Little Italy expands Little Italy, an extremely popular family-style Italian restaurant with a chef/owner who long cooked in Chicago, is expanding after a major renovation project in Dyer. The restaurant on U.S. 30 temporarily closed for construction at the beginning of the year so it could remodel its space and grow "a little bigger." The eatery, at 1155 Joliet St., is known for sumptuous pasta dishes like rigatoni a la vodka, fireside gnocchi and the side of baked ziti that comes with entrees like crispy pork shoulder, 16-ounce prime ribeye, and maple and balsamic glazed salmon. A date night staple for many Region couples, it serves creative contemporary fare like truffle-roasted garlic bread, brick oven pizza and baked goat cheese in a romantic courtyard-like setting with string lights hung overhead.