Via Carducci

So, last night I had dinner at Via Carducci. I have always driven past the place, but have never eaten there. Luckily, I called ahead for a reservation because the place was PACKED. Literally, wall to wall people. Our waitress told us that there was a private party in the lower level so everyone was being setaed upstairs.

I was concerned initially because it was very difficult to hear as people were hanging all over the place. But, the waitstaff rose to the occasion and made our dining experience wonderful. We were not rushed or hurried, and our waitress took the time to answer any questions we had. I was expecting a stressful dinner and it was just the opposite: a very relaxing evening with good friends and good food.

The food was above average Italian at below average prices...I just hope it's not so crowded next time!

That place is always crowded...especially on weekends. At least the food is usually pretty good.

Via Carducci is lucky Chicago has Rose Angelis. Without that disaster of a restaurant, this would easily take the prize for Worst Italianish Restaurant in Chicago.

Tonight's travesties included:
- caesar salad with old, wilting lettuce
- cardboard-crust pizza with figs, gorgonzola, sloppy chunks of raw red onion, and way out-of-place tomato sauce that wasn't mentioned on the menu, and ruined any hope of the flavors in this dish melding well.
- orecchiette with dry sausage cooked a long time ago, watery tomato sauce, rapini, and no seasoning. I imagine a scene in the kitchen similar to the college dorm cafeteria's "pasta bar". Already-cooked pasta keeping warm on a steam table, already-cooked sausage drying out, already-cooked rapini getting mushy. Along comes an order, and the "chef" throws it all in the bowl and serves.

Maybe Via Carducci was better at one time. Now it's a restaurant that's either mailing it in, or recognizes (perhaps rightly, unfortunately) that there is a huge market for really crappy Italian food served in big bowls drowning in tasteless sauce.


Via Carducci
1419 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago
(773) 665-1981

They have another on Division that truthfully is pretty decent. Never been to the Fullerton address, but the other is a blk from my house and when I occasionally find myself there, the Italian sausage app w/potatoes, peppers and porcini, the grilled calamari and the baby spinach salad w/almonds are my go to items. Can't vouch for much more but the pastas I've sampled have been good as well. Not go out of your way for, but as I said, pretty decent.

Via Carducci's La Sorella
1928 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
773-252-2244
www.viacarducci-lasorella.com

Jazzfood wrote:They have another on Division that truthfully is pretty decent. Never been to the Fullerton address, but the other is a blk from my house and when I occasionally find myself there, the Italian sausage app w/potatoes, peppers and porcini, the grilled calamari and the baby spinach salad w/almonds are my go to items. Can't vouch for much more but the pastas I've sampled have been good as well. Not go out of your way for, but as I said, pretty decent.

Seriously? There's seriously better food down the street at enotecca roma that comes without the pretense or the idiocy of the majority of the crowd that hangs at Via Carducci.

I don't agree. Roma has never passed avg for me. Maybe I've just found the few acceptable items. I've not tried many other things besides what I've mentioned, but have found those to always be good.

Jazzfood wrote:They have another on Division that truthfully is pretty decent. Never been to the Fullerton address, but the other is a blk from my house and when I occasionally find myself there, the Italian sausage app w/potatoes, peppers and porcini, the grilled calamari and the baby spinach salad w/almonds are my go to items. Can't vouch for much more but the pastas I've sampled have been good as well. Not go out of your way for, but as I said, pretty decent.

The Division location is much newer: maybe the person who knows how to cook left the original to open that one.

I agree with Jazzfood, the Division St location is pretty decent. I admit however, the only time I go is to sit outside on the sidewalk in the summer. I don't go there for my italian food fix. I agree with the peppers and sausage, and split a pizza, while sitting outside with a bottle of prosecco.

There's obviously better Italian restaurants around. Spiaggia and Trattoria Riccardo for instance. But for me and what I've found and that I enjoy there, it's convenient, decent and usually inoffensive customer wise.

I do have a slight issue, make that problem with the ever hovering over zealous bus boys though. But then, as Gary loves to remind me, one pea under my mattress ruins my sleep and makes for one cranky bastard.

Jazzfood wrote:I do have a slight issue, make that problem with the ever hovering over zealous bus boys though. But then, as Gary loves to remind me, one pea under my mattress ruins my sleep and makes for one cranky bastard.

This isn't likely to bother Gary, anyway. He seems to have a thing for overzealous busboys:

G Wiv in the Old Town Brasserie Thread wrote:the bus boys more than made up for her lack of interest by constantly rubbing their genitals on my elbow

Which location offers better genitals? TIA.

If you include hostesses, I've got to go with my local but I'll defer to Gary when it comes to busboys.

Stopped by there for a bite before going to see INVICTUS.

The appetizer I had was really good. Eggplant involtini they call it. Basically thinly sliced eggplant, grilled, rolled with ricotta cheese and covered with tomato sauce. One of the best Italian appetizers I have had. Although I should say that I don't eat Italian often. Too bland for a Hyderabadi.

Now the Pizza. 2 problems. One of my own creation and the other the restaurants. I got the one with Porcini Mushrooms and Potatoes. Now I like potatoes,and I like Pizza. Just not together, it seems. Potatoes on a pizza is just awful to my taste. The mishmash of conflicting starch textures was just not good.

The pizza itself would have been okay in pre-spaccanapoli days. Now that I know what a good thin crust pizza should feel and taste like; this is just bad pizza. The difference is crisp crust Vs. cracker crust. Crisp crust is food for the gods. Cracker crust is maybe for fallen angels at best. For 15 bucks when I think I could have just gone to Pequod and had a much better experience; I want to kick myself.

But after eating the eggplant appetizer, I do want to try their eggplant parmagiana. I did not get it only because I did not want an eggplant overload. I should have gone with my first instinct and ordered it anyways. This teaches me a lesson. If I want Pizza, just go to a pizzeria, huh?

Indianbadger wrote: I don't eat Italian often. Too bland for a Hyderabadi.

LOL!! That reminds me of my neighbor down the hall in grad school, he'd cook up these Paki/Indian dishes that smelled up our entire hallway, and you could smell the exotic spices coming out of his pores in the elevator.

Via Carducci has always been good to me. I remember when they opened across from Stefani's, they really took the fresh tasting Italian up a notch at the time.