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Best Fettuccine Alfredo in Chicago
“Butter and Parmesan melted into a rich sauce, tableside—a Roman invention that travels differently than it arrived.”
What the real thing tastes like
Fettuccine Alfredo (Italian: [fettut'tʃiːne alˈfreːdo]) is a pasta dish consisting of fettuccine tossed with butter and Parmesan cheese which is melted and emulsified to form a rich cheese sauce coating the pasta. Originating in Rome in the early 20th century, the recipe is now known primarily in the United States and other countries. The dish is named after Alfredo Di Lelio, a Roman restaurateur who created and popularized it. Di Lelio's tableside service was an integral part of the recipe's early success. Fettuccine Alfredo is a variant of standard Italian preparations fettuccine al burro ('fettuccine with butter'), pasta burro e parmigiano ('pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese'), and pasta in bianco ('plain pasta'). Outside of Italy, cream is sometimes used to thicken the sauce, and ingredients such as chicken, shrimp, or broccoli may be added when Fettuccine Alfredo is served as a main course. Neither cream nor other additional ingredients are used in Italy, where the dish is rar
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Fettuccine Alfredo is butter and Parmesan cheese emulsified into silk—nothing more, nothing less in Rome. A Roman restaurateur named Alfredo Di Lelio created this deceptively simple dish in the early 20th century, and made it famous partly through the theater of tableside service. What you find in the US often bears little resemblance: cream thickens it, chicken or shrimp lands on top. In Italy, outside Rome, the dish barely carries Alfredo's name at all.
Order it here when it has
- rich cheese sauce
- elegant simplicity
- storied origin
Walk away when you see
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