Mia Francesca , a Chicagoland chain of nice Northern Italian restaurants, today opened their third location outside of the Windy City. The restaurant’s menu (.pdf) features a small selection of pastas and entrees that land in the middle-teen price range. Items like Costoletta di Maiale della casa and the Linguine al Sugo di Gambori look particularly interesting.

I’ve been looking forward to the opening of Mia Francesca, and am ecstatic that the price point is as low as it is. Located adjacent to the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel in North Hills, the restaurant is situated in a prime spot for travelers, especially.

What is curious is that this is North Hills’ fourth Italian offering. While Piola is more of an informal dining experience, it seems that Mia Francesca’s location (in view of Cinelli’s) and extremely similar menu to Vivace are sure to ruffle many feathers in the North Hills dining market; especially when Moe’s stands as the only representative (and a bad one at that) of the Mexican craze that currently is sweeping through America.