From New York to Chicago: Identità

This October is important for us at Identità Golose. On top of the fifth edition in New York, from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th, there’s also the debut in Chicago, from Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16th, inside Eataly, on the banks of Lake Michigan just like in the centre of Manhattan, thanks to the always bright and firm relationship with Oscar and Nicola Farinetti, Lidia and Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali, Dino Borri and the Sapere brothers, always with the goal of seeing the Good Italy in which we believe grow in America, besides in Italy and around the world. Everywhere, that is, because why should someone give up or not acknowledge quality?

Chicago: it is an important stop arriving in what the Americans also call the Second City, after New York, of course, even though it is the third, in terms of inhabitants, because there’s also Los Angeles. The City of Angels, however, is somewhere else entirely, on the Pacific coast of the United States, instead of the Atlantic one of the Big Apple and the Great Lakes that dominate over Chicago. So here, close to Canada, Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s sequins run. Chicago is the second city that in fact feels it is the best, just like with every nation: Milan and Rome, Lyon and Paris, Munich and Berlin, Manchester and London, Saint Petersburg and Moscow…

Identità Chicago will debut with a gala dinner that has Ugo Alciati, Davide Oldani, Alex Piras and Katia Delogu as its protagonists, and Lidia Bastianich as godmother, whereas on Wednesday wine will be the protagonist, in collaboration with the Merano Wine Festival, and on Thursday Alciati will get on stage with Tony Mantuano, and Oldani with Lee Wolen. Some more blocks. Indeed, when thinking about our work it is fascinating to venture to the Northern neighbourhoods in Chicago, to Jonathan Goldsmith’s pizzeria, called Spacca Napoli, and hearing “Identità? I know it, last June at Gennaro Esposito’s”. He’s Italian-American, a once a social educator with an artist-wife, who was struck by a pizza Margherita in 2004 and later on by Franco Pepe - the first season at 1769 West of Sunnyside Avenue was in 2006.

Alciati, Piras and Delogu also appear in the programme of dinners at New York. During the first one, on Friday 10th, Ugo signed the entree together with Denny Imbroisi, a young Italian in Paris, a Pumpkin gnocco that preceded Davide Scabin and Vitantonio Lombardo’s first course, Mezzi paccheri Felicetti with sea beans and chanterelle mushrooms, followed by a double interpretation of pork Carlo Cracco (Glazed capocollo) and Fortunato Nicotra (Braised cheeks with beer) and the 100% Campanian dessert by Rosanna Marziale, a spherical Mozzarella Cake.

On Saturday, there were new protagonists on the last floor of Eataly New York: the entree was by Massimo Bottura and Lorenzo Cogo, Bellavista salmon by the chef from Modena, together with the horseradish cocktail by the chef from Vicenza. The first course was prepared by the Alciati-Pilas pair: Agnolotti del plin with potatoes and ricotta with rabbit meat sauce. After Bottura’s salmon, another traditional dish even with the main course. Luciano Monosilio and Mark Ladner indeed re-interpreted Beef with tomato sauce and I thank them because at last I tasted some that was full of taste until the end. As for the cake, once again there’s Denny Imbroisi: Grana Padano ice cream, extra virgin olive oil and black truffle crumble, a dish with which the chef won the first contest for baby-chefs promoted by Consorzio di Tutela del Grana Padano, last February at Identità Milano. On both nights the petit fours were by Delogu.