La Mora in Roscoe Village

Now I will say up front, I don't typically like fusion and I really don't like fusion cuisine in the hands of a chef in a neighborhood joint. This is why on more than one occasion, even though we live only a few blocks away, my husband and I looked at the menu at La Mora and headed for Piazza Bella for a terrifically mediocre meal or out of Roscoe Village to greener eating pastures. Let me explain the fusion, which may now make sense with Vermillion on the scene, Italian-Indian. One night, however, we attended a Roscoe Village Neighbors event in La Mora's back room. I wasn't anticipating much, simply something to fill our stomachs before we moved on to a real meal. Strangely enough, even though the food was served in steam trays (another of my surefire food turn-offs), it was good. The samosas were fresh, hot and very tasty. There were tender meatballs and other items that were suprisingly well cooked. A few weeks later on one of our evening walks, we decided to stop in for a few appetizers. Again, they were good. One even truly outstanding: fried calamari coated in chickpea flour and spices served with a spicy marinara. The wine list has interesting and reasonably priced selections, including a Sicilian wine grilla, a white with just a touch of sweetness that complements their food well.

That evening the Italo-Indian connection was revealed to us. Apparently, the multi-talented owner is a women of Indian descent. In addition to owning La Mora, she is an anesthesiologist and has written a screenplay, which has been filmed in Chicago and will be shown at Sundance.

Before I recommended La Mora to this forum, I wanted to try the entrees, which we did a two weeks ago. Not so good. The pasta and the tenderloin tips were overdone, the snowpea and paneer risotto, included instead olive green English peas - it was promptly returned. The tandoori chicken, however, was tender and well spiced. The conclusions we reached that evening were these: La Mora is a very good place to stop for appetizers and wine, particularly on their Penny Wine Night (Monday, I believe) and that it is on firmer ground when the chef borrows from Indian tradition as opposed to the Italian one. I guess I would just say this, while not a destination place, if you're in the neighborhood, say even tonight for the Lakeview Arts & Music Fest (Lincoln/Ashland/Belmont), it's worth a look-see.

Has La Mora always been serving fusion cusine or is this a recent development? I ate there about a year ago and had a pretty uninteresting and overpriced Italian meal. I don't remember any fusion on the menu.

It's been like that for as long as I've walked by it. Fusion may be a fancy way of saying a mish-mosh of the two cuisines, like the gloppy pea-paneer risotto I got. The better model of it was the calamari in chickpea batter, which is honestly one of the best calamari I've had in a while. It actually reminds me of the Union Square Cafe calamari made with graham cracker crumbs. The Italian stuff on the menu is pretty mediocre.

MAG--

I've had terrible meals in your (and my old) 'hood at both Piazza Bella and La Mora. I still like the Village Tap, however (though the hard-to-place South American cook seems to be gone, and the burgers have suffered). What I really miss is Ace Cafe, the short-lived, highly stylized mods/punks themed biker/scooter bar, which had exemplary fish and chips.

It never ceases to amaze me how crowded Piazza Bella always is and how many people rave about it - including Ruth Reichl who named it one of the best neighborhood restaurants two years back. We tried, we really tried, but after the 4th absolutely dismal meal, we gave up, now we simply walk by referring to it dismissively as Piazza Crappa.

After pressing submit, I realized that I had wanted to comment on the general state of Roscoe Village dining after your reference to Village Tap and Ace. It also never ceases to amaze me that Lincoln Square has such fantastic food, while Roscoe Village so mediocre, though there have been some changes in this, i.e. Turquoise Cafe, on which I intend to post more about later, a very good white tablecloth Turkish place. Also, there is a sushi restaurant opening in the old Roscoe Village Sweet Shoppe. I'm certain it won't be Katsu, but hopefully it will be better than Rise.

I agree. Roscoe Village is a good place to get breakfast, and lunch in a pinch (though significantly less so with the absence of Hot Doug's-- there's a work permit and signs of activity at last at his old location, so he definitely seems to be reopening there). But dinner is a bummer, I agree that it's bizarre why Lincoln Square should have first been a neighborhood-Italian and Thai mecca, and now a hot spot of all sorts, while Roscoe Village remains a place to get a decent burger.

I think it's the Belmont curse-- is there really a decent place anywhere on Belmont?-- extending all the way up Lincoln (apart from Wishbone, not much excites me over there) and then over to Roscoe and Western.

Mike G wrote:I think it's the Belmont curse-- is there really a decent place anywhere on Belmont?

I think Menagerie may qualify. It's been a couple years since I was there, but on three occasions I thought it was very good.

riddlemay wrote:

Mike G wrote:I think it's the Belmont curse-- is there really a decent place anywhere on Belmont?

I think Menagerie may qualify. It's been a couple years since I was there, but on three occasions I thought it was very good.

After a few suggestions from friends, Mrs. Johnny and I decided to try Menagerie last week. We were told Thursday is "date night" - which consists of a three course price fixe menu for $25 per person. Unfortunately, upon our arrival, we found no mention of this special on the menu. After inquiring with our waiter, we were informed this special was being "phased out" but would continue to be honored for those who requested it. I thought this was a very nice gesture on their part.
Unfortunately, I was not "wowed" by any of the food. Chicago has no shortage of retsuarants offering similar food in that price range. Nothing was terrible - just very underwhelming.
I don't think I'd go out of my way for a return visit.

I used to go to La Mora when I lived on Roscoe last year. I was always pleased with what I received, the drink specials are nice, and I think the atmosphere of the restaurant is very cute. Personally I think it's miles above Piazza Bella, but then again, what isn't? I know I've had both Indian and Italian from there...but I don't remember what I ordered as the last time I went to La Mora was probably 8 months ago. But I remember being happy with the meal.

I know many rave about Turquoise Cafe, but the only time I was there I had some of the worst service of my dining life (they asked us to get up and move tables part-way through our evening, for one thing) and the food IMO was extremely mediocre.

PlayItGeorge wrote:I used to go to La Mora when I lived on Roscoe last year. I was always pleased with what I received, the drink specials are nice, and I think the atmosphere of the restaurant is very cute. Personally I think it's miles above Piazza Bella, but then again, what isn't?

I was at Piazza Bella the other night (not my choice), and I can report that it was as mediocre--and as inexplicably busy--as ever.

I know many rave about Turquoise Cafe, but the only time I was there I had some of the worst service of my dining life (they asked us to get up and move tables part-way through our evening, for one thing)...

This reminds me of an experience at Jacky's Bistro, a few years ago when Jacky Pluton still owned it. When a party of six showed up, our party of four was asked to give up the largish table we had been shown to. We graciously agreed, to help out the hostess. We regretted our graciousness, however, when the thanks for it was being shown to a table that was too small for a party of four--it was a "two-top." When we said this was not acceptable, the hostess got Jacky to come over. I had hopes that he would resolve the problem with a graciousness equal to ours in giving up our original table, but sadly, no. Instead, there was a heavy sarcasm act, with Jacky pretending not to understand our problem, and finally showing us to an acceptable banquette with a heavy rollling of the eyes and a "Will THIS table be all right for you?!??" It will be a long time before we'll go back to Jacky's (even though it's under different ownership), and we certainly will never patronize any restaurant owned by Pluton.

Re the crumminess of the Belmont strip--even Menagerie, when it was culinarily good in its first years, had a certain "not quite as nice as it could be" going on with the ambience and decor, as if it were doomed and depressed by the general seediness of the street. (It wasn't bad--just not in line with the aspirations of the food, and you knew that if the same place were on Fullerton, the owners would have put more money into it). The one place I can think of along that stretch of Belmont that is aesthetically pleasing--and therefore an exception--is Bittersweet. (And I think their desserts generally are all they're cracked up to be.)

Perversely motivated by Gwiv's entirely lukewarm comments on WGN last night (laughing, "Well, just because a place has received some posts doesn't mean it's popular"), we went tonight.

QUESTION: How in the name of all that is authentic, honest, and good, do you serve tandoori chicken with grill marks? When you don't have a tandoori oven? Or better, Why would you?

ANSWER: When you believe your clientele is too uniformed to know what tandoori chicken actually is or should taste like.

Still, the house-made ravioli, stuffed with spinach, in thyme sauce were suprisingly good, giving fine tooth and flavor. We also liked the calamari, an inspired dish (thx for the rec, MAG -- and your suggestion that this is basically a wine and app place still seems accurate several years later).