Barcello's

If you were to watch a movie with the radio on, the incongruity might just give you an idea of a meal at Barcello’s.

Recently, David Richards, the chef-owner behind Sweets & Savories, purchased this West Wicker Park stalwart (known for decent square-cut pizza and fried chicken), gave it a paint job, stuck a scooter in the corner, quadrupled the menu offerings and piped in streaming Italian radio. The latter should be ditched; it sounds like two stations playing at once.

Somehow, servers don’t seem to notice the distraction, just as they failed to notice that the bresaola and capicola we ordered arrived as three slices of floppy domestic salami. Food temperatures are all over the board: Eggplant Parmesan arrived ice cold, mushroom-topped polenta was room temperature at best, and the water cracker–like crust of Richards’s pizza (Barcello’s original stuff is also served) tastes as if it’s baked ahead of time and topped with canned artichokes and chilled prosciutto before it hits the table.

While Richards is known for his risotto at Sweets & Savories, it somehow morphed into a heart attack on a plate, with more cheese than rice. If it’s not inhaled within two minutes, it congeals. Ditto for the “open ravioli,” a flap of too-thick pasta filled with truffled potatoes, ricotta and egg, topped with an unseasoned cream sauce. Like nearly everything else, it somehow goes from sounding delicious on the menu to being a confusing disappointment.—Heather Shouse

1647 N Milwaukee Ave between North Ave and Concord Pl (773-486-8444). El: Blue to Damen. Bus: 50, 56, 72. Lunch, dinner. Average main course: $14. BYOB.