Terzo Piano

It's hot out. Really, really hot out. I feel like I can't even complain about it being 94 degrees here today when it's 105 in Philly and 103 in Boston and 125 in New York or whatever it was, but hot is hot. The best cure for heat, in my opinion, is a pool/lake/beach. Second best is some very strong air conditioning. This is a weird way to lead into talking about a restaurant, but I feel like Terzo Piano is the restaurant version of a swimming pool. Serene, cool, crisp, and relaxing. Oh, and by the way the food is done by Chef Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia and it's amazing.


photo courtesy: Terzo Piano

Last Saturday the four of us took a stroll down Michigan Avenue and into Millennium Park. It was pretty warm out and about halfway through our walk I started thinking about the oasis of Terzo Piano, which is in the Art Institute building (you don't have to go into the museum to go to the restaurant). It was the perfect endpoint to our walk.

First order of business, a bellini with white peach puree.



Perfection. Gabby had a bloody mary, which she raved about for the rest of the weekend. I can't vouch for it because I don't like them (I really wish I did), but she said it was spicy and had lots of vegetable bits or whatever it is they put in bloody marys. And the boys got housemade lemonade. Aww, how cute.

Along with the bread comes housemade parmesan crackers. Yum.



This was my second time here. I went with my mom back in February, and I had a wonderful salad with arugula, persimmon slices, prosciutto, and housemade ricotta. That salad really stuck in my mind and I knew I had to order another this time. Of course their menu changes, so here are the choices I had:



It was a tough decision, but I went with the spring pea salad.



It was excellent. But I know the other two salads would have been great too. I could have stayed in there all day and relaxed and tried some desserts or a cheese course.