Published January 22, 2009
Tocco the Town
The Sexiest Pizza This Side of Milan
The '09 men's fall fashion previews just wrapped in Milan, and early buzz indicates that dark and sleek is
set to make a comeback. Consider yourself ahead of the curve...
Introducing
Tocco, opening tomorrow in Wicker Park. It delivers all the stiletto-honed, thin-pizza
instincts of the folks behind Follia (who in a previous life ran a modeling agency) from an address that,
amazingly, used to be a Mickey D's.
Clad in black mosaics, white porcelain and the occasional lipstick-pink pop of color, Tocco is
simultaneously stark and sensual—imagine
2001 as directed by Fellini. Lead your date to a
seat at the impossibly long 20-seat glass-top communal table—or better yet, the impossibly long
bar—and watch wiry pizzaiolos toil over your
Prosciutto e Funghi at dual wood-fired
furnaces, while a two-ton wine rack seemingly effervesces above like bubbles in prosecco.
Speaking of which, you'll find nickel-plated buckets of the stuff near the cushiony lounge—though
don't be surprised if she opts for a
Pear Champagne (pear cognac, a splash of Grand Marnier and
bubbly).
Come spring, the entire east wall will retract, allowing you to eat house-made pasta,
Coniglio
(rabbit with potatoes) and
Scottata con Arugula (pork with fresh arugula) alongside an outdoor
performance, which owners hope to host every so often.
But right now, you'd settle for just the sunshine. And the prosecco.
VITALS
Tocco
1266 N. Milwaukee Ave
(between Paulina and Ashland)
Wicker Park
Chicago , IL 60642
773-687-8895
website