Quartino opened in Chicago on State Street in 2005, promising an authentic neighborhood restaurant, wine bar and pizzeria in a slightly upscale yet casual environment. In the summer of 2023, a second location opened at The Grandscape in The Colony. If big bowls of rich pasta and bread is your love language, you'll be smitten.

For a starter (called “wine bar plates”) try the white bean garlic dip prepared with cannellini beans, garlic and olive oil and came with several pieces of hearty toasted sourdough for dipping.

Other options include veal meatball sliders, polenta fries and fried calamari, the latter of which the party seated behind us proclaimed the best in Dallas.

There are also several varieties of cured meat and a salumeria-tasting plate that includes two salumi and two cheese choices as well as an assortment of olives. We wanted to try the duck prosciutto but, alas, it was not available that day.

Quartino offers both made-in-house pasta as well as an imported variety. All are meant to be shared (each table has an ample supply of plates to use throughout the meal), and all affordably priced. But what we really love is that you can ask for half-orders of all of them, so we were able to sample two different house-made pastas: The tagliatelle alla Bolognese and the pappardelle al sugo di manzo. Both were wonderfully fresh and cooked al dente as well as being perfectly portioned for sharing. The pappardelle especially was extremely good, the wide pasta ribbons covered in a braised beef sauce that was rich and complex.

For dessert, try the torta al cioccolato, a take on a chocolate lava cake: a still-warm chocolate creation served in a ramekin topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a rich, warm chocolate sauce.