Let’s Eat! One of America’s Finest Italian Restaurants is in Illinois

I love lists like these because they do a few different things for me.

First, they reveal a restaurant that I may have never been to or have forgotten about.

It also gives me a chance to bark about my Illinois roots. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I think we've got some of the best food in the world in the Land of Lincoln.

That said, I could start to feel the sweat build up as I ran through this list from Tasting Table, The 20 Best Italian Restaurants in the US.

Scrolling through the list and seeing delicious restaurant after delicious restaurant, I started to think a place in Illinois wasn't going to get highlighted.

I see spots in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City and Miami.

Finally, second from the bottom a restaurant in Illinois.

It's called Monteverde, and Tasting Table likes this joint:

The dining room blends industrial elements with sophisticated decor, yet there's one detail that most diners will notice before anything else: the fresh pasta drying on the pasta station. That's because Monteverde is a restaurant and pastificio, guided under the philosophy that "flour is power." This shows on the pasta dishes, divided into pasta tipica, featuring traditional options like agnolotti with roasted veal and beef or gnocchetti con pesto and housemade ricotta, and pasta atipica, with daring creations like a cacio whey pepe, with ricotta whey.

Yelp reviewers dig Monteverde too. Rated a massive 4.5 out of 5, a review called the joint one of their "favorite restaurants in Chicago." while another said "Monteverde is 1000/10" and one of the "best restaurants in the city."

Also on Yelp, "Another atmospheric place for people fooled by looks and appearances more than food." Sounds like they think Monteverde is all hype. You should try it yourself.

Monteverde is located at 1020 West Madison Street in Chicago.