Osteria Via Stato

Location: 620 N State
Cost: About $30 per person

When I was growing up, my mom was on time for EVERYTHING. In turn, I've developed somewhat of a neuroticism about being on time to things. On the other hand, a bunch of my friends are late to everything. I'm pretty sure my buddy Ricky comes late to dinner by a good half hour on a regular basis. General disregard for punctuality really grinds my gears, and I'm usually the guy to bust someone's chops for being late.

That being said, the tables turned on me the other night. I was supposed to get dinner with Schneider, Julie, and Jenny. I went to take a cat nap and slept right through dinner. Schneider, in a callous but reasonable approach, went on to eat at Chicago Q. On one hand, I clearly upset him, but on the other hand, I didn't have to listen to him brag about things like his prowess at first base, his ability to run long distances, or how happy he is with his naturally tan complexion during the meal. Jenny on the other hand, assumed that I'd died or something and frantically came over to kick down my apartment door. Once she'd realized I was okay, her concern turned to annoyance. In order to remedy the situation we needed a quick dinner answer nearby. That's how we ended up at Osteria Via Stato.

Note: For any involved parties reading this post, I'm still very sorry about ruining our plans.

Logistics
Osteria Via Stato is right next to the Embassy Suites in River North. The front patio is split in two with Pizzeria Via Stato. If you make it past the host stand out front, they've got a bar style setup and a dining room indoors. We chose to hang on the patio. Our waitress was very attentive. The portions were appropriately sized, and the cost was reasonable given the part of town and quality of the restaurant. Most pasta dishes and entrees were in the mid to high teens.

The Food
Our order was pretty straightforward. Jenny went with the Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and I got the Gnocchi. The chicken came in lightly breaded, flattened breasts. There was this tangy white wine sauce to the dish that made things a little soggy, but the chicken was moist nonetheless. The roasted tomatoes on the side added a needed zing as well. My gnocchi was just alright though. The texture of the dumpling itself was just off. Some pieces were a little chewy and others came apart too easily. The simple marinara sauce was just fine, but I couldn't get past the feel of the pasta in my mouth.

The Parmesan Crusted Chicken

The Gnocchi

Overall
There is always value to a restaurant with a peaceful patio on State Street. The people watching is worth the meal alone. That aside, the dishes were up and down for our meal. The chicken was pretty good, but I just wasn't having the gnocchi. I'm giving them 2.5 out of 5 Pearls.