A few in Oak Park - Luo's Peking House, Vivaldi

Still pregnant, ovedue, and walking a lot lately, we have been checking out places local to us. The two latest were Luo's Peking House and Vivaldi.
Vivaldi on Oak Park Ave/south blvd was a pleasant surprise. I really liked the atmosphere, it was lively, friendly, neighborhoody. Our server was excellent, attentive, not overbearing. We started with the fried calamari, which was only ok, it was not greasy, but a bit bland. The accompanying marinara though was excellent - fresh, tangy. I was in the mood for something simple, just angel hair pasta with pesto - it was not on the menu but they made it for me. This was outstanding - creamy, not heavy,basil was prominent not overpowering, pasta was al dente. I loved it. Hubby had veal piccata, that was also excellent - tender, lemony and the spinach that came with it was wonderful as well, crispy, not limp, simple preparation in olive oil. We wrestled with dessert, as I was tempted to get a slice of my favorite cake next door at Thyme and Honey - the white chocolate mousse, but hubby loves pumpkin and they had a pumpkin cheesecake. I had the vanilla cheescake. Hubby enjoyed the pumpkin one - I hate pumpkin so cannot comment. The vanilla was ok, a bit too sweet and slightly artificial tasting.
Luo's Peking House - we ordered a bunch of appetizers and sesame chicken. We both received a soup to start, crab-corn chowder type. It was pretty good, couldn't really taste the crab, but the corn taste was fresh. Then we had crab wontons- pass on these, very little filling that is overpowered entirely by the fried wonton. Egg rolls - great rendition of the american egg roll - not greasy, lots of pork and cabbage, tasty. Crab claws - kind of like shrimp toast but in this funny spiky-football formation. Outside was nice and crispy, inside was shrimpy, soft and fluffy. A bit bland, but I like them for some reason. Pot stickers - excellent pork filling, but as with many pot stickers the dough is too thick for my liking. I am having a bit of a chicken aversion, so my thoughts on the sesame chicken may be skewed. Hubby liked it. The chicken wasn't breaded and came in soy-type sauce with mixed vegetables, that were stir fried perfectly, not to mush. I loved the old fashioned interior, red booths and ancient greenish carpeting. Service is very friendly, its a nice family run place that I would go back to.
LO

Vivaldi
144 S Oak Park Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
708-848-8885

Luo's Peking House
113 N. Marion St.
Oak Park, IL 60301
708-386-3055