Totally Cheesy
Pizza and Espresso from a Spiaggia Chef

Black Friday on Michigan Avenue. Crowds. Sales. Brutality over American Girl dolls. By next Tuesday, however, things will be like a Roman spring: Spiaggia’s chef will be orchestrating the opening of his Italian respite off the Mag Mile. It’s called Bar Toma. Here’s the lowdown.

The espresso bar.
Swing in before work, then lean in on the marble counter and sip espresso from ceramic cups designed by Pedro Almodóvar for Illy. So, yes, Penélope Cruz stars on them, too.

The mozzarella bar.
It only has four seats, so scope them out early to experience mozzarella in its smoked, stuffed and/or basil-y glory. The best bet: whole burrata, a softball-sized, leek-wrapped ball of creamy cheese, served with golden crostini. Perhaps the best leek-wrapped gift you’ll eat this year.

The pizza bar.
A marble bar looks into a blazing Tuscan pizza furnace, shipped to Chicago brick by brick—all in service of your spicy meatball pizza or one of the 15 other pies available. After that, wade into small plates of grilled chicken skewers, calamari or sliced-to-order prosciutto—imported from Iowa.

The bar bar.
It’s late. Holiday shopping went into overtime. And now, to show your appreciation for their unprecedented help, you need a place to treat the entire perfume counter staff at Macy’s to a round of red wine on tap, some Italian beer and Illy Corretto, made with housemade espresso liqueur and gelato.

Anything to show you care.