Mike Sula reviews Ripasso, the new Wicker Park restaurant from Theo Gilbert, formerly of Terragusto. As at the latter, pastas are the magnet, with some dishes such as the butternut squash cappellacci with brown butter and sage carrying over from the old menu. The addition of a cocktail menu overseen by former Drawing Room mixologist Tim Lacey and a large wine list with some uncommon regional Italian selections gets Sula’s thumbs-up. But he finds many of the offerings, from the bread to the underseasoned sauces, in need of a pinch or two of salt if they're to compete with restaurants like the Florentine, Piccolo Sogno, Antico, and Berwyn's Autre Monde.

In Key Ingredient Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe works with gjetost, a Norwegian whey cheese that he describes as tasting like “dulce de leche with some farm funk tossed in.” To temper its sweetness, he used it in a gratin with leeks, celery root, currants, and rue, serving it with an aioli and some caraway crackers he’d made. “Doesn’t it suggest something that I’m about to have a second bite?” he said. Next up is John Anderes of Telegraph Wine Bar, taking on ash.

In our New Year’s Eve Guide there are scores of dining listings for the occasion, plus parties and events, concerts, and New Year’s Day brunches.