Her name is DEL RIO and she dances on the sand

Last nights poor weather had us cancelling reservations at May Street Market and looking for something a little closer to home. We tried Sage Grill in Highwood, Bank Lane Bistro and Francesco's Hole in the Wall...none could take a last minute reservation and the Hole in the Wall had a huge wait. Then...Inspiration...Del Rio. Old school Highwood at its very best. Hadnt been in at least 15 years. Some things never change.

Opened in 1930, the place looked like 1974 when my parents brought me for my first big boy dinner out in Highwood. One large wood panneled dining room, bathrooms that were last renovated when Roosevelt was serving his 3rd term, pictures of the saints on the walls and bottles of Fernet in the bar. Who doesn't love red sauce Italian?

Del Rio is famous for its al forno preparation of steak, veal and certain pasta dishes. They also make an excellent piece of fish in either a healthy white wine preparation or with butter and lemon. All entrees are baked in ceramic casserole type dishes and de(re)-plated at your table. If they made the caesar salad at the table the mid century dynamic would be mind boggling. We sampled, amongst our party, the fish and chicken baked in white wine, steak al forno, eggplant parmasean, various sides of pasta, excellent homemade gnocchi and tortelinnii in brodo, a nice antipasto tray and a fine example of tiramisu (homemade, not my usual cup of tea but i was only eating off someone else's plate). Everything was really tasty and prepared and presented in the way of the great red sauce italian tradition of places like Sabbatinos or the classic My Favorite Inn (RIP)

As usual my wife will not let me photograph a meal while she is present so i dont have any pictures to display, but since i believe Highwood is underrepresented here I thought I would mention Del Rio since it is really good and totally off (at least my) radar in spite of the fact that I have been going to this place for 30 years. Reservations for parties of six or more only.

Del Rio Restaurant
228 Green Bay Rd.
Highwood, IL 60040
847-432-4608

The last time Hubs and I went to DeL Rio (this summer) I had a veal chop to die for! Fresh Cannolli for dessert,
Sometimes old school is a wonderful thing.

Del Rio's is another old Highwood favorite of my family's too, but as I recall, to my dad's annoyance, they didn't take credit cards. Is that still true?

iblock9 wrote:Last nights poor weather had us cancelling reservations at May Street Market and looking for something a little closer to home. We tried Sage Grill in Highwood, Bank Lane Bistro and Francesco's Hole in the Wall...none could take a last minute reservation and the Hole in the Wall had a huge wait.

Just a suggestion (and nothing against Del Rio)... When I've been in that situation (i.e. needing a reservation at a place right now), I've found opentable.com to be a great help. You can make reservations right up to the minute you need them. Obviously not every place accepts reservations on opentable.com but quite a few do (over 300 in the Chicago area, city and suburbs). A few clicks on your keyboard and it can tell you a whole bunch of places with openings at whatever time you like. Just something to keep in mind.

Katie wrote:Del Rio's is another old Highwood favorite of my family's too, but as I recall, to my dad's annoyance, they didn't take credit cards. Is that still true?

I dont know, we paid cash.

Haven't thought about Del Rio in 20 years. Didn't know it was sitll around. But no one has mentioned the wine cellar. I was first taken there by my mentor in wine because, as much as they made some good food, they had a famous 3-volume wine list and it was a relatively affordable way to try things you couldn't get or afford anywhere else. Is this still one of its distinctions?

iblock9 wrote:

Katie wrote:Del Rio's is another old Highwood favorite of my family's too, but as I recall, to my dad's annoyance, they didn't take credit cards. Is that still true?

I dont know, we paid cash.

I've been going to Del Rio since I was in my mother's stomach, so 32+ years, and now my husband and I make a ritual of going. They do take credit cards, just no reservations (for small parties anyway, not sure about larger parties). They are family-owned and run, sometimes their hours are different around the holidays (call before you go to make sure they are open). We usually skip desert and get the "bar cappucino," don't know what's in it because its a secret (filled with liqueurs), but its good and potent! Our other favorites are the Veal Del Rio and the tortellaci (homemade spinach-filled tortellini topped with an insane cream sauce).

mrbarolo wrote:Haven't thought about Del Rio in 20 years. Didn't know it was sitll around. But no one has mentioned the wine cellar. I was first taken there by my mentor in wine because, as much as they made some good food, they had a famous 3-volume wine list and it was a relatively affordable way to try things you couldn't get or afford anywhere else. Is this still one of its distinctions?

Yup...while it's a shadow of what it was a few years ago (the three volumes are down to one), the wine list at Del Rio is still one of the best in the Chicago area, and for older American wines, THE best in the Chicago area. And the prices are very fair, in most cases less (sometimes MUCH less) than what it would cost to buy the wine at auction...

According to a few local winos (we were talking about DR at dinner last Thursday), the prices have been "adjusted" closer to the market.

If I recall correctly, unfortunately the prices aren't "old school" like the atmosphere and preparation are.

A good place to visit once every few years, but for the money and overall experience I prefer several other red sauce Italian places in the area. That said, their gnocchi in tomato cream sauce is worth whatever they charge and then some.

mhill95149 wrote:According to a few local winos (we were talking about DR at dinner last Thursday), the prices have been "adjusted" closer to the market.

The prices were "adjusted" about two years ago when the reserve list was re-written -- though in today's auction market, even the "adjusted" prices are low...