La Scarola- last night

Went to La Scarola last night. It was very hit or miss, more miss than hit.

Appetizers:
The octopus appetizer was very good.
The minestrone soup was very good.
The sausage and peppers were average.
Sauteed spinach was not too good

Entrees:

I got a soft shell crab appetizer with mussels that I thought was very good. I also had the escarole and beans. The flavor was good and the beans were nice and firm, but the escarole was very gritty- it obviously hadn't been washed well.

One of my friends had a pasta with pesto and chicken. The pesto was tasteless and the chicken was overcooked-not good.

My wife and her friend had eggplant parmagiana. The eggplant, while tender, was too thick and too mealy with minimal taste. It was also swimming in a pool of water which diluted the tomato sauce. It was terrible.

I'm not going back. I guess it's back to Bruna's or Capri...

or I'll try Sabatino's next.

My experience with La Scaraola has always been very mediocre as well. Never understood what people raved about. [I always wondered if the fact that most of the several times I ate there, I ate alone.] My specific recollections were of poorly cooked escarole, watery pasta, and overcooked sausages. [These visits are a couple of years in the past, and may not reflect your actual milage. After a couple of nowhere-near-good-enough for the price meals, I stopped trying.]

Giovanna

I think La Scarola has reached that point in its arc similar to that of many other restaurants; business is being driven by a previously earned reputation, not by current quality. Many of those other restaurants have been able to coast for years in this fashion, and it's quite possible La Scarola will too. Let's face it--it's a cute place in a great location. That, coupled with an active tourist trade, just might be enough.

however it is spelled, la scarola's pasta fazool is the best i've had and has been extensively reviewed on many food sites and even written up in tribune by monica eng. as for other stuff, i have not been for a while and i know they changed their meat supplier a while back, so i'll go check it out and post on it.

My last visit to Lascarola, the Friday before Mother's Day, was also disappointing.

The usually outstanding pasta e fagiole was noticeably thinner and not as robustly flavored as usual.

The sausage and sauteed escarole was prepared with a lot of overcooked garlic that gave the dish a bitter flavor.

The chicken in the pasta vesuvio was a little rubbery, also due to overcooking.

I hope this is just a temporary problem with the restaurant, as it is one of my favorites. Up until my most recent visit, I think it has always far outstripped another board favorite, Sabatino's.

Giovanna wrote:My experience with La Scaraola has always been very mediocre as well. Never understood what people raved about. [I always wondered if the fact that most of the several times I ate there, I ate alone.] My specific recollections were of poorly cooked escarole, watery pasta, and overcooked sausages. [These visits are a couple of years in the past, and may not reflect your actual milage. After a couple of nowhere-near-good-enough for the price meals, I stopped trying.]

Giovanna

Giovanna,

Wow, I'm surprised. I trust your opinions, and it seems like you're referring to several mediocre experiences (so we can't just write it off to "coming on a bad night").

The Wife and I went for the first time last night, and thought just about everything was pretty good.

The pasta fagiole (favored by Panzone, as well as Ann Fisher in an earlier post) was quite good. I had the escarole soup, too, and liked it ..so much so, that I got a bowl of minestrone as a chaser (I have a slight flu; must have warm liquids).

The veal chop was outstanding; the gamberi risotto was okay (canned artichoke hearts seemed like a lazy addition), and the bread was just a few hours past its prime (but it was Sunday night, after all).

Overall, I left a happy customer (though I didn't get any sausage), and would consider recommending this place to those looking for good Italian in Chicago.

Hammond

My one experience at La Scarola, which was the same as my mom's one visit, I think, wasn't particularly wonderful. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't great. My chicken dish was fine but, to my memory, fairly bland.

There are a lot of good neighborhood italian restaurants in this city, I'd recommend most of them before La Scarola..

I have always had good experiences at La Scarola.

Just don't ask for any Carbonara.

Giovanna,

Wow, I'm surprised. I trust your opinions, and it seems like you're referring to several mediocre experiences (so we can't just write it off to "coming on a bad night").

Well, there ya go. Over the years I've seen so many happy comments about LaScarola, I kept going back. Always with a not-very-happy result. And yet, good reviews continue.

Some things just aren't meant to be. Maybe it's just me....

Thank the goddess there are other restaurants in this town to try.

Giovanna