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Sampling the Small Plates at Anteprima

Lindsey Howald Patton
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Published: July 31, 2013 Last Updated: August 1, 2019
20130717-260332-anteprima-small-plates-marinated-olives.jpg

Photographs: Lindsey Howald Patton

Anteprima, a rustic Italian establishment in the heart of Andersonville has one of the better small plates menus I've seen. I found the starters fairly priced for one of the North Side's well-known restaurants—a good number of them are only $4 each. There's something to go with whatever you're having from the wine list. And these artistically plated bites are served alongside a basket of fresh focaccia and twiggy grissini, so even if that buttery fried egg or bowl of fresh olives doesn't do it for you, you still don't leave hungry.

I ordered five, which came out whenever they were ready, tapas-style.

First up were the marinated olives with garlic, orange and chilis ($4), visibly flecked with chili but not noticeably spicy. They did have the most intriguing flavor and aroma of bitter orange peel, and that's what made them stand out, particularly as a complement to a citrusy white wine or generously hopped pale ale.

20130717-260332-anteprima-small-plates-grilled-lamb-meatballs.jpg

Next came the grilled lamb meatballs with baby spinach and lemon yogurt ($9). I have never eaten meatballs grilled before, but the charred crust on the outside of these babies shows you what it can do. I liked the almost sausage-like flavor, but they were a tad dry on the inside. This would have been helped by a thicker and heartier dipping or drizzling sauce; as it was, the runny yogurt wilted into the meatballs without adding much in the way of flavor or moisture.

20130717-260332-anteprima-small-plates-green-cauliflower-caponata.jpg

The green cauliflower caponata with Sicilian relish, pinenuts, capers and olives ($4) was the most difficult to photograph in any sort of appealing way. I finally gave up pushing the cold, tomato-y, homogenously colored pile around on the plate and ate it. Despite not being much of a looker, it was actually among my favorite plates of the evening. It was a tad sweet, briney with the chewy capers and olives, crunchy from the blanched cauliflower, and strung with sautéed onions. I love a wide spectrum of texture in one bite, and this did it for me.

20130717-260332-anteprima-small-plates-farm-egg-cauliflower-puree-whole.jpg

The farm egg with cauliflower puree, spicy vinaigrette and crispy prosciutto ($9) was a creamy, rich take on bacon and eggs. The sunny-side-up egg was fried until the edges were about as crisp as the salty bits of melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto littering the top, and it lay in a shallow pool of the most fascinating, buttery cream made by blitzing the heck out of cooked cauliflower. The puree didn't have a lot of punch in terms of flavor, but ran silkily into the yolk and the pair made a sauce that practically begged to be sprinkled with salt and swabbed up with focaccia. The vinaigrette could have been spicier, but that could just be me; still, I'd order it again.

20130717-260332-anteprima-small-plates-grilled-polenta.jpg

The grilled polenta with slow cooked market greens, spring onions and tomatoes ($8) arrived last, perched on a pile of once-tough greens that had been braised into soft submission in a simple tomato broth. The chewy crust on the polenta square's exterior gave way to a silky inside, which was seasoned in a friendly way that gave neither the corn, nor the butter, nor the herbs, nor the broth supreme prominence. It's a humble dish, as polenta ought to be.

Anteprima

5316 N Clark St Chicago, IL 60640 (map)
773-506-9990
anteprimachicago.net

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Lindsey Howald Patton Contributor
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Lindsey Howald Patton contributes features to Serious Eats, and is an architecture, history, and arts writer at large. Practically everything she knows and loves about food culture comes from her grandmothers and world travels.

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