LIA Tavern

LIA Tavern is a tavern-style pizza restaurant at 11 W. Illinois St. in River North, run by chef Justin Vaiciunas and business partner Michael Mauro. The name stands for Life Imitates Art, and the dining room doubles as a gallery for a rotating artist-in-residence program whose work shapes parts of the menu and the cocktail list. Thin-crust pies lead the kitchen’s lineup, with pastas, mains and a pizza tasting menu alongside. A large painting by Vaiciunas hangs behind the bar, and the pop-art touches extend to cocktails inspired by artists’ work.

What to know

• The pizza is thin-crust and tavern-style.
• The Mona Lia is a seven-course tasting of tavern classics, three craft pizzas and dessert.
• Resident artists rotate every few months, and parts of the menu change with them.
• Reservations go through OpenTable, and walk-ins are welcome.
• The Grand station on the CTA Red Line is one block north.