Chicago Magazine Gabriel's Horn July, 1993

There's been plenty to toot about since Gabriel's opened last month at 310 Green Bay Road in Highwood.

It's a foodie's fantasy, where southern France meets northern Italy in unfussy dishes served in a lively but refined setting. Gabriel Viti's quest excellence bypasses moneysaving shortcuts: He bakes bread (then wraps it in prosciutto), kneads his own pasta (making hand-cut chitarra), rolls puff pasty (to stuff with snails and frog legs), and churns his own ice creams. Can he do all that and hold checks to $25 to $35? That was Charlie Trotter's dream too.

This is a chef's restaurant. It's focus is "the line," that wall of fire sometimes staffed by guest chefs, mentors to get Viti's own staff up to spec. The temps include Kevin Schrimmer (former number one at Café Provencal), William Della Ventura (chef when The 95th was tops), Michael Kornick (Gordon, the Boston Four Seasons), and Scott Harris (Mia Francesca). Sous-chef Matt Merges comes from Charlie Trotter's.

Where does a 29 year-old get connections like Viti's? Growing up in Highland Park (with Kornick, Schrimmer, and Bella Vista's Geoff Felsenthal), Viti was reared in a food-loving tradition. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, then worked in many of the world's greatest kitchens, from Taillevant to Fredy Giradet. Back home he was at Avanzare, Un Grand Café, and the Eccentric, ultimately becoming chef at Carlos'. Moving to Chamonix in 1991 - local turf to his wife, Veronique, Gabriel's hostess - Viti solidified his grounding in the casual restaurants of France and Italy, and studied in more top spots (read: San Domenico, Viareggio, and Michael Guerard's). This guy's been around.

Viti's return to Chicago is just one indication that the art of personal cuisine is finding new life. Gabriel's is among several start-ups by talented young chefs making their own artistic statements. The Marc-Andrew Marc Rothschild's New Yorky River North nightspot at 311 West Superior Street - opened in April, and Michael Kornick makes his debut in the Randolph Street market in September

- Carla Kelson