ROSCOE VILLAGE — Dawn Wilson has a name for the Italian eatery and market she aims to open in Roscoe Village — Caffé Villaggio. She just needs a place to put it.
"It's a waiting game," said Wilson, 35.
"I want a place that was previously a restaurant to cut back on the build out," she said of her search for the perfect piece of real estate. "In my head, I would like to open within the year. I'm trying to be patient."
In the meantime, Wilson, owner of A New Dawn personal chef service, is holding a series of pop-up dinners to create advance buzz for the cafe — wherever it may eventually land — while also honing her concept, which she likened to Eataly.
Patty Wetli says Wilson is waiting for the right spot before opening:
Dawn Wilson, at a previous pop-up dinner in March. [Michael Paskvan]
"A much smaller Eataly in the neighborhood," she emphasized, laughing at her own comparison. "You could fit like 100 of my restaurants in Eataly."
Southport Grocery & Cafe is closer to what Wilson has in mind — primarily a restaurant with a market attached.
"I would like to sell handmade pasta and have a small deli with salumi and cheeses," she said. "Basically because I have a hard time finding that stuff when I need it."
Her next pop-up, scheduled for Thursday at Brix Catering and Events, 1463 W. Leland Ave., will showcase the sort of rustic Italian fare Wilson fell in love with during the four-month period she spent in the small Tuscan town of Colle di Val d'Elsa. Working in the kitchen at the restaurant Officina della Cucina Popolare there, she gained an appreciation for the simplicity of authentic Italian cooking.
One of Wilson's favorite dishes, which she served at her first pop-up in March, is pici cacio e pepe, a hand-rolled rope pasta with a sauce of cheese, black pepper and water.
"It's literally three ingredients and it comes together so beautifully," she said.
One of Wilson's favorite dishes, pici cacio e pepe. [Michael Paskvan]
The centerpiece of Thursday's dinner is an unusual hand-made stuffed pasta, culurgiones. The Sardinian specialty is shaped like the tip of a stalk of wheat and is seldom seen on menus in the U.S.
Wilson's filling for the culurgiones includes a type of dried, cured caviar, and if this sounds anything but "rustic," the chef clarifies her definition of the term.
"It's handmade," she said. "It's not molecular. I'm not a molecular gastronomist."
She was, however, at one point a molecular scientist.
In what can only be described as a career U-turn, Wilson was formerly a research scientist with a specialty in molecular genetics.
"I still like the big idea of doing research to cure diseases," she said. "But day to day it gets disheartening."
Her idea for Caffé Villagio is about as far away from a sterile lab environment as a person can get.
Wilson envisions breakfast and lunch service, along with dinners a couple of times a week.
The hallmark will be a communal dining table and an emphasis on comfort.
"It will be like a dinner party at a friend's — cena con amici," Wilson said.
Italians have "such a different mentality than we do around food," she said. "No one's in a rush, people are just getting together with family and sharing a meal."
Communal dining is central to Wilson's vision for her cafe and pop-up dinners. [Michael Paskvan]
It's that vibe she hopes to recreate at her cafe: "No pretension but also just really good food."
Roscoe Village, which Wilson has called home for the past year, strikes her as just the place to bring her concept to fruition.
"It has that real community feel," she said. "It's a very neighborhoody neighborhood."
Tickets to Thursday's pop-up at 7 p.m. at Brix Catering and Events, 1463 W. Leland Ave., can be purchased online. Cost is $70 for the four-course meal or $100 for the meal with wine pairings.
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