San Diego gets a little Windy

San Diego and Chicago are similar in that they are both places in America. Oh, and we had some corruption here that one time. Bonding our cities over something even steamier than strip club regulations: Davanti Enoteca.

Taking its name from one of Chicagoan owner Scott Harris' haunts, Davanti's a spanking-new Little Italy eatery with a dining room presided over by chandeliers reaped from a local mansion, and a back patio shadowed by a faux olive tree (if someone extends you a branch, expect a tank in your front yard soon). The oversized one-sheet menu covers craft cheeses and cured meats, antipasti like the soon-to-be-famous Truffle Egg Toast with fontina & asparagus, pasta numbers (linguine w/ crab & sea urchin!), and hearty belly-fillers including oven-roasted Wagyu tri-tip with grilled oyster mushrooms, salsa verde, and roasted radish, who got that way from partying with The Roots. Because you need it to, the ample, centrally positioned bar rocks a 60+ bottle Champagne/wine list running from NZ's Twin Islands Sauvignon Blanc to a host of CA labels such as Sonoma's Fogdog Pinot and Napa's Robert Sinskey “Vandal” Cab, which, along with Visigoth Cab, is leading an assault on the cellar's Roman options.

The modest brew selection counts locals like Tower 10 IPA, while the seven house cocktails include The Purple Pig Bacon Mary, with fresh horseradish, a slice of bacon, and bacon-flavored vodka -- giving you both Windy City cholesterol levels, and a high likelihood of some poor woman telling you "No touching!"