Chicago 2008: La Madia

I stumbled upon La Madia with my brother and his wife a few weeks back, and was shocked to learn that this inexpensive, high-quality Italian in River North had been open for some time. Hidden (well, not really) at 59 West Grand, this stylish spot tries (successfully) to make pizza elegant and wine accessible as represented in the motto "Art of Pizza. Love of Wine."

The space has a nice, modern decor, and is well laid out in partitioned rooms for that 'always crowded' feel. Sharp, varied light fixtures impress and the open kitchen makes the restaurant feel personable despite the modern flair.

The waitstaff was helpful and very excited about the menu, making good recommendations on appetizers, pizzas and entrees. However, the assistance on the wine list was not as useful ("all our wines are good").

That said, the wine list has a wide variety of very good bottles, with price points ranging from a $19 Spanish Temparnillo to a handful of big Italians (Ornelleia '04, Tignanello '95/'97) and some top shelf Americans (Quintessa, Dominus). I was impressed by the range and also the accessibility across diners' wallets, particularly the specials by the glass.

We tried the Avignonesi, Nobile di Montepulciano '05 based on our server's recommendation (but that was really to drink something off the list). It was decent, a little lighter than expected, with some tartness, but a good bottle to pair with the appetizers.

We started with a special appetizer of the day, a taleggio-stuffed fig wrapped in prosciutto with frisee. It was nice and looked decadent on the plate, but the balsamic sauce was a little on the salty side (and this is a big thing for me to say, as faithful readers know - I prefer the taste of salt to most all else).

This was followed by the recommended (and excellent) heirloom beet salad (yellow and red), with arugula, salted almonds and gorgonzola dulce. A really tremendous set of ingredients and preparation, with a nice dressing - thin shaved beets, great flavor across the dish. We paired this with an heirloom tomato (red and green) caprese; the bufala mozzarella was solid but I could do without the addition of roasted peppers. It had a strong basil flavor with very tasty (and peppery) green tomatoes accenting the more traditional heirlooms.

At this point, I would point out that these appetizers were too much along with the bread for the three of us - the portions of both salads were immense, and we were just getting to the good stuff.

At its core La Madia is a fancy pizzeria. We ordered three types: taleggio with roasted vin santo grapes; 'Triple pepperoni' with truffle oil (a strangely excellent mix of flavors balanced by fresh basil); and a housemade fennel sausage with mozzarella.

All of the pizzas had superb flavors and toppings. While the crust was a little, well, crusty for my tastes (not as salty/soft as I prefer), my dining companions thought it was just about perfect.


I complement the chef on his selection of such unorthodox combinations of toppings, cheeses and spices - the flavors explode in your mouth and are really unique and tasty.

Check it out, try some new wines - but save room for the pizza, no matter how tempting the appetizers all look!