Bar Umbriago River North's new Italian wine bar

Not all song titles are fit to be restaurant names ("I'm hungry, anyone want to go to Meat Plow?"), but Bar Umbriago, a 160-seat enoteca named for a '50s Jimmy Durante tune, is doing OK. With Edison bulbs hanging over their solid-wood bar, Italianate touches include floor-to-ceiling wine cabinets, and tiles reclaimed from century-old Italian churches, which thankfully don't come with disapproving looks about what you and your girlfriend will be doing after dinner (psst... it's sex!).

Speaking of dinner, the chef's worked at some heavy-hitting Italian spots (Spiaggia, Osteria di Tramonto) and picked up the skills to plate up crispy pork "calamari" with Calabrian aioli, caper 'n olive-studded short rib tartare, and crostini w/ toppers like ricotta/tomato jam/pistachio, and black truffle & whipped lardo, which you shouldn't mock, 'cause it's hard for fat guys to keep girlfriends. From there, sup on pastas including veal agnolotti w/ morels, and goat cheese gnocchi w/ smoked pancetta, or secondi from braised rabbit over polenta rossa to a bone-marrow-raviolini-kicked cap steak, the most popular cut of beef amongst high school jocks.

The wide-ranging wine list sports more than 150 bottles, while cocktails count the gin, maraschino & lemon Cherry Pop, a move you and your girlfriend will undoubtedly be unable to pull off after dinner.