I Am Siam and A Milano

We had two good meals this weekend in the Northern Suburbs. Friday night was Thai food at I Am Siam in Wheeling, and Saturday evening at A Milano in Northfield.

At I Am Siam, Bonnie(her american name) is the hostess and I've worked it out with her to call me when her husband (the chef) makes his Issan sausage. It's on par with the versions I've had at Spoon and Thai Aree.Served with the usual accompaniments it's a great starter. She's won't put it on the menu because she feels their average customer won't want it so it's hit or miss unless you get on her call list. Their Siam Pancake(Nom Bung) was greaseless with a very tasty filling another good beginning.
We ordered the Five Star Chicken which is marinated, deep fried and stir fried in sweet chili sauce with veggies. Crispy and with great flavor.
Kao Soi is labeled Yellow Noodle Soup on the menu and while not as intense as TAC's it's pretty good for up here. A lot of the dishes are dumbed down so as to appeal to suburban tastes, so you've got to make it clear what you've experienced with Thai food and they'll accomodate you. All in all not a bad alternative to fighting Friday night traffic into the city.

At A Milano we were seated right on time with the reservation in an interesting room with pleasant lighting, and while filling rapidly, not to loud. My wife started with a bowl of Tomato soup which had wonderful flavor and came with a mini fontina grilled cheese sandwich. Nice touch. Also to start I had the Garlic Frites that were listed under sides. It was a giant mound of shaved potato slivers perfectly fried with great garlic seasoning. We each had a pasta and skipped the meat or chicken. She had Bucatini a la Carbonara which had plenty of pancetta and perfectly cooked pasta while I had a braised lamb, cannellini beans and tomato pasta. The lamb was very tender and really made the dish.
Too full for desert we're looking forward to going back and trying the entree's and desert. The liquid center chocolate cake and malted milkball gelato seem like a good start.
The service was attentive and well paced.
A Milano occupies the space MK North had and I think is owned by the same people. I never went when it was MK's but for whatever the reason they closed so soon they seemed to have made adjustments as this was a very nice dinner for a reasonable price.

I Am Siam
One Huntington Lane
Wheeling
847-419-0698

A Milano
305 Happ Road
Northfield
847-716-6500

I, too, had a nice meal at A Milano. While it's not destination dining, it's a solid place for those who live in the area.

Jonah

Yes, it's definitely closed for good. A Milano, Michael Kornick's Northfield restaurant is no longer. It had changed cuisine and name from MK North less than a year ago.

Will it be missed? Comments...