April 2006 | Conscious Dining

At Terragusto, Local and Seasonal Is Also Reasonable

By Janine MacLachlan

Some of us have been waiting a while for Chef Theo Gilbert to open his own restaurant. During a stint at a corporate-owned place, synonymous with “streamlined” ordering, which means that all ingredients come from a central warehouse rather than a local farm, Gilbert introduced the idea that local ingredients could enhance the experience for patrons through better quality and only a little more effort. Then he sold his handmade pasta via special order and at the Green City Market, using local eggs and other ingredients like spinach for fettucine and squash for ravioli.

And now, Gilbert finally serves up his vision in the form of Terragusto Italian Café and Market in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood. He demonstrates again that local, seasonal and organic food is not only for the white tablecloths in town.

Walk in and you know you’re in for a hand-crafted experience. The pasta-making station is right at the front door, so if you time your visit right you can see staff making ravioli or one of the various cuts of noodles on the menu. Terragusto establishes a warm, neighborhood feel, with sage green walls, exposed brick and a big counter for all the market ingredients.

Farm Groupie Ingredients

Chef Gilbert is a farm groupie’s dream when it comes to sourcing ingredients. Terragusto is a veritable outpost of Chicago’s Green City Market, the independent farmers market in Lincoln Park that screens growers with an eye on sustainable production practices.

I tend to fall into a deep depression at the end of every market season, so my heart soared to see Gilbert showcasing the few products available year-round, such as Herbally Yours vinegar and River Valley mushrooms. Both are available for purchase, as well as Terragusto’s homemade sauces. And we can score the same farm eggs that Gilbert uses for his pasta, the all-natural free-range eggs from Country Cottage Farm and Osage Acres, both located in Illinois. Savvy diners will snag a dozen on their way out — there’s a season to eggs because chickens lay fewer in the cold weather months, perhaps their version of hibernation when not manipulated as they are in poultry factories. Gilbert boasts that the bright orange yolks come from younger chickens, and we’re lucky to have a consistent source of eggs for cooking at home.

The Menu and Meal

For the dinner menu, starters and salads run $6 to $10, with some of the best chicken noodle soup I’ve had. It’s billed as “straw and hay” soup with two colors of pasta — egg and Swiss chard — swimming in the broth. And don’t miss the roasted red pepper filled with robust, garlicky bagne cauda. Or the bitter greens with warm chevre, a mix of spinach, arugula and radicchio with walnut-crusted goat cheese from Judy Schad’s Capriole farm in southern Indiana, all topped with a rich roasted garlic-balsamic dressing. Keep fingers crossed that Gilbert will repeat a favorite special: chubby scallops with a chickpea tomato broth and rosemary- infused olive oil. Actually, with a big bowl of the sauce and a spoon, and I’d have gone home happy, no more tasting required.

Of course, the handmade pasta is the centerpiece here. Pasta ($12 - $15) comes in all widths, from narrower tagliatelle to wide lasagne, with a daily ravioli special. And this Italian-focused menu is a vegetarian’s dream, with mostly meatless sauces, such as Swiss chard tagliatelle with roasted veggies and fresh herbs, or the maltagliate, a wider noodle with a rich exotic mushroom sauce and lasagna made simply with ricotta, tomatoes and mozzarella. The balance of pasta to sauce is perfect, they come with a nice sheen but the sauce doesn’t overwhelm the dish. All the pasta can be augmented with a “side” of something more, grass-fed skirt steak ($13), Prairie Grove pork chop ($11), a River Valley portobello mushroom ($7), half a roasted chicken ($8) and, in-season, a Wild Alaskan King salmon ($12).

Conscious diners should beware of most salmon, particularly the inexpensive sort found in a lot of supermarkets, since cheap salmon is a big polluter and often gets the pink from food coloring. But Alaska is considered one of the best managed fishery systems in the world, and I’ll order anything from Alaska with confidence, without grilling the server on the restaurant’s procurement practices. Since we’re in the off-season, Gilbert sources beef from Nebraska and chicken from Pennsylvania.

All About the Eggs

For breakfast, the menu is build around the farm eggs, with frittata, French toast and crepes carrying the day. Choose between savory fillings, like mushrooms, fennel and sweet peppers, or sweet like apples, house-made caramel, honey and nuts. For my money, make sure someone at the table orders hot oatmeal or cold muesli topped with Traders Point Creamery yogurt, or pick up a bottle on your way out. This pourable organic yogurt comes in ultra-yum flavors like raspberry and banana mango, but I like the plain poured over my own homemade yogurt, with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. And try the berries macerated in honey, also a dessert for other meals.

For lunch, the menu typically offers two panini and two pastas, on one occasion a ravioli with mushrooms and fettucine with spinach and gorgonzola sauce. Choose a soup or salad to start (included with pasta), and you feel like you’ve had an early dinner.

The Final Word

Like Logan Square’s Lula Café, Terragusto validates that a restaurant can spotlight quality food, and bring it in at a price point that doesn’t break the bank. The focus on sustainably produced, local ingredients represents a way of eating that is delicious in more ways than one. And Terragusto is BYO, making the already-reasonable tab even more so. It’s a smart move. I heard that within a month of opening, locals were eating there several times a week.

Terragusto, 1851 W. Addison St., Chicago, 773-248-2777. Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch; and 5 to 9:30 p.m. for dinner. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Janine MacLachlan is a freelance writer, cooking school owner and farm groupie whose search for well-raised food is a passion.