Via Carducci, Chicago

“Calabria is one of the world's most peaceful and beautiful places,” muses Via Carducci owner Giovanni Scalzo about his childhood home in Italy. Not only does he carry the memory and spirit of Calabria with him, he shares it with Chicagoans at his Lincoln Park and Wicker Park locations. At the Lincoln Park location, Via Carducci, mouthwatering meals show off ingredients characteristic of rustic, southern Italian cuisine that earned the restaurant a nod in the Chicago Reader and an appearance on Check, Please!. The elegant yet cozy dining room's brick walls are accented by a hand-painted mural of Scalzo's childhood home in Calabria.

At the Wicker Park eatery, Via Carducci La Sorella, his chefs stuff bell peppers with seasoned rice and ground beef and toss linguini with jumbo shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, and garlic-wine sauce, entrancing diners and delighting their seafood merchants with their shopping lists. The menu also boasts a hefty wine list replete with reds and whites from nearly every region in Italy.