Recorded on location at Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago

Why This Episode Matters

Grueneberg explains why being willing to step down in title to keep learning can be one of the smartest career moves in hospitality.
Monteverde turns pasta production into part of the dining-room experience with its open pastificio, including filled pasta made to order.
The restaurant’s batteria of balsamic barrels isn’t just decoration: Grueneberg sees the continuously aging, fermenting vinegar as part of Monteverde’s living soul.
She also shares what comes next: Trattoria Lo So, Monteverde’s forthcoming second restaurant in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, with longtime Monteverde chef Bailey Sullivan leading the kitchen.

The Conversation

Grueneberg traces the path from Brennan’s of Houston to Chicago, where she deliberately went back to garde manger at Spiaggia because she wanted to learn Italian cooking. She and The Guys talk about the value (and ego check) of taking a lower position in order to learn from the right people, as well as what Chicago’s restaurant culture gave her that she was looking for at that stage of her career.

At Monteverde, that education shows up in both the food and the room. Grueneberg wanted guests to feel what she calls “calm chaos”: a restaurant alive with music, smells, movement and pasta being made in full view. She explains why the pastificio was brought out of the prep kitchen and put onstage, how Monteverde handles both extruded and filled pastas, and why its seven-barrel balsamic batteria has become part of the restaurant’s identity.

The conversation moves into Grueneberg’s approach to Italian cooking “a traditional heart with a modern hand” from pork neck ragù to cacio whey pepe, and how traveling through Italy gave her permission to respect tradition without simply reproducing it. She also breaks news about Trattoria Lo So, her team’s next Chicago restaurant. Then, after dinner, Mark and Francis return to the microphones to report on whether Monteverde lived up to everything they had just heard. Spoiler: Mark finds a meatball worthy of discussion, which is not a low bar.

Guest Bio

Sarah Grueneberg is the chef and co-owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago’s West Loop. She previously spent eight years at Spiaggia, rising to executive chef during a period when the restaurant earned one Michelin star for three consecutive years, and is a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Her cooking combines Italian traditions with influences from her Texas upbringing, travels and training.

Grueneberg and her Monteverde partners are preparing to open Trattoria Lo So in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood in early 2027. Bailey Sullivan will lead the kitchen as executive chef, with Grueneberg serving as creative director.

Timestamps

00:00 The Restaurant Guys arrive in Chicago and head to Monteverde
01:30 Sarah Grueneberg’s path from Houston to Spiaggia; taking a step backward to learn
08:00 — Chicago hospitality, “Midwestern nice” and building a restaurant team
14:00 — Creating Monteverde’s “calm chaos”
18:30 — The pastificio: fresh pasta, filled pasta and making it to order
21:00 — Monteverde’s balsamic batteria and how traditional balsamic is made
28:00 — Grueneberg’s approach to Italian cooking “Traditional heart, modern hand”
33:00 — The Italy trip that changed her career
37:00 — Sarah’s new Trattoria Lo So and what comes next
39:00 — After dinner: The Guys review Monteverde, from meatballs to agnolotti

Info

Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio https://monteverdechicago.com/

Trattoria Lo So Bucktown, Chicago; expected to open in early 2027

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

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Pasta, Balsamic & Calm Chaos: Inside Monteverde | Sarah Grueneberg

The Restaurant Guys

Pasta, Balsamic & Calm Chaos: Inside Monteverde | Sarah Grueneberg