Raffaele Ristorante, Harwood Heights

I have a particularly hard time with Italian food in and around Chicago. I find most restaurants to be severely lacking in one respect or another, including many well-respected restaurants (this includes a number of board favorites that I just can't "get on board" with).

After a very brief mention in Chicago Mag's "Dish" preceded Cookie's request for Italian food, we decided to give the newly opened Raffaele Ristorante a try.

The proximity of Raffaele to Harlem Ave. coupled with it's unassuming strip-mall location gave me high hopes. (Yes, I do often consider a strip-mall location to be a positive omen). I had mixed feelings about their menu which seemed way too vast for such a small kitchen (which was partially visible).

We ordered a lot of food, the best of which came as our antipasti: cheese-stuffed, prosciutto-wrapped shrimp with a red pepper sauce. A bit overdone, but enjoyable nonetheless.

We split a pasta course of tortellini and mushrooms that was served in a marsala sauce, a misguided choice in my opinion, and overly salty. This is a sauce that would have been much better with hearty meat. The tortellini clearly asks to be simply served in a light cream sauce, broth, or simple ragu. I fault myself for not reading the menu more closely, stopping after tortellini con funghi.

Our two entrees were not much better. Cookie's veal parmigiana was indistinguishable from the same dish served from mediocre pizza and beef joints around town. I do have an affinity for cheap veal parm. from a pizza place, but when I'm paying ristorante prices, I'd prefer something of a higher quality.

I ordered the special of monkfish with a puttanesca sauce with polenta, which was a big misfire. It was served in a bowl so full of sauce that it was sloshing over the sides, the hunks of fish perched on top and the polenta was completely invisible. It was a few minutes before I realized that the polenta was actually mashed potatoes. What was left over after I ate the fish was a bowl of tomato, olive, and mashed potato soup. Really just a mess and completely unappetizing to look at.

Service was clumsy and could use a bit more training, clearly getting through initial opening jitters. The space is tightly-packed and in dire need of a drop-ceiling to give it a more intimate feel. Paradoxically, I felt both crowded by neighboring tables and lost in a cavernous warehouse at the same time.

Raffaele seems like a well-intentioned neighborhood place and I hate to heap a negative review on a new, small restaurant but I can't possibly see myself going back. It's another in a long line of Italian restaurants around Chicago that just can't seem to execute.

If I could offer them some constructive criticism it would be to hire a new chef. If that's not likely, then reduce the size of the menu (concentrate on a half-dozen really good things), focus on higher quality ingredients, and learn to prepare dishes with a lot more restraint.

Best,
Michael

Raffaele Ristorante Italiano
7348 W Lawrence Ave
Harwood Heights, IL
708-867-4100

Thanks for the detailed review, Michael. What places have least disappointed you on the Italian front? If a relative from out of town is demanding Chicago Italian (either red-sauce or a good regional spot), what is your recommendation, understanding that not everything might be perfect? I would have recommended Spiaggia, Italian Village upstairs* or my favorite La Piazza in Forest Park, but the latter is in limbo, and Gaetano's new restaurant hasn't opened yet. One dish at Terragusto - the farfalle alla bolognese - is almost worth the hassle.

*for the same reason as the Berghoff (before the pseudo-"closing"), the history, atmosphere, service, and decent prices for a very Chicago-American take on the cuisine.

Santander wrote:What places have least disappointed you on the Italian front?

Thanks for the question. A brief digression:

In the past few years, I've put a greater personal emphasis on cooking and appreciating Italian and Italian-American cuisine, including a trip to Italy. During this time, I may have become more discerning and more critical of what I'm eating. Overall, I do feel that "restraint" plays a big part in Italian cooking: restraint in doctoring up quality ingredients and covering flavors, restraint in saucing, restraint in cheesing things up, and restraint in fooling with things that need to just sit there and cook.

I feel that very few restaurant cooks seem willing or able to exercise the kind of restraint that brings out the best in Italian cooking.

That being said:

I've had many good meals at Bruna's, but enough bad ones to be a little reticent about heading there these days.

I love the pasta at Terragusto, but I'm unenthused by anything else there.

My one trip to Merlo showed some promise, but I haven't been rushing back. I would like to give it another try.

I've had a number of enjoyable meals at Hole In The Wall. Unrestrained, but tasty.

I've never eaten at either Spiaggia or La Piazza.

Best,
Michael