Don’t Call Passerotto in Chicago Fusion | Bon Appétit
"Led by first-generation Korean-American chef Jennifer Kim, this buzzy new Chicago restaurant (opened in May) fuses Korean and Italian flavors in thoughtful, personal ways rooted in her upbringing and training. Kim combines ingredients like doenjang with bagna cauda and kimchi with Calabrian chile, and her dishes translate that vocabulary into memorable plates: cavatelli tossed in nori butter, a lamb ragu served with chewy rice cakes, and a gochujang-and-tofu stew with Manila clams, mussels, and head-on shrimp that bridges soondubu and cacciucco. The menu is presented as a progression that maps Kim’s immigrant experience—mixing the cuisine of her heritage with Italian traditions she learned in Italy and in Chicago kitchens such as Nico Osteria—and has resonated with diners who find their own memories reflected in the food (one couple likened the cacciucco-soondubu hybrid to a family étouffée). Beyond specific dishes, Kim’s point is philosophical: cuisines are porous and evolving, and her cooking intentionally blurs borders to show how comfort food can emerge from cultural crosscurrents." - ByElyse Inamine
