Club Lucky

This is how you do it!

One of my favorite Italian places in Chicago, for certain! When you walk in the door, you are taken in by the old school feel, sounds and smells.  Friendly greetings and a great bar up front, really make this a top spot in my book.  

The drink menu is fun, the wines are great and they even have a lovely list of single malts, all for a very reasonable price.  

The night started with bacon wrapped figs and roasted garlic, which were in a light mascarpone sauce.  Brilliant combination of flavors overall and the sauce was great for dipping the light crusty bread you get at the table.  

Rounded the meal off with the Veal Franceses and some gluten free rotini in marinara sauce.  WOW!  Both were excellent!  The sauce is to die for .... on both dishes!  The wines we chose were outstanding and really complimented the meals.  Finished off the set with a nice Lemon Italian Ice.

The service was outstanding, very attentive and knowledgeable.  The ambiance, really makes this a great place for a night out with friends, a date or just hanging out at the bar on your own!  

Apps, 4 drinks, entrees and dessert, under $100 before tip.  I can not recommend this place more!  A must experience and if I had 5 stars, it would rate it!

The Italian Village

OLD SCHOOL ITALIAN

One thing I really get into is old school Italian places.  Sabatinos's is a fav, and I can add lunch time at the Italian Village. 

I got a half order of the Spaghetti with Arrabiata sauce, which was a perfect size and really good. No cheese at the table, which was a little disappointing, and no one asked if I wanted any. I was guessing that they just didn't do it there.  

My friend got the Grilled chickem salad, which was a big size, and really good, with big chunks of blue cheese.  

Great stop for lunch, waited about 10 minutes for a seat, so not bad.  The interior is dark and really stepping back in time.  The one complaint was that the service was a little inattentive.  Coffee was never refilled and only checked on my soda once.  Overall a good experience and some quality food.  I would go back for lunch, i haven't had a dinner experience there yet.     

D'Agostino's in Park Ridge

Good Italian, Good Deal

This weekend, with mt two special ladies (g/f and god mother) we had a craving for Italian and headed over to D'Agostino's on Higgins for a fix.  

Overall, the place is really nice, clean and bright.  The service started off well, but sort of slowed down a bit.  We got our appetizer, but the soup and salad never came.  We had to ask for it when the entrees showed up.  Took a while for some drink refills as well, so they lose a few points there.  

Overall the food was good and three people ate for about $40, +/+.  

I had the prime rib special, which was a tad overcooked for me, but still tasty.  The Chicken parmesan was great and the pasta with marinara and meatballs was good too.  The portions were quite large and there was some to take home! 

Overall, good food, great value, for a quick bite or a family afternoon out.  

 

Boni Vino - Loop

Lunchtime Italian

So, there was this dingy Italian joint under the EL tracks on Van Buren that I have walked by for years.  I finally thought to stop ion and check it out.  

The inside is pretty 70s old school and the the greeting at the door, "just da two of youse?" was classic.  It sparked my interest right away, because I love old school!  

The wait staff was great, very attentive and friendly....We were her sweethearts!  

Let get down to the food!  Now, if you are looking for some basic home style Italian, this is the place.  I had a bowl of mostaccioli and sausage, my co-worker had the same with meatballs.  We were not disappointed.  for about $10 you got a good sized lunch!  

The sauce was tasty and the sausage grilled just right!  The bread was eh... but I'm not there for the bread.  I have to say, I totally enjoyed the experience and the food.  The plus...they are open LATE, like until 2AM.  In this part of the Loop, that says a lot, but most places just survuve on the lunch crowd.  This place must have something!  Check it out!

A Fellow Blogger's review:  http://elstopfoodhunt.com/2012/04/16/beneath-the-loop-track-boni-vino/

Sabatino's - North Center Chicago.

Chicken Sabatino

Sabatino's hands down is one of my favorite places to eat.  Why?  

I love the old school setting, the atmosphere brings me back to a time when going out to eat was an experience.  Dinner here can be a 2 hour outing, but that is no problem.  I love that they are not rushing you and that the meal is coursed with plenty of time for conversation with your friends or date.  

I went to an event in the private room, sort of family style, but not exactly.  Still a great time and a new friend made!  There is no shortage of food at Sabatino's, you leave there very satisfied!  The soup and salad are seriously a meal on their own.  

The Chicken Sabatino, a breast grilled and stuffed with wild rice, covered in Mushrooms cooked in a light wine sauce.....was excellent!  My first time having that.  

Service is unbeatable and the bar, doesn't skimp on the good stuff.  

If you want a dinner experience, rather than just a night out.  A real, old school setting and some outstanding food with pricing that will not send you a shocking FOOD BILL, I highly recommend Sabatino's!  One of My Favorites!

JC's Pub Ristorante - McCook IL

Prime Rib

A lovely friend took me to one of her favorite places to eat down in the Southwest burbs of Chicago.  Not an area I wold normally venture out to, but I am happy that I did.

I wasn't feeling well, I started on probiotics and my digestive system is a but delicate at the moment, but I managed to give it a good try.

I am glad I did!  I love these old Mom and Pop places!  This joint reminded my of one of my favorites, Sabatino's in Avondale.

I got a 12 ounce Prime rib that was really good.  I could not finish it!  It came iwth salad, veggies and vesuvio potatoes.  The only complaint, the veggies were a little over cooked, but who cares, the beef was on my mind.  It was cooked just right and quite flavorful.  My friend had a pasta dish with beef....I cant spell it so Im not going to try!  But it also rocked and the portions were HUGE.

Service was good, but not great.  My water glass never got filled back up, but she did come bay several times to see how we were and I just forgot to ask as well, but should I have to?  The place was good, so it didn't really take away from the experience.

My prime rib was a special for the evening at $21.  Wine was $6 a glass and not too bad at all.  Over all, great date night place, quiet  atmosphere but busy.  On the way out, the owner shook my hand and gave me a really sincere thank you.  I liked that.  I would absolutely go again!

Buca di Beppo - wheeling

My empty plate, I ate it all and it was good!

Buca's a a small chain, with a couple of locations in the area.  I think it iw worth writing about because your food bill wont break the bank and you can feed a lot of people. You can feed 15 for the same bill as it would be for 4 in most other fancy joints.  The first reason for loving the joint!

  

We had 2 salads, 2 apps and 6 entrees, all family style.  No alcohol sine it was a family lunch ... yeah...  I know. But it didn't break the bank!  Service was great too, very attentive and friendly.  

I love the sauce! Their marinara is light, tangy and hits the spot is you are looking for something to bring back memories of those old school ma and pa joints that used to be all over Chicago.  The place is fun too, lots of old pictures lining the walls and of course, the Pope room is still an attraction!  Overall you can't go wrong at this place, good food, fun atmosphere and you can bring all your friends!