Cucina Bella in downtown Algonquin and downtown Crystal Lake

O.K. I was told to make a post for each of my favorite restaurants in the 'burbs per the Suburbs is not a culinary wasteland thread.
http://www.cucinabellaalgonquin.com/
My favorite Italian restaurant around here and actually the best Italian food I've had in a long time is at Cucina Bella Due in Downtown Crystal Lake. I'd heard from numerous people that the one in downtown Algonquin was great, but I could never seem to make it there. Their second restaurant opened up in Crystal Lake within the last year. I was finally able to eat there and I was not disappointed.
I love vodka sauce, so I tried the Vodka Penne with Italian Sausage. It's made to order and the first time I had it, I was nervous it would be too tomatoey. So they made it with less tomatoes. It was delicious. The next time I had it the way the chef usually prepares it and it was fantastic. The marinara on my son's pasta was great too. My other son had the lasagna and it was good, but it had a little too much ricotta cheese for me. My son thought it was really good and I by no means thought it wasn't good. Just not my favorite dish. The minestrone soup was really nice too. It was a little more spicy than what I'm accustomed to, but it was a good change. I loved it.

Thanks for the report. I was wondering if this was related to the erstwhile Cucina Bella in Chicago, but apparently not.

Went to the Algonquin location for our anniversary a couple years ago. The food was OK, but nothing special. There are better places in the area.

What I didn't like was that I ordered the seafood pasta which was simply listed as "market price". I've had a similar dish at Biaggi's just a couple miles west, and it's priced around $15. I should have asked, and the waiter should have mentioned both the price and size. My first clue came when they brought out the plate. It was HUGE. I stuffed myself, and still hadn't eaten half of what there was. It ended up being almost 3 meals. The second surprise was the bill. The plate was $50. There's just no excuse for serving such a huge meal, or at least not mentioning that the portion was enough for 2-3 instead of 1. If they'd given me a plate with 1/3 the portion, for $15-17, I'd have been happy.

We were recently in Crystal Lake to see Arlo at the Raue center, and ended up at the sister restaurant. I avoided repeating my mistake as they had the same unpriced seafood pasta dish on the specials. Instead I ordered a spicy shrimp dish that was excellent and a reasonable portion for a meal.

Went to the Palatine location recently. This is the same place where Arenella's was located. The menu is very similiar to Arenella's with Italian-American restaurant selections. There is a new wood burning oven in the bar area. I saw a pizza being made but no pizza's are listed on the menu. The waiter made special note that the chef from Arenella's was still in the kitchen. If he was still the head chef it did not translate to the food. The food seemed to lack flavor.

I had the 8 finger cavatelli. Good, nothing great. The cavatelli were a little on the mushy side and swimming in sauce.

I tried a piece of another person's veal franchese. The veal was tender but the sauce was very bland. I'm not sure it it was under seasoned or lacking something else. I've had much better versions.

Zuppa de Pesce is listed at market price. Market price is $61.95. I didn't order it but another person I was with did. After the dish was ordered the waiter informed us they were out of Lobster so they added additional pieces of the other shellfish to the dish. I did not taste the dish and it was enough food for two people but at that price point I've seen better versions.

I was hoping that Cucina Bella would fill the void left from the closings of Arenella's and Barella's but I left disappointed.