Ciao Baby
Design District restaurant from Tim Headington jumps on Italian bandwagon
A second Design District eatery from Tim Headington is here. Called Sassetta, it's an Italian restaurant and it'll open on May 2. Oh wait, that's today. You free for dinner?
The official address is 1617 Hi Line Dr. It's tucked inside the Decorative Center at the corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Hi Line Drive, where it joins Wheelhouse, Headington's recently opened gastropub, and a grab-and-go market called Go Go, which will open soon.
The trio makes up an eatery community within a newly constructed 10,000-square-foot complex designed by Seattle architectural firm Olson Kundig. They revolve around a covered outdoor pavilion featuring an 18-foot sculpture called Moving Figure by New York artist Daniel Arsham.
Sassetta uses au courant catch words such as "seasonal" and "modern" to describe its Italian rustic menu. There is hand-crafted pasta, which is definitely better than, say, elbow-crafted or foot-crafted. There are house-cured meats, seafood, and thin-crust pizza. Wines hail from various regions in Italy, along with amari and Italian cocktails.
There are shareable small plates such as salumi served with freshly made mozzarella (hate the stale stuff), giardiniera, and sourdough, and yellowfin tuna crudo with fava bean, strawberry, and Marcona almonds.
House-made semolina pastas are rolled or extruded in various shapes then "perfectly dressed," according to the release. There is spaghetti with rock shrimp, Fresno chili, and pistachio, and ramp tortelloni served in tomato broth with Parmesan.
The pizza sounds promising. They use a three-day fermented dough cooked at ultra-high temperatures to achieve a puffy, blistered crust. That's very Neapolitan. One pizza has oyster mushroom, baby kale, mozzarella, and chilies, another has Taleggio cheese, Parmesan, black pepper, and burnt honey.
The decor has a contemporary take on romanticized European design with a nod to Harry's Bar in Venice. Sassetta will initially be open for dinner but will add breakfast and lunch, functioning as an all-day cafe. Reservations are accepted for the dining room, walk-in seating is available in the bar.
When it opens, Go Go will serve Counter Culture Coffee, with daily house-baked goods, sandwiches, pizzas, and entrées. It will serve as the hub for carryout orders from Wheelhouse and Sassetta, as well as function as an in-house delivery service to area residents and businesses.
Headington Companies' Brian Zenner and Michael Sindoni lead the culinary teams and menu creation for all three concepts.
Stuffed French toast at Keke's Breakfast CafeKeke's