Giannotti--Best Choice Near O'Hare

Yesterday, I was fresh off a great lunch with the Evanston Lunch Group of LTH, when I received an urgent call from a major client, saying his flight from Charlotte to Des Moines had stopped in Chicago & stranded him for the night.

He had checked into the Marriott on Higgins, and wanted to have dinner, early-like though so I'd miss the impending weather. So my mind got a-goin'. Gibson's? Carlucci? Had to be close, and with a wide variety of entree options. So I picked Giannotti's on River Rd north of Lawrence, where he'd be able to pick Italian, steak, chicken or fish.

I had been to the original Giannotti's by Lawrence & Cumberland at least 20 years ago, and they moved into these new digs in 2005. I didn't see any horrendous reviews on the board here, so I was just hoping that the meal would be passable.

It was definitely more than that. While this place will never have the ambience of the original (or Gene & Georgetti for that matter), everything ordered was old-style & authentic, truly a cut above the faux-Italian pretenders scattered like so many pinky rings across the North Shore.

The baked clams were tender & redolant of briny, garlicky, breadcrumb goodness. Escarole soup was almost on a par with Bruna's stracciatella--excellent. My college-age daughter's '8 finger' homemade noodles in a very rich vodka sauce with meatballs was more like gnocchi, and half of that dish was her limit. It's gone now, scarfed down probably before noon today. The mushrooms in my veal scallopine had that requisite crunch of freshness. Very, very good stuff.

The host/owner was extremely skilled in the art of the schmooze, making numerous trips to our table, pouring wine & then giving us a comped tiramisu and homemade cheesecake. Both were wonderful, with the cheesecake containing copious amounts of sweetened ricotta.

Giannotti's made us feel special on a snowy, nasty Monday night for a spontaneous dinner. Can't ask for much more than that.

Giannotti Italian Steakhouse
4926 River Rd.
Schiller Park, IL 60176
(847) 678-2800

Actually the Original Giannotti's was on Roosevelt Road in Forest Park. First time I had Braciole at a resturant, 30 years ago.

Gianotti is also a great choice for lunch if you're out in the area. They have a sewries of reasonably priced lunch dishes that focus on red sauce. There are one or two "Chicago Italian" Specialities on the lunch menu every day. For $12, the Melrose Peppers are a huge serving and a great lunch.

The service is always friendly and warm there.

Went recently after a couple-year layoff and I have to say that the quality, luster and energy that once typified this place seemed to be long gone. I used to love Giannotti's and had some wonderful times there. I default to believing that places like Giannotti's are timeless and that they don't change but this recent experience definitely seemed a cut (or 2) below what I remembered.

It was a bit late and the dining room was emptying out. Nothing was necessarily amiss but there was just a faint pall of sadness in the space that was so noticeable. The room felt staid and devoid of any charm. What little action there was, was in the bar, where a fairly average singer, along with the aid of a karaoke-style machine, had a few folks dancing. It almost seemed like an SNL skit to me.

Our food was good but definitely not great. Grissini were stale. Bread was grocery-store quality. Butter was served in foil packets. Appetizers were better. Fried calamari was tender and tasty but soggy. Braciola was dry and crumbly but the marinara sauce in which it was served was tasty enough. A special appetizer of hot sausage and cubanelle peppers was the best of the lot. The peppers were roasted to a soft sweetness and the sausage -- and its accompanying tomato sauce -- was tangy and intense with flavor.

We had the broccoli salad -- blanched broccoli dressed in olive oil, lemon juice and fresh garlic, topped with pickled bell peppers. This was well-prepared and the flavors were bright and clear.

Entrees were just ok. Sausage and Escarole was a mixed bag. The sausage, which was cooked well (nice char, juicy in the inside), had that nice punch that was present in the appetizer but the escarole was just completely bland. It tasted like it had been boiled in unseasoned water. I remember ordering this dish in the past and enjoying it much more. Ditto for the strip steak vesuvio, which was cooked well but tough. It didn't have a ton of flavor, either. The potatoes were fleshy and lacking even a hint of crispiness. The peas were previously frozen and mushy. The best of this round was the 8-finger cavatelli, which was toothsome, generously-portioned and served in the aforementioned tasty marinara.

For dessert, we had a cannoli, the shell of which tasted like it had been fried in oil that had seen better days.

I kept deferring, leaving food on plates, trying to save room for the course that would be worth finishing but it never came. We ended up not finishing any of the dishes we ordered. Afterwards, I wasn't hungry but I wasn't satisfied either.

Service was really great. Our server was helpful, thorough and friendly. Bussers, who were also personable, packed our leftovers expeditiously and filled our waters frequently.

I hope that this was merely an off night and that Giannotti's hasn't slipped this far. I used to host business dinners here and my memories of many of those nights are among my most treasured. Not only were the deals great but the meals were truly memorable. They made me proud to take out-of-town visitors there. But, based on this recent experience, if I took a visitor there, I think I'd end up having to apologize for it.

=R=

IMHO once they moved from the Lawrence location things have not been the same.

I went to the new place on River Road, and everything was excellent. I disagree with ronniesuburban.

We went with a group of Italian-Americans who know totally well what we were seeking, and I didn't hear one complaint.

Johnsoncon wrote:I disagree with ronniesuburban.

What?! How dare you?!

Seriously though, all I can do is compare this recent experience to many previous experiences and in doing so, something seemed amiss. How recently were you there? I'd be happy to know that what I encountered was just an off night. As I posted above, I've had some great meals at Giannotti's and feel very fondly about it.

=R=

I have been to the new location 3 times since it opened. The first time, right after it opened, was fantastic, and the last two times it has been mediocre. The last time I had the steak visuvio and it was fatty, gristly, and tasteless. Also, the first time I went the place was packed, while the last time I went it was completely dead empty, and it was on a Saturday night.

In my experiences at Gianotti's I find that what they do best is "Melrose Park Italian". The food is kind of like Danny's, but a higher price point and greater ambiance. Stick with the local specialties such as the Melrose Peppers that Ronnie has described or the Chicken Vesuvio. At lunch, they have a wonderful blackened salmon swimming in butter. Not Italian, but one of my favorite dished there. Occasionally, they will have a lunch special of neck bones over farfalle which is pretty hard to beat.

Most of my experiences at Gianotti have been at lunch time as my office in Chicago was just a few blocks away. Honestly, if it was my choice, i would shoot down to Sabatino's or over to Basilico which serves more of a northeast style Italian than Gianotti's. Sometimes, time or convenience caused me to choose Gianotti's.

I've probably eaten there 20-25 times over the past two years. I haven't had a horrible experience. But, I probably would only choose Gianotti's over the other two places mentioned if I was in the neighborhood.

Paul SL wrote:RIP Giannotti Italian Steakhouse, Schiller Park.

Never made it, though I imagine it was quite the place in its heyday.

G Wiv wrote:

Paul SL wrote:RIP Giannotti Italian Steakhouse, Schiller Park.

Never made it, though I imagine it was quite the place in its heyday.

Yeah, it had wonderful food and a colorful clientele.
I was reminded of the comic who said, "It's one of those places where they frisk you at the door. If you don't have a gun, they give you one."

G Wiv wrote:

Paul SL wrote:RIP Giannotti Italian Steakhouse, Schiller Park.

Never made it, though I imagine it was quite the place in its heyday.

Based on my experience there back in March, I don't find this news entirely surprising. But, I'll always have very fond memories of some great times and meals at Giannotti. May it RIP, indeed.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

Paul SL wrote:RIP Giannotti Italian Steakhouse, Schiller Park.

Never made it, though I imagine it was quite the place in its heyday.

Based on my experience there back in March, I don't find this news entirely surprising. But, I'll always have very fond memories of some great times and meals at Giannotti. May it RIP, indeed.

=R=

When did this happen? Just drove past there a couple Friday's ago, and the "Black Car Brigade" was in full force in the parking lot.

Seriously?

And does anyone have the recipe for the Melrose Peppers?

The Food Diva wrote:When did this happen? Just drove past there a couple Friday's ago, and the "Black Car Brigade" was in full force in the parking lot.

Website says "closed for remodeling" as of 8/14.

LTE wrote:And does anyone have the recipe for the Melrose Peppers?

For that matter, who else around town is serving these? They were one of the best things at the otherwise unlamented 200 East Supper Club, too. But surely there are still some old-school Italian joints around that do them.