Marconi's Ristorante, LaGrange IL

I have to be careful here I guess. I'm a "poster from the past" apparently, not recognized by the experts here. Given that layer of doubt, I am real and decided to add another one of my favorites here. Their website:

http://www.marconis.net/thestory.html

Yes, I have learned I need to cite something, and that's not a challenge since my brother (who visits here from Phoenix AZ a few times each year) and I always have the same dish, their homemade meat ravioli in a meat sauce. No one else in the Chicago area makes meat ravioli this good, in my opinion.

15 Calendar Court
LaGrange IL
(it's a block south of the Train Station in downtown LaGrange)

JollyCholly

Jolly-

It's nice to have you posting (again). Your enthusiasm is welcome. It is helpful to cite examples of why a place is so good because it allows others to learn more fully about the restaurant.

I'm looking forward to hearing about more of your favorites.

-The GP

Thanks for the tip Jolly, I'm gonna check it out this weekend!

I'm going to start off by saying that I've never had the meat ravioli at Marconi's, nor am I much of a meat ravioli person, so I cannot substantiate or disagree with that part of the post.

However, I used to work in the LaGrange area, and spent a lot of time at downtown LaGrange restaurants. While I enjoy Marconi's in general, their food was always okay to me, nothing more than that. The atmosphere is pleasant, and the waitstaff has always been nice but I've never been that overwhelmed by their food.

To be honest, if I was asked to reccommend an Italian place in LaGrange, I'd be more likely to say Lucca's. It's a tiny storefront with about eight (tight) tables that is only open for lunch on Fridays (and I think the weekends) and dinner throughout the week. It's really more of a pizza place, but their Italian dishes are fairly consistent and better than what I've had at Marconi's.

There's a few other Italian places in LaGrange (i.e., Bella Bacino's, Via Bella, Mangia Mangia) but I don't really have that much experience with them to say whether they're worth your time.

Another place I enjoy that's actually more Mediterranean, is The Grapevine, a nice little cafe that serves some sandwiches, salads, and small pizzas. It has a nice atmosphere, and they always feature several wines by the glass. The Grapevine also sells some market items like olive oils, beer, wine and cheese.

Just a few (other) places to check out if you're in the area ...

Lucca's Pizzeria & Ristorante
108 West Burlington Avenue
La Grange, IL 60525
(708) 354-9990

The Grapevine
9 West Hillgrove Ave
La Grange, IL 60525
(708) 482-4774