The Other Critics

Sula and Vettel Find Comfort in The Florentine

The Florentine
The Florentine Photo: Huge Galdones/Galdones Photography

Mike Sula is “grateful” that Todd Stein and “company are able to continue working their magic with pasta” at The Florentine, even if the new room is “a less surprising, less playful environment for them to do it in.” Though a few of the pastas were “terribly oversalted,” most were “texturally and technically flawless.” He especially liked the “opulent duck egg carbonara.” Unfortunately the pastas “put competent but not terribly memorable second courses at a disadvantage.” Still, there is “enough to recommend it to fans of Cibo Matto in the early days, when Stein and his sous chef, Russell Kook…were putting out some of the most exciting Italian food around in a lively, interesting space.” [Chicago Reader]

Phil Vettel thinks that “more conservative” The Florentine, may not become the “magnet for the flashily dressed set that Cibo Matto,” but, “in many cases, it’s the same food.” He still loves the “sweetbreads piccata,” and the “bucatini carbonara,” which is “crowned with a raw duck egg.” The space features “oversized tables, spaced luxuriously far apart,” which Vettel hopes, “will never be out of favor.” [Trib]

Sula and Vettel Find Comfort in The Florentine