more affordable version of Spaiggia, but it’s still pretty much out of most people’s range. I liked the food that we had, but honestly, I don’t know if I’d ever pay full price there. For what we got, it seems like there are more affordable Italian places around town. Still, I was glad to try it and see what people talk about when they talk about Spiaggia. People… like… you know.. the Obamas. They went to Spiaggia a couple years ago for Valentines Day and spent $700 on an eight-course meal, including wine and dessert. So, yeh… $22 for lunch at the cafe is not bad.
It was good to see Olivia again. It had been a long, long time! We need to get on it this year.. or at least get some good lunches in before wedding season is in full swing (she’s a wedding photographer). Last year Olivia and I lunched at Topolobampo during Restaurant Week.
