I am lucky that I get to get out at least once a month or so with my oldest and deerest friend. Sometimes we do it up really nice and other times we just want some of our old favorites that we absolutely love. Well, last week we finally had a chance to make it out to dinner for a belated birthday dinner for her and a chance to have our catch up session. I adore her and I love our time together and as we get older and we have husbands and kids and jobs, it just gets harder and harder to see each other. So, I am so glad when our schedules align and we get to do dinner.
We decided to do an old favorite of ours this time and I wanted to tell you about it because I love this place. We started going here when they first opened as it is right down the street from her house and next door to another favorite of ours with the same owners! So, I will mention both places in here to you as both are awesome and must go to’s, but I will really brag about the one we ate at.
We ate that evening at Sono Wood fired. Now, I have to say, I eat a lot of wood fired pizza at a lot of different places from the city to the burbs. It is one of my favorite things to go out for and enjoy and some are ehh, some are yum, and some are I have to have it. I really only have two, “I have to have it’s”… and this is my city “have to have it” for sure! My other is in the burbs at Fiamme, which I am sure I will take you with me to eventually, if not soon.
But this evening we went to Sono Wood fired and of course, it did not disappoint. Many times when we ladies go out, we just get a bunch of stuff and share it and this is totally a place to do that. Not only because we want too many things to enjoy by ourselves, but also because their portion sizes are perfect for sharing. We always need a long time to decide because we can never choose, we want it all… but we picked really well this time I think and it was a perfect, light, but filling meal. We started with the burrata appetizer. It comes with prosciutto, arugula, basil oil and crostini. The bread for the crostini they use is so yummy and cut nice and thick to hold up to the creamy cheese and prosciutto. We also love the lamb meatballs and the wood roasted Brussel sprouts. You cannot go wrong with any of them really, but this was the perfect start that night.
We then moved on to pretty much my favorite salad combination in the whole world. We shared the wood-roasted heirloom beet salad. I absolutely love beet and goat cheese salads and this version is on point. It is a must get when you come to Sono Wood Fired and we had to have it. It is so simple, yet so delicious. The tarragon vinaigrette and pickled red onions give it this amazing tang that is so lovely against the creamy goat cheese and the earthy beets. You will love it.
This was the hardest decision of the night, should we do a pasta and a pizza or just a pizza? You can’t come here and not get a pizza, but their pasta is also so yummy. We were already getting a little full, so we opted for just the pizza, but just note, you cannot go wrong with the pasta as well. Or if you want to keep it a really simple dinner or even just add another yummy bite on they have these awesome bruschetta’s on the menu. Also, what I think is so nice is if you come with a larger group or even just want to try more things, you can get the La Famiglia option of salads and try three or the bruschetta flight and try five! But this evening we stuck to the pizza and we made the right choice. It was the perfect amount to fill us, but not overly stuff us.
We chose the bufalina which is a rosse pizza, meaning that it has tomato sauce. Versus the bianche pizzas which are “white” pizzas or have no tomato sauce. By the way, the prosciutto, which is a bianche pizza is my all time favorite here. Yet, I really enjoyed the bufalina. I would have liked a touch more of the bufala mozzarella on the pizza itself, but it was very good. The crust was really thin and super crisp. The cheese was bubbly and hot and the tomato sauce was very, very light. It had nice flavor of oregano and roasted garlic as well. Overall, a very solid choice and a wonderful meal.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, we also love the other restaurant in this group which is Burger bar. Now if you want an incredible burger and I mean incredible, go to Burger bar Chicago in Lincoln Park. They have amazing burgers, awesome, unique sides like a “Mac bar” and such delicious milkshakes. Not to mention the beers, they have like over 100 beers at the bar. It is crazy. Both places have small menus, but do what they do very well. I know Sono Wood Fired also has brunch, so you will have to check that out too. I hope you enjoy these two little gems in the city as much as we do and I can’t wait to take you out with us the next time I get a mama night out!
