Sitting at a red leather booth at the rear of Labriola Chicago {535 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago; 312.955.3100}, Owner Rich Labriola orders two versions of a pasta with a lightly spiced vodka sauce. He describes his order to the chef—a dish he recently enjoyed while on a trip to New York.
When the steaming bowls arrive, he dives in with relish. But there’s hesitation; he pauses, wondering if something is not quite right, or at least not as he envisioned. As he eats, he tinkers with the ingredients in his head, thinking over flavors and taking mental notes. This is the classic Labriola method—a fine-tuning tactic his father taught him as a young boy working in the kitchen of the family’s carry-out pizzeria in the south suburbs of Chicago.
“That’s how I learned to make pizza the right way,” he recalls. “My father would always come over and rearrange the ingredients after I added them to the dough. It made me want to make it so well he wouldn’t touch it.”
It’s a tradition of perfection that continues today. “I think sometimes the kitchen just thinks I’m being critical,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s really important to me to make sure every dish is prepared exactly right.”
For Rich, a dish’s most basic elements make all the difference. His background as a breadmaker—a profession that utilizes as few as two ingredients—has taught him that the best things are often simple and require patience.
“There are no shortcuts to a good piece of bread,” he says. “It has to take time and it has to come together just right.”
The results of this perfectionist philosophy are easily seen when looking over the many features of Labriola Chicago. The restaurant’s dining room—framed in dark wood punctuated by glowing bottles of wine and liqueurs—creates an intimate and elegant atmosphere. A red velvet curtain separates the dining space from the bustling café, coffee bar, and doughnut shop. Outside, patrons cut the heat on the shaded patio with pitched cocktails and chilled glasses of rosé.
This diverse atmosphere is exactly what sets Labriola apart from the restaurant crowd; the concept caters to the whims of every diner by offering a myriad of experiences in one location. In this way, a patron could easily visit three times without once feeling like they are repeating an experience.
Breakfast starts at 7am in Labriola’s café, offering freshly brewed Intelligentsia coffee and an array of pastries, including doughnuts from Labriola-owned Stan’s Donuts. The café is happily self-contained, offering a quick-service model that allows guests to grab and go easily.
Lunch service can go three ways and features a wide range of options. Most popular on the café menu is the assortment of freshly made sandwiches on Labriola ciabatta—soft on the inside and crusty on the outside. But there is also a range of burgers, pastas, and Neapolitan pizzas to choose from—a perennial treat that diners can watch bubble in the stone deck pizza oven. Those looking for a quick lunch can order at the café and carry out, or take a seat at a table in the black and white-tiled dining room with views of the kitchen. Fittingly, the space is decorated with bottles of Italian apéritifs and sweet vermouth. A more expansive and upscale lunch menu starts in the La Stanza dining room at 11am, featuring a range of pastas, salads, and entrées like the lust-worthy Bistecca—grilled steak with hand-cut fries—and the hearty Eggplant Parmesan. Both make for an ideal indulgence between business to-dos.
Come dinner, La Stanza dives ever deeper into Italian cuisine. Diners can start with antipasti favorites like the classic Fried Calamari, as well as the chef’s daily selection of salumi, cheeses, and olives, before moving on to hearty menu options like the Pappardelle, Garganelli, and Lasagna, all made in house. Contorni—or sides—are royalty themselves, including creamy Mascarpone Polenta and Brussels Sprouts with pancetta.
“By dividing Labriola Chicago into distinct spaces, we’re trying to fit all the needs of our customers,” Rich explains. “With our location on Michigan Avenue, we get people visiting the city who want a really good sandwich, but want to get on with their day. At the same time, someone entertaining clients might want to sit in a booth and get a more traditional, service-oriented experience. But everything we do is of the highest quality, housemade, and fresh—regardless of what Labriola space you dine in.”
Want the full story, and more delicious menu items at Labriola? Pick up the print edition of our Summer 2016 issue, now on sale at local retailer’s including Walgreen’s. But move fast—our Fall 2016 issue is coming soon!
Story by Matthew Hendrickson
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