Ryan Chiaverini projects such a warm, affable presence as the co-host of the ABC7 talk show “Windy City Live” that as I waited to talk to him, I wondered whether he acts that way in real life or whether it’s just a persona for TV. A moment later, he bounded into his office with a big smile, a proffered handshake and a friendly gesture motioning me to sit on a sofa.

During a round of chitchat, this native Californian who moved to Chicago 13 years ago volunteered some of his favorite Italian places in the Windy City — Volare, Ignotz, La Scarola, D’Amato’s for bread and sandwiches — “and that’s just the beginning, I don’t want to leave anybody out.”