Three friends with years of experience preparing traditional Italian cuisine are bringing their food to North Center. Riccardo Michi, Massimo Di Vuolo and Carlo Maggi took over the former Parkside, 4356 N. Leavitt St., last fall to transform it into Il Milanese Ristorante. It opened last week.

Il Milanese is open 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 5-9 p.m. Sundays. The trio met about 30 years ago, when they worked at the Gold Coast’s now-closed Bice Ristorante. They kept in touch as their careers in the restaurant industry took them in different directions, Maggi said.