He was also chosen for the CITY 2000show, where he attracted the attentionof Shashi Caudill, now his dealer.

Bob Thall, who’d hired Fortino toteach at Columbia (and whose workFortino had known since his undergrad-uate days), called when he heard Fortinohad returned to school. He took him outto work a few times, and Fortino says hedropped this suggestion: “My publisher,George Thompson, will be in town nextweek. If there’s a box of pictures on mycoffee table he’ll be able to see yourwork.” Five years and a number ofdonors later, Fortino’s first book,Institutional, was issued in a printing of2,200. Published by the Center forAmerican Places in association withColumbia College, with a foreword byUIC dean Judith Russi Kirshner,Institutional is a relentlessly formal 54-image meditation on the vacant interi-ors of public buildings—the scuffedfloors, scarred doors, and gleaming tilesand bricks of jails, courts, and schools.Chalk dust roils a blackboard, light

had folks heading there for readings,gourmet dinners, speed dating, andstitch ’n’ bitch. Corle says she was lookingfor a way to get people into the cafe afterthe end of the summer jazz series andwas inspired by an employee’s knittingclub that was clacking away in the con-ference room at lunchtime on Fridays.Like the First Friday events, these freeprograms are attempts to draw newpatrons into the building, and Corle saysthey’ve been attracting about 70 peopleeach week, with a nice crossover fromthe knitting group to the museum’s yogaclass. But it might take more than that tobolster the MCA’s attendance: last year itdropped to just under 212,000—a couplethousand less than the previous year,down 30,000 from 2002 and 2003, athird less than the 312,000 logged in2000, according to figures provided bythe Chicago Office of Tourism. MCAmarketing director Angelique Williamssays the drop since 2004 is due to achange in the way the museum has toreport attendance figures since joiningMuseums in the Parks. Maybe it’ll get agoose from the Warhol “Supernova”exhibit, opening March 18, which drewabout 50,000 viewers in Minneapolis,where it originated. Or maybe Warhol’shad his 15 minutes.

MiscellanyThe Silent Film Society was bootedfrom the Gateway Theatre a year ago,but expects to inaugurate a new homebase this spring at the Portage Theater,4050 N. Milwaukee. Film Society headand former Gateway manager DennisWolkowicz is one of three members ofa management team that has taken along-term lease (with option to buy) onthe 85-year-old Portage. Wolkowiczsays they spiffed it up, returned it to asingle auditorium format, and are justawaiting (what else?) the PPA license.It’ll have 1,350 seats and will offer livemusic and talkies—classic, revival,independent, documentary, and foreignmovies—along with the silentfilms. . . .Second City Theatricals pro-ducer Beth Kligerman says The PajamaMen, opening this weekend at theSteppenwolf Garage, represents a cou-ple of firsts for Second City: it’s the firsttime they’ve imported a show, and thefirst time they’ve collaborated withSteppenwolf. v

The Business

“Iwas never interested in photog-raphy as something I could makea living at,” says photographer

Scott Fortino, whose urban images areon display in “12 x 12: New Artists/NewWork,” opening as part of First Fridayfestivities tonight at the Museum ofContemporary Art. It’s not that Fortinodidn’t need money—the southwest-sidenative is no trust-fund kid. But he dis-covered his calling as an artist at virtu-ally the same moment he was acceptedinto the Chicago Police Academy, 26years ago. Fortino used one of his firstpolice department paychecks to buy aDeardorff four-by-five view camera,and he’s been a cop with a photographyhabit ever since. Like writer MartinPreib (a subject of this column lastyear), he found in the CPD both a dayjob and a source of inspiration.

Fortino says it was in a couple ofclasses at Columbia College, where hewound up in his mid-20s, that hisaffinity for photography clicked. Buthis feel for the medium goes back earli-er than that, to his teenage years, whenhis brother was fighting in Vietnam.Instead of writing letters, John Fortinosent home images he took with two 35-millimeter cameras he’d purchased atthe PX. “He would send two or threepacks of slides every other week,”Fortino says. “That became part of myhigh school ritual. I looked forward togoing downstairs, turning on the slideprojector, putting on some music, andlooking at those pictures, trying to fig-ure out—with much mixed emotionbecause of what was going on in theculture—my place in relation to thosepictures, and my brother’s place. Tryingto figure out what the heck was goingon in those pictures, because he didn’tinclude letters that explained them.”

The images were not what youwould expect, Fortino says. “Nothinghorrific. Just mundane aspects of theseguys’ experiences—American soldiers,dirty, exhausted at times, and thensometimes looking like they were hav-ing the best time of their life. There wasarmy equipment and foliage, tropicallandscapes and rifles, caravans of armyvehicles. It looked like it could be dan-gerous, but it was mundane, diaristic.Nothing spectacular. No explosions, nohelicopters landing. Nothing like whatwe have in the public record, nothingcinematic.” John came home safely and

became an electrician. “He took overmy wardrobe,” Fortino says, “and inreturn he let me use the cameras.”

Fortino graduated from Columbiain 1980 with a liberal arts degree, justafter he’d started attending the acade-my. His photography career remainedon the back burner, and by ’92 he wasback at Columbia, teaching photogra-phy part-time and thinking about gradschool. In ’98 he enrolled in the mas-ter’s program at UIC—with trepidation,he says, about “going back to school inmy late 40s with 25-year-old artists.”But UIC gave him a course to teach,sharpened his focus, and opened abunch of doors. After the first year, fac-ulty member Peter Hales suggested aportfolio review at the Art Institute. “Idropped off a box of my pictures at nineo’clock on a Tuesday, and when I pickedthem up at five o’clock there was a letterinviting me to participate in an ongoingcommission for the Park Hyatt Hotel,”Fortino says. The hotel wound up pur-chasing 21 images, in editions of 3 to 15.

breaks around a pair of window shades,and a hallway glows luminous orange.

Fortino’s prints now sell for $1,500and up, and he expects to retire hispolice uniform in two years, but he saysa portion of the profits from the bookwill be donated to the Chicago PoliceMemorial Fund. Fortino says space ismore interesting than people, but thehuman presence—the evidence of useand abuse—is there, in every image.You might want to find a comfortablechair, turn on some music, and try tofigure it out.

Ever Thought AboutBingo?The MCA’s been hosting First Fridaymixers since the museum moved into itsChicago Avenue fortress in 1996, but inthe last year extracurricular activity atthe museum has taken an uptick. AmyCorle, director of internal marketing anda 17-year MCA veteran, is responsible fora series of Tuesday-night events that’s

The Inside ManCop photographer Scott Fortino finds beauty in the places most people never want to see.

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Scott Fortino, his Jury Table

2 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO

chicagoreader.comThe New Reader Classifieds

“I can manage all my ads online—post, edit, renew, cancel. I use my Blackberry

and work while driving my SUV!”

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO 3

New TooOther recent arrivals

Agami4712 N. Broadway | 773-506-1845

F 8.7 | S 8.0 | A 9.6 | $$ (5 REPORTS)JAPANESE | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE:FRIDAY TILL 1:30, SATURDAY TILL 2, MONDAY-THURSDAY TILL MIDNIGHT

With its aquariumlike psychedelic trap-pings and late kitchen, Agami is clearlypoised to tap into Uptown’s boomingnightlife scene. Under chef Soon Park theextensive menu includes novelty items likethe “spicy tuna rice crispy,” rectangles ofcrisp buttered rice topped with spicy tunatartare and a thin slice of jalapeno. Amongthe cooked appetizers the ginger chickenroll, a hefty battered cylinder of chicken,asparagus, and bell peppers in a sweetlysmoky ginger teriyaki sauce, was practical-ly an entree in itself. A plate of sashimiwas beautifully presented, with thin, firm,shockingly fresh slices of tuna, salmon,shrimp, octopus, and—my pet among thefishier fishes—mackerel. The list of elabo-rate signature makis is a little overwhelm-ing, but the Green Turtle maki we triedwas a dense, sweet, rich construction ofgrilled eel, avocado, and tempura crunchtopped with wasabi tobiko and shrimp.Arranged in a circle and outfitted with asmiling turtle’s head of wasabi paste and atail of caramelized eel, it was alsoadorable. Martha Bayne

Bombon Cafe38 S. Ashland | 312-733-8717

$MEXICAN/SOUTHWESTERN | BREAKFAST, LUNCH,DINNER: MONDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY |SMOKE FREE

A charming new outpost of Pilsen’sBombon bakery, Bombon Cafe offers alimited but excellent selection of lunchitems in addition to an array of Mexicanpastries and breads. The menu focuses ontortas, which here feature a vibrant mix ofingredients. The Piolin, for example, layerstender chunks of adobe-marinated chick-en breast with tomatoes, melt-in-your-mouth grilled onions, mesclun greens,creamy avocado, and paper-thin slices ofChihuahua cheese on a tender, pumpkin-seed-encrusted teleras bun. There are alsotasty variations on staples like tamales(mushroom, pork in salsa verde) and miniquesadillas, which replace the typical tor-tilla with small triangles of pastry; fillingsinclude bacalao (codfish), zucchini blos-soms, and an exceptional one with huitla-coche (corn smut). There are also twodaily soups and five salads, among themthe Popeye (spinach, radicchio, jicama,

RestaurantsListings are excerpted from the Reader Restaurant Finder, an onlinedatabase of more than 3,000 Chicago-area restaurants. Restaurantsare rated by more than 2,200 Reader Restaurant Raters, who feedus information and comments on their dining experiences. Webratings are updated daily; print listings reflect the most currentinformation available at publication time. Reviews are written by

Reader staff and contributors and (where noted) individual Raters.Though reviewers try to reflect the Restaurant Raters’ input,reviews should be considered one person’s opinion; the collectiveRaters’ opinions are best expressed in the numbers. The completelistings and information on how to become a Reader RestaurantRater are available at www.chicagoreader.com/restaurantfinder.

Mediocrity in a Mansion, New From aTru Vet, and Haute Curbside Service

around warm goat cheese, but the clump of arugulaand kohlrabi in my friend’s Maytag blue cheese saladwas no match for the mound of dairy. An entree thatpaired delicate panfried trout with rich braised shortrib was choice, but the venison medallions—visuallynifty on a bed of vibrant green spaetzle and coated witha thick pistachio crust—came in a too-salty lingonberrysauce. It took a preposterous dessert to win me back:billed as a pomegranate tart, it was essentially an over-size Oreo, chocolate crumb crust and a thick layer offondant, capped with a quivering crown of pomegran-ate foam. Served with banana ice cream and a grilledbanana slice and speckled with pomegranate seeds, it’sridiculous and ridiculously good. The restaurant isteaming up with the Merchandise Mart’s ArtisanCellars to provide bottles at retail prices, but as of lastweek the program hadn’t been implemented. Our serv-er cheerfully confessed he hadn’t a clue about most ofthe wines on the extensive list, but he knocked 50 per-cent off the price of ours—can’t do much more thanthat to keep a customer happy. —Martha Bayne

A t SOLA self-described former surfer girl CarolWallack has dreamed up a menu board withexpert balance. A roasted-pepper-and-fennel

soup came with a sambuca-infused creme fraiche; a seagreens salad was crisp with water chestnuts and playedthe bitterness of hijiki against the sweet spiciness ofhoisin. There were some gimmicks: the “trio of tunatartares,” though fresh, were indistinct in flavor;

Parmesan fries with truffle oil sounded fabulous butturned out to be a fancified version of what you’d get atGene and Jude’s. Far more memorable was the blackcod, marinated three days in miso paste and rice vine-

gar, then seared and served withcurried sunchokes and bamboorice; it paired very well with a2004 Mak sauvignon blanc bigwith grapefruit notes. We also

tried Colorado lamb chops with eggplant and leeks, forwhich our server suggested a medium-weight Cartlidge& Brown pinot noir—an excellent match. Cappingthings off were citrus pound cake with mango curd anda molten chocolate cake with sesame brickle ice creamand wasabi-vanilla bean syrup. Sola delivers its entiremenu curbside—call ahead, pay with a card, and pullup in front. —David Hammond

OTHER RECENT OPENINGSChiyo, 3800 W. Lawrence, 773-267-1555Spacca Napoli, 1769 W. Sunnyside, 773-878-2420Terragusto Cafe & Local Market, 1851 W. Addison, 773-248-2777T-Spot Sushi, 3925 N. Lincoln, 773-572-7682

CLOSEDThe BerghoffHilary’s Urban EaterySouth

What’s New

Reggiano, scampi, and tuxedoed server at Il Mulino

P hil Romano, the man who brought MacaroniGrill into a clamoring world, once sued a restau-rant critic for writing a tepid review of the Dallas

branch of IL MULINO, the extravagant Italian restauranthe franchised from brothers Fernando and Gino Masci.So after eating at Chicago’s new outpost in the stately

Biggs mansion, I don’t say thislightly: the food is nothing spe-cial. Every time a new clone ofthis Old New York establish-ment opens somewhere—Vegas,

Tokyo, Long Island—a Darwinian struggle for reserva-tions commences among a certain species of diner thatloves to be the first to throw down outrageous amountsof money to make the scene. Granted, for those whoprevail there’s a lot of free stuff: thin fried zucchini,house-cured salume, mussels and bruschetta, severalkinds of garlic bread, and a server whose sole purposeseems to be to haul around a giant wheel of Reggianoand hunk it onto your plate.

And yes, portions are huge. Steak cartoccio, froman epic list of specials, was a formidable brick of cowsmothered in sauteed mushrooms and guarded by acircular battlement of fried potatoes. But apart from itssize, “you can get the same thing at Denny’s,” said myunderwhelmed companion. I ate it, but the questionremained: what possible justification is there for this$60 steak? I can only guess that the majority of foodordered at Il Mulino is taken home and eaten over aweek of lunches, or perhaps presented to the servantsin lieu of wages. Another problem, noted by the Dallasdefendant as well, is that many of the dishes are over-rich and oversauced; my Flintstone-size osso buco wasslathered with a thick port gravy more suitable for icecream. The same goes for the porcini ravioli in cham-pagne-black truffle sauce—highly adhesive, and withbarely a hint of fungal funk.

For dessert we went for fresh mixed berries withzabaglione, impressively prepared by a waiter whowhipped the eggs, marsala, and sugar over a burner atthe table, then poured it over two glasses filled withabout a third of a cup of berries. Nice—until the checkcame. Those berries cost $15 per glass; the zabaglioneshow was an extra $22. Then again, the productionvalues are part of what you’re paying for all night, thewhole shebang sound tracked by Andrea Bocelli,Carmela Soprano’s favorite popera singer. It’s tightlychoreographed, but there’s nothing stuffy about thechummy, Italo-accented, tuxedo-clad waiters, cap-tains, and servers, whose frantic bustle recalls the mat-ing scenes in March of the Penguins.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who couldbecome a regular at Il Mulino, but I imagine if thereare such creatures they’re the sort who insist on toolingaround the golf course in a yellow Hummer. There’s noquestion that this is a fun place to throw away severalhundred dollars—preferably not your own. —Mike Sula

I f nothing else this new contemporary Americanrestaurant from Tru vet Alex Cheswick aims toplease. From the sunny hostess to the chatty server

to the chef himself, who emerged late in the evening topersonally thank each of the remaining tables for com-ing, everybody at MAY STREET MARKET exudes good-

will: they even send you out thedoor with a complimentary littleloaf of chocolate bread. But thekitchen still seems to be finding itslegs. Chilled shots of a creamypotato veloute drizzled with chive

juice—a fancy-pants vichyssoise—were a fine starter,but the salads that followed were a mixed bag. In thegood one, diced root veggies were separated from a tossof mixed greens by a lusty slice of prosciutto wrapped

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Il Mulino1150 N. Dearborn312-440-8888

May StreetMarket1132 W. Grand312-421-5547

Sola3868 N. Lincoln773-327-3868

4 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO

and bell peppers with a serrano vinai-grette) and the Xochimilco (beets, frisee,mesclun, apples, pears, and goat cheesewith an orange chile piquin vinaigrette). Ofcourse, the spot’s desserts are delicious,from the celebrated tres leches cake totreats like piedras, a chocolate-toppeddried bread pudding. Peter Margasak

Catedral Cafe2500 S. Christiana | 773-277-2233

$EUROPEAN | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER: SEVENDAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 |BYO | SMOKE FREE

Catedral Cafe, an Internet coffeehouse inLittle Village, has the charmingly kitschyfeel of a cathedral gift shop: the brightblue-ceilinged room is decorated withcrosses, religious statues, and even a PopeJohn Paul II banner. It’s BYO, and after wesat down our waitress immediately offeredto open our wine for us; throughout ourmeal the service was attentive but relaxed.

We started with skin-on fries and breadedolives, a deliciously evil concoction ofolives stuffed with cream cheese, thenbreaded and fried. My friend liked hissmoked salmon croissant but was lessenthusiastic about the enormous side ofpasta salad—too many green olives (mypesto chicken bruschetta also sufferedfrom a surfeit of them). Other offeringsinclude sandwiches and panini, pasta, anda variety of crepes. For dessert we hadespresso and huge portions of cheesecakeand tiramisu drizzled with raspberrysauce—and it all came in at under 40bucks. Rob Christopher

Copperblue505 N. Lake Shore Dr. | 312-527-1200

$$$$MEDITERRANEAN, FRENCH | DINNER: TUESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED SUNDAY, MONDAY | OPENLATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11:30 | SMOKEFREE

Copperblue’s stated mandate “to deliver

to guests everything they want” was evi-dent from the moment I called to inquireabout vegetarian options and was toldthat they’d be happy to prepare somethingspecial should the regular offerings notsuffice. The focus on personal serviceextended to little table hooks to keep ourbags off the floor and, at the end of ourmeal, a questionnaire about our prefer-ences, to be kept on file for future visits.The French-Mediterranean cuisine drawsfrom Spain and North Africa, but despitesuch spicy influences flavors were oddlymuted. Scallops in sea foam were freshand perfectly cooked, but the foamseemed gimmicky and added little to the

dish. Another appetizer, ravioli with veal,got a fruity kick from mostarda diCremona and came with chewy veal kid-neys. Duck leg prepared with the season-ing blend known as ras el hanout had anice crispy skin, but the accompanyingfoie gras espuma was so subtle as to tastelike savory whipped cream. A chocolatetorte seemed like a sop to chocolatelovers; a blood orange parfait was moresuccessful, one clear note dissolving onthe tongue. With chefs Michael Tsonton(formerly of Tizi Melloul) and VictorNewgren (MK North) in the kitchen, I’minclined to think the intensity will eventu-ally be kicked up a notch. Heather Kenny

Cousin’s Incredible Vitality3038 W. Irving Park | 773-478-6868

$$VEGETARIAN/HEALTHY, SMALL PLATES | LUNCH,DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY &SATURDAY TILL 11 | SMOKE FREE

Chef Mehmet Ak has traded his kebab grillin for two dehydrating cabinets, trans-forming Cousin’s Turkish Cuisine intoCousin’s Incredible Vitality, a vegan restau-rant specializing in raw foods. The menustill nods to his Turkish heritage: there’szucchini hummus and tabbouleh madefrom soaked and sprouted quinoa; sam-plers of “living mezes” feature stuffedgrape leaves, shepherd’s salad, and house-marinated olives alongside “not tuna”wraps and minipizzas with avocado, mush-rooms, olives, and almond cheese onflaxseed flatbread. Mediterranean “pasta”has angel-hair made from zucchini, rawmarinara, and “Parmesan” made frompine nuts. A delicious wild cherry cheese-cake with a walnut crust contains cashews,

Restaurants

Food (F), service (S), and ambience (A) are rated on a scale of 1-10, with 10 representingbest. The dinner-menu price of a typical entree is indicated by dollar signs on thefollowing scale: $=less than $10, $$=$10-$15, $$$=$15-$20, $$$$=$20-$30,$$$$$ =more than $30. Raters also grade the overall dining experience; these scoresare averaged and rs are awarded as follows: rrr=top 10 percent, rrr=top 20percent, rrr=top 30 percent of all rated restaurants in database.

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO 5

dates, and raw agave nectar for sweet-ness. Or try the rich hand-rolled raw-chocolate truffles. Susannah J. Felts

Cuatro2030 S. Wabash | 312-842-8856

$$$LATIN AMERICAN, MEXICAN/SOUTHWESTERN |LUNCH: TUESDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS;SUNDAY BRUNCH | OPEN LATE: TILL MIDNIGHTEVERY NIGHT

Now with a full bar and live music mostnights, Cuatro has become something of anear-south-side destination, but the realdraw remains its sophisticated nuevoLatino comfort food. Appetizers looked sotempting it was hard to make our choices,but the vegetarian seviche was a good

pick: crunchy hearts of palm, mushrooms,asparagus, avocado, and pico de gallo in abright-tasting citrus dressing. Flautas debarbacoa were also mighty tasty, corncigars stuffed with savory slow-roastedbeef and served with a red salsa. But thestandout of the evening had to be themoqueca do mar, a seafood stew with akick-ass tomato-coconut milk sauce per-fumed with saffron and served with a littlesilver dish of rice and a few tostones. Othermain dishes include beer-braised beefshort ribs, a chile relleno stuffed with egg-plant caviar and blue cheese, and a doublepork chop, bone in and more like a triple—it was one gigantic hunk o’ meat. But westill couldn’t say no to the Oaxacan choco-late mousse cake with sweet corn icecream. Kate Schmidt

Custom House500 S. Dearborn | 312-523-0200

$$$$AMERICAN, STEAKS/LOBSTER | BREAKFAST,LUNCH: MONDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS;SATURDAY & SUNDAY BRUNCH | SMOKE FREE

I wanted to like Custom House, ShawnMcClain’s third big splash (after GreenZebra and Spring) in the city’s ever deep-ening puddle of international culinarycredibility. But try as I might, I can’t believethis rarefied steak house completes anysort of holy trinity. On a visit about amonth after the opening, about half thedishes served to my party of eight failed tolive up to their tantalizing descriptions (ortheir prices): the Oregon black truffle risot-to was salty enough to clear tarmac, and

the cannellini beans served with the babylamb were undercooked. On the otherhand, tender veal cheeks with tomatoanchovy preserves were very good, andbaby beets with mascarpone were fluores-cently bright and explosively flavorful. Apiece of marinated yellowtail was flopping-fresh and tasty, and the best dish at thetable was a bone-in rib eye with a redonion tarte tatin. A month later I had amuch better lunch. Cured sturgeon withjulienned apples and pumpernickel toastwas similar to the yellowtail we had thefirst time, and every bit as good. A sea bassfillet was delicately cooked, with crispyskin, though the accompanying truffledmashed potatoes lacked any truffle note.Once more, I think the best thing was thebeef—my prime sirloin was perfectly

cooked—but I can’t get past the kitchen’spaternalistic decision to cut up steaks andfan them out like a duck breast beforeserving. Custom House is a tranquil openspace conducive to business meals, prettilydecorated with pebbles, twigs, and rockslike a Zen garden. Still, it seems like thelove is missing. Mike Sula

Del Toro1520 N. Damen | 773-252-1500

$$TAPAS/SPANISH | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS; SUNDAYBRUNCH | OPEN LATE: THURSDAY & FRIDAY TILLMIDNIGHT, SATURDAY TILL 1 | RESERVATIONSACCEPTED FOR LARGE GROUPS ONLY

The interior of Del Toro, a snazzy newsmall-plate restaurant in the former Mod

6 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO

space, is meant to suggest a bullfight, fromthe red recesses in the bull’s-hide wall tothe short, hornlike light fixtures above thebar. The menu is ambitious if occasionallypretentious. My friend and I started outwith sashimi-grade tuna from the cold-plate menu, two or three little bites each,accompanied by a smoked sea salt. Thinlysliced serrano ham topped with manchegowas delicious; anchovy bruschetta, tiny sil-ver fish piled on toast with thinly slicedavocado, were perhaps the best thing weate. Our large plates were poached halibutand something truly special—simmeredpork belly with that ultrasalty, meaty flavorthat screams pig. We finished with a bowlof mission figs steeped in red wine, accom-panied by a delicately flavored ice creammade from cream cheese and Mahon, acow’s-milk cheese from the Spanish islandof Minorca. The atmosphere is loungey, butthere’s a plus to that: the enormous cock-tails are served until the wee hours, andthere’s a late-night menu Thursdaythrough Saturday. Chip Dudley

Enoteca at Osteria Via Stato670 N. State | 312-642-8450

$$ITALIAN, SMALL PLATES | LUNCH: MONDAY-SATURDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | SMOKE FREE

Tiny Enoteca was created to give diners analternative to the parade of prix fixe Italianplates dished up in its parent kitchen,Osteria Via Stato. Sommelier BelindaChang oversees a cellar of more than 300exclusively Italian bottles, and her catchy“Just Bring Me Wine” program—flights ofthree four-ounce pours priced at $15, $28,or $50—is a successful gimmick. What withthe menu of mostly small plates, it allseems like a formula for another LettuceEntertain You hit, but on a recent visit wewere left scratching our tipsy little heads.We opted for the midrange wine samplerand were rewarded with a creamy Sicilianinsolia-viognier blend, a merlot with onemonster of a nose (for a merlot), and amedium-bodied Sangiovese that lingeredlong on the tongue. But the salumi platewas dry and uninspired, and a salad ofsliced heirloom apples, baby spinach, andpomegranate seeds was drowned in dress-ing. Disheartened, we turned to the housespecialty, raw seafood plates. The ahi tunaSiciliano, snapping fresh and lightly tossedwith capers, peppers, and a dash of oliveoil, was so delicious that we ordered up asecond helping of salmon with bloodoranges only to be disappointed. Still hun-gry, we finished with a plate of perfectly aldente pappardelle in a savory ragu of pork,beef, and Italian sausage. Next to the tuna,it seemed almost crass, but it sure hit thespot. Caveat emptor: those small platesadd up. The bill was surprisingly hefty.Martha Bayne

Extra Virgin741 W. Randolph | 312-474-0700

$$ITALIAN, SMALL PLATES | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS |OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT,OTHER NIGHTS TILL 11

This enoteca from the folks behind BarLouie hasn’t yet fully matured, thoughthere are some admirably experimentalitems on the menu. Arancini, little“oranges” of rice usually stuffed with peasand meat in a cheesy tomato sauce, arehere transformed into risotto balls filledwith lump crab; unfortunately the crab-meat gets lost. Cichetti—small dishes ofnibbles—are priced around $4 and makeelegant accompaniments to after-workdrinks; hand-cut potato chips are sprin-kled with truffle oil, chickpeas are lightlybattered and fried very crisp. Crispywhitefish swims in butter and is servedwith tender cipolline, mushrooms, andartichokes; the osso buco, made withshort ribs, is meaty and rich, and engi-neered to complement wine. We triedglasses from France, Italy, California, and Spain, and found the Marques deRiscal Tempranillo ($8 a glass) lightenough to go with fish yet spicy enough to stand up to meat. The room is loud and the crowd mixed—late-night partyers,suits, and some holdovers from theplace’s days as the Blue Point Oyster Bar. David Hammond

Fierros2550 W. Addison | 773-305-3333

F 8.0 | S 8.4 | A 6.0 | $$ (5 REPORTS)LATIN AMERICAN | DINNER: SUNDAY,WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY | CLOSED MONDAY,TUESDAY | SMOKE FREE

rrr The tenedor libre (“free fork”) format of this Argentinean restaurant isin keeping with the recent spate ofchomp-till-you-drop Latin Americansteak houses, offering limitless meat,done very well, at a bargain fixed priceof $12.95. What may be unexpected arethe fiambres, antipasti that reflect yearsof Italian migration to Argentina; when Ivisited they included prosciutto, salami,smoked provolone, capicola, and roast-ed red peppers. When the meat orgyreally kicks off you first get marinatedchicken and chorizo of a type close toItalian sausage, with a hint of fennel.The meat that follows is extraordinarilygood, cooked on the spot to a perfectmedium rare. The skirt steak has a wonderful peppery crust, and the short ribs are full of fatty flavor—I had thirds. Salads were nothing fancy—simply romaine, tomato, and onion, just right with a rich meal. It’s BYO,so bring a few good South Americanbottles. David Hammond

Go Roma848 N. State | 312-252-9946

$ITALIAN, PIZZA | BREAKFAST: SATURDAY-SUNDAY;LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | SMOKE FREE

For a quick lunch or dinner, you could do alot worse than Go Roma Italian Kitchen, a“chef-driven” chain offering pizza, pasta,sandwiches, and salads that recentlyopened its first city location. Pizza with acrispy, thin crust, the focus of the menu,comes by the half or full plank; you candesign your own or order classics like themargherita or plain pepperoni as well astrendier toppings like sun-dried tomato andgoat cheese. The garlic cream sauce incountry-style rigatoni could have been a lit-tle thicker, but other ingredients—Italiansausage, red peppers, and mushrooms—came in just the right proportions. A touchof sharply flavored pesto added extra depthto tomato-basil soup. It’s the attention todetail that makes Go Roma better than youraverage fast-food dining experience: a dedi-cation to fresh, healthy ingredients (themenu promises “no trans fats”); speedy,friendly service; and a stylish interior thatowes more to the design firms of Milan thanthe pizza parlors of Sicily. Heather Kenny

Hachi’s Kitchen2521 N. California | 773-276-8080

$$$$JAPANESE | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE:FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT, TUESDAY-THURSDAY TILL 11

Jim Bee of Sai Cafe brings sushi to LoganSquare with this spot just south of theboulevard. The menu’s extensive: soups andsalads, hot and cold appetizers (we enjoyedgyoza, panfried pork dumplings served witha slightly spicy dipping sauce), rice and noo-dle dishes, plus sashimi and cookedoptions. The sushi’s superfresh, from basicslike tuna to a “fashion” maki (tuna, shrimp,avocado, mayo, fish eggs, and cucumber)and more inventive options such as theexcellent Spicy White Tuna Crunch. You canalso order individual nigiri; I’m a sucker forunagi, and this was some of the best I’veever had. The ice cream sampler offeredtasty little domes of green tea, lychee, andred bean ice cream meant to be eaten witha toothpick spear. Hachi’s also has a niceselection of wines available by the bottleand the glass and a very satisfying housesake. Katherine Young

Haro2436 S. Oakley | 773-847-2400

$$$TAPAS/SPANISH | DINNER: TUESDAY-SATURDAY |CLOSED SUNDAY, MONDAY | SMOKE FREE

Haro is new and nervous, and it shows:the small tapas restaurant oddly situated

Restaurants

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO 7

among the red-sauce joints in Heart ofChicago was only half full, but when weasked to be moved away from the fla-menco guitarist, our waiter hemmed andhawed for a minute before saying, basi-cally, whatever. (We moved ourselves.)The menu has a few novel Basque touch-es—baby eels, pintxos (Basque open-faced sandwiches), a few hard-to-findBasque white wines—but is otherwise adozen or so cold and hot tapas, with atrio of entree-size plates for those unwill-ing to share. House-marinated oliveswere well done, but then we hit a badstretch: white anchovies were rubberyand tasteless, and the serrano-wrappedsea scallops with saffron aioli—a combi-nation that looked delectable in print—should have been served unwrapped andsegregated. A prime rib-eye skewer witha few dipping sauces (including aCabrales demi-glace that divided thetable between “yummy” and “a little fastfoody”) was perfectly cooked but boring—I can think of a few hundred tastier waysto spend a ten spot. The fennel-orangestew accompanying the blood sausagemight have been more exciting raw, butthe sausage, along with a few meatballsin a spicy Spanish tomato sauce—a simplebut satisfying plate—were the highlightsof the meal. Nicholas Day

Joy Ribs6320 N. Lincoln | 773-509-0211

$$$KOREAN | DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRI-DAY & SATURDAY TILL 4, OTHER NIGHTS TILL 2

Joy Ribs (formerly Jang Mo Nim) is a fam-ily-friendly far-north-side Korean restau-rant that offers a number of pleasantsurprises. Sadly, the namesake ribs aren’tone of them; although the sauce has adecent level of heat, the pork ribs them-selves are just so-so, done in theaccursed fall-off-the-bone Chicago styleand not particularly flavorful. Panchancame in a smallish selection of abouteight to ten items, including a couple ofoutstanding kimchis. Marinated kalbi(beef short ribs grilled at the table) weredelicious, especially when doused with achile-laden hot sauce. And dol sot bi bimbop was a rib-sticking mix of meat, veg-etables, rice, and egg, though the ricehadn’t formed into the crisp exteriorshell prized in this dish. Hangjung sal,grilled cubes of fatty pork neck, weremore of a standout, as tasty as you’dexpect of this decadent cut of meat. Thedish that really warrants a trip, though, isthe house specialty of pheasant servedwith a rich red broth and tender slices ofstewed daikon, carrots, and greens. At$21.95 per person (minimum order oftwo) it’s not cheap, but it’s absolutelydelectable and plentiful enough for four.The pheasant isn’t listed on the menuand appears only on the handwrittenKorean signs above the booths—be sureto ask about it. Jim Mitchell

Kohan Japanese Restaurant730 W. Maxwell | 312-421-6254

$$$$JAPANESE | LUNCH: MONDAY-FRIDAY; DINNER:SEVEN DAYS | SMOKE FREE

Amid the condos and franchises of anutterly transformed Maxwell Street isKohan, a pleasant place with clean lines,earth tones, and a glass-enclosed teppan(large griddle) in the back. The publicity forthe restaurant announces that it offers“fashion sushi,” which our server explainedis “really pretty sushi.” Well, to me a stripof fresh toro is a thing of beauty. There aremany maki: the Sensual Pleasure Roll is

spicy scallops and tuna with miso-based“modern dressing”; the UIC Roll combineslightly fried soft-shell crab with asparagusand avocado. A number of dishes comeTrotter-like on their own specially designedplates, elegantly arranged according toarcane foodie feng shui. Exquisitely simple,though, is the Kohan fried rice with freshvegetables, sizzled on the teppan by thegrill masters (I watched ours juggle a rawegg from spatula to knife, catching itbehind his back). Kohan has a large menu,including sushi and sashimi; grilledseafood, fish, and meat; bento boxes; and even bulgogi (one of the ownerstreated us to some house-made kimchi).The staff is superlatively friendly, and thefood is well made and offered at reason-able prices—at lunch you can get an eight-piece California roll and five pieces of sushi for under $10. David Hammond

May Street Cafe1146 W. Cermak | 312-421-4442

$$MEXICAN/SOUTHWESTERN, GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC | LUNCH, DINNER: MONDAY-SATURDAY |OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | BYO |SMOKE FREE

On a dismal, industrial stretch of Cermak,the bright, tropical-toned facade of recent-ly reopened May Street Cafe jumps out likea red-hot tamale. There are other surprisesto chef Mario Santiago’s cuisine, and youcan imagine mine when we ordered tigershrimp and got . . . a tiger shrimp—that’sright, just one, but he was a large, meaty,flavorful fellow. Never having met an alli-gator we liked, we ordered it for an appe-tizer, and with a nutty, sage-based coating,it’s not bad, tasting something like—youguessed it—chicken. A corn and chayotechowder was quite good, creamy but notoverly rich and bearing chunks of seafoodand a few snappy roasted poblano strips.Michoacan-style mole was more hot thansweet, with pasilla and ancho chiles andjust a touch of chocolate, and chiles rel-lenos also packed a lot of peppery punch.The Caesar salad wasn’t one—just knife-cutromaine with croutons and what could bebottled dressing, but the double-creamBrie and pear quesadillas were inspired;served with sweet crema and chipotleketchup and listed as an appetizer, theywould also be a rich, sweet way to end the meal. David Hammond

Mercury Cafe1505 W. Chicago | 312-455-9924

AMERICAN, VEGETARIAN/HEALTHY | BREAKFAST,LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | BYO | SMOKE FREE

West Town’s Mercury Cafe opened quietlyin early December—so quietly that the firstfew times I passed by, the place wasdeserted. But slowly it appears to be devel-oping a clientele. Occupying a cavernousstorefront once home to an Ark thrift store,Mercury offers a simple menu of sandwich-es, yummy pastries from Alliance Bakery,vegan baked goods, and coffee. Soups andsalads are pending, says the 24-year-oldproprietor, Alexandria Kalika, who openedthe cafe after several years in the trenchesat Starbucks and Caribou Coffee, giving the4,500-square-foot space a paint job andoutfitting it with tables, sofas, and free Wi-Fi. There’s still plenty of room for racks ofthrifted garments on consignment, shelvesof used books for sale, and tables full offlyers for local performers and businesses.Kalika’s working on booking an eclectic mixof live music, and there’s an open-mikenight the third and fourth Friday of everymonth. “I realize it’s usually consideredbusiness suicide to appeal to all sorts,” she says, “but with all this space it’s possible.” Martha Bayne

Mizu Yakitori & Sushi Lounge315 W. North | 312-951-8880

$$$JAPANESE | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPENLATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | BYO

Yakitori are a type of Japanese street food:skewered and grilled bits of meat, usuallychicken. Mizu Yakitori & Sushi Lounge, anew restaurant in Old Town, takes the con-cept further, offering vegetable, beef, andseafood skewers as well as poultry. On arecent visit we sampled chicken skin,bacon and tomato, scallops, and shiitakemushroom yakitori that were all exception-ally tasty, if a bit on the skimpy side. It’s agood thing these $2-$3 bites were so pleas-ing—the rest of our dinner was disastrous.Only a few tables were occupied early on aSaturday evening, but our first dishes tookalmost an hour to arrive, and it was anoth-er 45 minutes before the sushi and makiappeared. The fish was passable, thoughweirdly warm, and the maki were just OK,not as tightly rolled as we prefer. Ourfavorite dish was a cucumber salad tossed

8 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO

with vinegar and topped with a pickled gin-ger floret. Cocktails would have been great,but Mizu is still waiting on a license, andthe nearest liquor store is a good hikedown the street. Chip Dudley

Nana Bistro & Lounge2825 N. Lincoln | 773-281-7200

$$ITALIAN | DINNER: SUNDAY, TUESDAY-SATURDAY |CLOSED MONDAY | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY &SATURDAY TILL MIDNIGHT

Nana Bistro is a snug little nook. The ownershave done a lot with the tiny former Quizno’sspace, warming it with paintings, candlelight,and soft lounge music. Even the bathroom iscozy, with blue lighting to go with its bluewalls. But when a basket of bread came tothe table, my friend and I agreed that it tast-ed like Pillsbury, and mussels in garlic buttercould have done with more garlic. Polentawas topped with an excellent spicy sausagein an overly sweet sauce. The pork chopsstuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella werejuicy and came with basil rice, but oddly theywere covered in a brown gravy that while notbad didn’t strike us as authentic. A more seri-ous oversight: the plates were cold. Our wait-er enthusiastically pointed out the sweets.Strawberry granita had a refreshing bite,while Nana’s Dessert was layers of flaky pas-try, whipped cream, strawberries, andNutella garnished with coffee-flavored cook-ies—nothing wrong with that! Nana is BYO fornow, but a liquor license is expected in mid-March. Tamara Beeler Davis

Picante Grill1626 S. Halsted | 312-455-8500

$$$MEXICAN/SOUTHWESTERN | LUNCH, DINNER:SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAYTILL 11 | SMOKE FREE

Don’t get me wrong—dinner at PicanteGrill is pleasant. We sat in a cozy high-backed booth in the corner of the candlelitburnt orange second-floor room andenjoyed fresh tortilla chips and chipotlesalsa as we waited for our margaritas. Thedrinks were made with fresh lime juiceand Patron tequila and, like most of the

meal, tasted pretty good, though just a lit-tle dull for my taste. We tried guacamoleand shrimp cocktail as starters. The gua-camole did the trick, but I was disappoint-ed that my serving of the cocktail didn’thave any camarones in it. My friendshared a couple of the four she found inhers. She also ordered the chicken fajitasand said that the meat was cooked justright—not stringy or dry—but that shewould’ve liked more vegetables. Mycheese enchiladas with mole sauce andsides of rice and beans were all just fine,less greasy than what you often get. MelGibson’s movie The Patriot was playing on

the TV over the bar, which seemed to saysomething about this new addition to EastPilsen. For my money I’d just as soon goaround the corner to Nuevo Leon orCuernavaca. Katherine Young

Quartino626 N. State | 312-698-5000

$$$ITALIAN | LUNCH, DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPENLATE: TILL 1 EVERY NIGHT

Quartino, the latest venture from theowners of Gibsons Steakhouse andHugo’s Frog Bar, takes its cue from Italy’senoteche, wine bars that serve smallplates of everything from antipasti tobeef tenderloin. Chef John Coletta (for-merly of Carlucci) occasionally puts hisown subtle spin on classic recipes butstays true to the main tenets of Italiancuisine: the best ingredients, simply pre-pared. Plates of thinly sliced sopressata,rich duck prosciutto, and soft, pungentmortadella (the only salumi not cured in-house) come with garnishes of giar-dinera, jammy mostarda (fruit candiedwith a touch of mustard seed), and asweet-and-sour cucumber sauce. Friedpolenta sticks, served with a red peppersauce, are perfectly prepared: crisp onthe outside and soft and creamy inside.Homemade gnocchi didn’t quite achievepillowy transcendence, but a pepperyarugula pesto invited forgiveness. Angus beef carpaccio, paired with celeryand shaved Parmesan, was silky and subtle. The only complaint about a grilled Nutella panino for dessert wasthat it didn’t arrive oozing hot; prof-iteroles with vanilla gelato and chocolatesauce made for an elegant if messy ending. Wines—many offered in the U.S.here exclusively—are available by thequartino (quarter liter), half liter, andcarafe, and there are also plenty ofoptions by the bottle. Heather Kenny

The Soiree4539 N. Lincoln | 773-293-3690

$$$AMERICAN, GLOBAL/FUSION/ECLECTIC | DINNER:TUESDAY-SATURDAY; SUNDAY BRUNCH | CLOSEDMONDAY | SMOKE FREE

The Soiree, in the old She She space, hasthe same soothing atmosphere as itspredecessor. Chef Daniel Vogel’s menucovers a lot of ground: appetizers likecrab cakes, mussels, diver scallops, and aroasted beet salad are complemented byheartier dishes like beef tenderloin withtruffles, roasted mahimahi, duck, andpan-seared yellowfin tuna. At a recentmeal the roasted beets, both red andgold, came on a pool of cheese sauce witha nest of mixed greens—an unusual andnice marriage of flavors. The musselswere prime specimens: fat, flavorful, andredolent of their beer broth. Our entreeswere even bigger hits. Steeped in vealstock and its own juices, the “humanelyraised” osso buco was as good as I’ve had;al dente squash ravioli were sweet andflavorful. For dessert we had a decon-structed bread pudding, cubes of lightlyfried, appealingly chewy moistened breadtopped with caramel sauce. Service wasquietly efficient, and the wine list is top-notch, with several by-the-glass offeringsbetween $7 and $10. Chip Dudley

Spa Cafe112 W. Monroe | 312-551-0000

$AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY/REGIONAL |BREAKFAST, LUNCH: MONDAY-FRIDAY | CLOSEDSATURDAY, SUNDAY | RESERVATIONS NOTACCEPTED | SMOKE FREE

This new venture from chef PatrickCassata (Eclectic) offers a healthy andwhenever possible organic alternative fora Loop lunch. Cassata himself graciouslygreeted the long line forming at the reg-ister of the incandescent, track-lit room.He also offered to put together a nicetasting menu for us. We started with theOkinawan sweet potato and chipotlesoup, a smooth, somewhat spicy purpletreat; a delicate chicken “Chilango” soup;and a rather flat and watery turkey chiliwith corn and black beans. We thendevoured our Thai chicken and organicmarinated tofu lettuce wraps; the tofuversion tasted more like chicken than thechicken. A buffalo-style chicken breastwas savory enough to offset our initialdistress about being served somethingbuffalo. The spice-rubbed skirt steak withtomatillos, black beans, and guac hit thespot, and I really enjoyed our grilledsteak and avocado “quesaninni” in spiteof its name. We also tried the cucumberwater (it didn’t taste as green as itlooked) and the lemon water—I’ll staywith tap next time. John Kouris

Restaurants | Movies

You want to eat before the game or after?

I HAD A HUGE LUNCH. LET’S MAKE IT AFTER.

OK, but I want Italian. Not pizza, pasta.

FINE WITH ME.

So we want an Italianplace that’s open late on the way home from the United Center.

The Reader Restaurant Finder thinks like you do. It allows youto search by cuisine, price, amenities, and distance frommore than 200 clubs, theaters, and landmarks. And it’s basedon reports from more than 2,000 Reader Restaurant Raters—Reader readers like you who know good food and goodtimes.

w w w. c h i c a g o r e a d e r. c o m

We believe that a restaurant can be more or less than the sum of its parts, so apart from rating Food, Service, and Ambience, Reader Restaurant Raters are asked to give a score for the overall dining experience. These overall scores are averaged and rs are awarded as follows:

A restaurant can have high scores for Food, Service, and Ambience without receiving an rrr rating; a restaurant may have unspectacular ratings yet still possess an unquantifiable something that our Raters feel deserves recognition.

What do all those rs mean?

rrr top 10 percentrrr top 20 percentrrr top 30 percent

of all rated restaurants in our database

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 3, 2006 | SECTION TWO 9

All That Jazz Bob Fosse’s autobiographi-cal phantasmagoria (1979), based on 81/2

and photographed by Fellini’s own man,Giuseppe Rotunno. Fellini’s film was lyri-cal, reflective, and sentimental; Fosse’s ismanic, strained, and full of huffa-puffadecadence. Almost every scene is excruci-ating (and a few are appalling), yet thefilm stirs an obscene fascination with itsrapid, speed-freak cutting and passionatepsychological striptease. This is the fever-ish, painful expression of a man who livesin mortal fear of his own mediocrity. WithRoy Scheider (his jumpy performancenearly holds the film together), JessicaLange, Ann Reinking, and Leland Palmer.R, 123 min. (DK) a Univ. of Chicago DocFilms. 16mm.

NAquamarine Adapted from a chil-dren’s book by Alice Hoffman, this

first feature by Elizabeth Allen can be readas an allegory about teenage girls navigat-ing puberty. Two best friends (EmmaRoberts and Joanna “Jojo” Levesque), bothsmitten with a hunky local lifeguard (JakeMcDorman) in their Florida hometown, dis-cover a mermaid named Aquamarine (SaraPaxton) who’s been washed ashore duringa storm. She’s trying to escape from anarranged marriage and has three days toprove that true love exists, so the friendstry to nurture a romance between her andthe lifeguard. The story has its hokeymoments (“There’s something very fishyabout that girl”), but the sincerity andfocus of the storytelling compensate. PG,109 min. (JR) a Century 12 and CineArts 6,Chatham 14, City North 14, Crown Village18, Ford City, Gardens 1-6, Lake, 600 N.Michigan.

RThe Ascent Brooding close-ups con-centrate our attention on character

psychology in this final film (1976) bySoviet director Larissa Shepitko, aboutRussian partisans struggling againstGerman occupiers in the winter of 1942.One character will do almost anything tosave his life, while another, who enduresbrutal torture in silence, is likened toChrist, but the film is less a spiritual tract

than a relentlessly physical document.Dynamic compositions that showSheptiko’s debt to her teacher AlexanderDovzhenko heighten the survival drama byplacing characters alongside the snow, ice,and mud of frozen fields—the landscape isanother actor here. The film is emotionallyeffective, though not especially originalstylistically. In Russian with subtitles. 111min. (FC) a Facets Cinematheque.

RBefore the Fall “Napola,” theGerman title of this 2004 drama,

refers to the elite academies of the ThirdReich that groomed the cream of Aryanyouth for bigger things. The hero (playedwith the right amount of adolescent insou-ciance by Max Riemelt) is a working-classboy admitted to one of the academies forhis formidable boxing skills, and throughhim director Dennis Gansel captures theordinariness of Hitler’s supporters. Thefilm also shows how easily people wereseduced by the Reich’s ironclad ideologyand rigid moral code; in one terrifyingscene the cadet loses his innocence andidealism when he hunts and kills escapedRussian prisoners who turn out to be chil-dren like him. With Tom Schilling and DevidStriesow. In German with subtitles. 110min. (JK) a Landmark’s Century Centre.

Big Momma’s House 2 I hope theAcademy seats Paul Giamatti and TerrenceHoward together this year, so they canreminisce about the old days when theyhad to do junk like Big Momma’s House(2000). Needless to say, neither returns forthis ho-hum sequel, but Martin Lawrence isback as the intrepid FBI agent in obesedrag. Screenwriter Don Rhymer keeps thepotty humor to a minimum, though like thefirst movie, this is funny mostly for itsbrazen disregard of common sense—specif-ically, the idea that elaborate full-bodyprosthetic makeup could be slapped on inseconds by a cop on the run. JohnWhitesell (Malibu’s Most Wanted) directed.PG-13, 99 min. (JJ) a Chatham 14, FordCity, River East 21, 62nd & Western.

Black Sabbath This 1963 film by MarioBava, Italian master of exquisitely chillingatmosphere, is actually three short filmslinked by Boris Karloff’s narration (andappearance in the second episode as avampire who gains control over an entirefamily). Bava’s Italianate Grand Guignolworks well here and lifts this film morethan a cut above the average. 99 min. (DD)a Sat 3/4, 6 PM, Delilah’s, 2771 N. Lincoln,773-472-2771. TV monitors. F

The Blob The original 1958 version of thecampy teen SF comedy, directed by Irvin S.Yeaworth Jr. and featuring Steve McQueenin his first starring role. A mass of cherryJell-O from outer space threatens todestroy a small town; Burt Bacharach com-

posed the title song. 86 min. (JR) a Sun3/5, 6 PM, Delilah’s, 2771 N. Lincoln, 773-472-2771. TV monitors. F

cThe Boys of Baraka a Music Box.

RBrokeback Mountain Two cowboys(Jake Gyllenhaal, good, and Heath

Ledger, exceptional) share a night of pas-

sion while working briefly as sheepherdersin 1963, then spend the remainder of theirotherwise straight lives tragically conceal-ing their affair. Adapted by Larry McMurtryand Diana Ossana from an Annie Proulxstory and capably directed by Ang Lee, thisis the kind of tasteful tearjerker that’soften overrated and smothered with prizesfor flattering our tolerance and sensitivity.Lee focuses on the men’s wasted lives and

the heartbreak of their spouses and otherrelatives, but the movie makes one hankerfor the sort of unabashed queer storiesfound outside the mainstream. R, 134 min.(JR) a Century 12 and CineArts 6, CrownVillage 18, Davis, Esquire, Gardens 7-13,Landmark’s Century Centre.

NBurning Man: Beyond Black RockDamon Brown’s lively 2005 documen-

Film listings are compiled from information available Monday.Occasionally bookings change after our deadline; we suggest youcall ahead for confirmation. Most films are screened in 35-millime-ter and most videos are projected. Where possible, exceptions arenoted below. Submissions to the film listings are always welcome,

but must include a phone number for publication. Commentary byJonathan Rosenbaum (JR), Lisa Alspector (LA), Fred Camper (FC),Don Druker (DD), Pat Graham (PG), Andrea Gronvall (AG), J.R.Jones (JJ), Joshua Katzman (JK), Dave Kehr (DK), Peter Keough(PK), Hank Sartin (HSa), Henry Sheehan (HS), and Ted Shen (TS).

In 2002, 20 black seventh graders from Baltimore’s inner city,many of them from troubled homes, were sent to Baraka, anexperimental boarding school in Kenya. Filmmakers Heidi

Ewing and Rachel Grady spent three years following four ofthem, and the resulting documentary is sensitive, intelligent,

enlightening, and sometimes surprising. Ewing and Grady giveus a nuanced sense of these boys’ options, and it’s typical of theirattention to detail that during a long-distance phone call, cam-eras in Baraka and Baltimore record both sides of the conversa-tion. 85 min. a Music Box. —Jonathan Rosenbaum

Critic’s Choice

The Boys of Baraka