Anytime you walk into Peanut Park Trattoria, the year-old Italian restaurant in the heart of Chicago's Little Italy, you'll most likely see an order of meatballs on almost every table. Indeed, the restaurant churns out upwards of 200 orders each week.
This could be easily explained by the indisputable, comforting appeal of meatballs. But these baseball-sized creations are especially good — tender yet substantial, juicy and savory, richly seared then submerged in sweet, rich tomato sauce. What you might not know is you're actually eating a "compromise meatball" between co-owner Dave Bonomi and co-owner/executive chef Tony Fiasche.
