The Other Critics

The Salatino’s Showdown: Bruno vs. Tamarkin

Inside Salatino's
Inside Salatino’s Photo: courtesy of Facebook

Two reviews are out on Salatino’s, and they couldn’t be more different. Scott Harris’s project in Little Italy revived the menu from Gennaro’s, an old-school Italian joint that closed two years ago. It even features the same chef. So here’s what we want to know: Which side are you on?

• Pat Bruno has something of a preference for old-world Italian restaurants, and he notes that Gennaro’s, “was my place.” So it’s no real surprise that he falls for Salatino’s, which features many of the same menu items. The baked clams have that “special flavor that only someone versed in the way of this appetizer can manage to coax out of a simple bivalve,” while the cheese-filled ravioli are “plump pillows of pleasure slathered with that fragrant ‘red gravy.’” [Sun-Times]

• David Tamarkin seems to have had almost the exact opposite experience. He “liked” the story of Gennaro’s, but can’t help but wonder: “How was the food?” Almost every dish he tried fell short. The pasta was “impossible to enjoy,” as it had the “texture of Twizzlers, and most of them are stuck together in a giant ball of pasta twine.” The braciole had “perhaps been simmered too long” as the meat was “tough and stringy.” Even the pork chops, which were covered in “golden crusts,” were not “not very juicy.” [TOC]

The Salatino’s Showdown: Bruno vs. Tamarkin