The Other Critics

Everybody’s Crazy For Cibo Matto; Mod Pizza is Decent

Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto

• The vibe at Cibo Matto is good, says Pat Bruno, but the food is excellent: chef Todd Stein’s ability to extract maximum flavor from his ingredients is nothing short of magical. [Sun-Times]

• Mike Sula seems to agree: his take on Cibo Matto is that it could pass as a “more playful, easygoing younger sibling” to Italian standard-bearer Spiaggia. While the creamed spinach is only okay, the octopus drives Sula to rhapsody. [Reader, first item]

• Bruno likes — but definitely does not love — what’s on offer at Mod Pizza, where he balks at a “kitchen sink menu” bearing many non-pizza items. Still, he’s charmed by the Denny’s Grand Slam pizza (exactly what it sounds like), and finds the general excecution to be decent. [Sun-Times]

Terrace at Trump is attractive mostly for the views and the atmosphere, says Ann Spiselman, and while the burger is good and the cocktails refreshing, the sky-high prices aren’t justified — and the two-hour wait doesn’t help. [Reader, second item]

• Yet more praise for the uninhibited breakfast offerings at Jam, where Sula is taken in by both hangover-sating egg-and-pork preparations and more delicate lunch compositions, though there’s still the occasional misstep in the form of an overly sweet ketchup or a too-tweely plated dish. [Reader, third item]

Everybody’s Crazy For Cibo Matto; Mod Pizza is Decent