Bar Toma

If you’re going to Bar Toma thinking it’s the poor man’s Spiaggia (Tony Mantuano’s landmark Italian restaurant four blocks away): Stop. If you’re thinking Bar Toma is a cavernous restaurant across the street from Water Tower Place that should, with Mantuano as its chef and namesake, be at least an improvement on its forerunner, Bistro 110: Okay, go. The menu is hit or miss and execution wavers, but our ideal meal would start with polpettes (plump shrimp meatballs in spicy tomato sauce), move on to a pizza (such as the inspired combination of goat cheese, hazelnuts, leeks and roasted dates) and end with a duo of filled-to-order cannoli alongside an expert cappuccino.