Giacomo's deserves its own thread

Every time Italian in the northwest suburbs comes up, SteveZ has posted about what a fine place Giacomo's is. Do a search and up come all those posts. But if you are looking for a thread on Giacomo's, all you get is this sort of test thread from 2004 Aside from being mostly a test thread from prehistoric times (when, strictly speaking, I do not believe there really was an LTHForum), it also, like any fine LTHForum thread, is a series of digressions with very little actual discussion of Giacomo's. I also think that Braciole is misspeleed, but who am I to talk?

Having dined at Giacomo's last weekend on my way home from Green Bay, I think this situation needs to be remedied.

Without permission, but I hope it is okay, let's start with a visual aid, as posted by Steve 6 years ago:



Reading Steve's posts it quickly becomes clear that while Giacomo's is a respectable, old-school Italian place, its claim to fame rests on this one dish, so that is what I ordered. Comes with soup or salad and a side of pasta. The Bride chose the Minestrone, and I went with a minor variation on pasta fagiole. Both respectable, not exciting or interesting, but savory, balanced and enjoyable. I could quibble about the appearance that there were more canned, or maybe frozen, vegetables used in both soups than I would like, but this was March 1 in Chicago, and even in mid-summer most old-school Italian places are not going to use fresh vegies, so I should just get over that.

Side of pasta was penne with a simple marinara. Having looked at the picture here, you will be surprised to know the penne was not over-sauced (extra points for Giacomo's there). Marinara was just a little salty, decent herb flavor, a little garlic tang - like the soups, respectable, nothing special. But, Dave, you may be saying, since when was the pasta side at an old-school Italian joint anything better than that? Pretty much never, of course, so no complaint there.

I have never been a big fan of Braciole, actually. Most versions I have tried, the few times I had ordered it, were more akin to a breaded steak sandwich, as served in some Chicago sandwich spots - you take a piece of Astroturf, dip it is some herbs, a little egg and some breading, wrap it around some more herbs, often a little cheese, and then bake it until the turf has softened a bit, drop it in a pool of insipid marinara, pour another half gallon of marinara on top of it and hope the diner will not realize they are eating rolled, breaded carpeting. Hoo boy. But then I watched Alton Brown make it from scratch and I realized there was no reason a pounded, seasoned, rolled steak, baked with red gravy could not, even should not be... well you know what Alton said.

So I have picked my places over the last couple of years and tried a Braciole or five, and while some were of the breaded, baked, carpet style, others were decent.

Giacomo's is, indeed, of another class. They start with real, live steak and pound it very thin, surely less than 1/4 inch. They seasoned it, added some herbs, and rolled it, no filling, no distractions, just a big roll of meat - what could be bad? First bite, I was surprised. Definitely beef, not carpet, and mostly just beef flavor, nice chewiness, and that's it. Less Italian in its seasoning and flavor profile than most Italian Beef. Definitely okay, but not much more. I looked again at the plate, and a pool of red sauce flecked with meat and cheese and piled with sweet peppers looked back at me, and I got it - you are supposed to eat the Braciole with the sauce and vegetables, the beefy, chewy roll holding its own against the profusion of flavors in the sauce. So I cut off a small piece, covered it with sauce and peppers, tasted it and smiled. This is one tasty dish.

One order is two rolls with this mass of sauce and veggies, price around $17.95, and most of us will get at least two meals out of that. Wine list is minimal, if cheap - we sat up front where they pour the wine, and I swear every table ordered at least one glass of White Zin; corkage at $18 seems high to me but a much better option than buying their wines. Desserts were uninspired and having gorged on my Braciole and all that was included, I skipped it. I think they make the Tiramisu, and the rest of the desserts are most likely just defrosted there (or in the case of the Tartufo and lemon ice, hopefully not defrosted). On Sunday following THE HOCKEY GAME, the place was warm, full and welcoming. Service was prompt and pleasant.

All good, and I plan to go back and have another Braciole soon. Our waitress did explain that this was a real, traditional Braciole and not many places do that, which I believe when it comes to the beef, but I have to wonder about all those peppers. Perhaps someone can comment on that. And, regarding the peppers - they are cooked with the sauce, with just the slightest hint of crispiness and sweet pepper flavor, most of it having cooked into the sauce. I am not a big fan of sweet peppers on most things because they tend to overwhelm other flavors and not in a good way. Not the case here. Still not sure if I would like fewer peppers - my reflex response is that I would, but they do add a nice textural contrast to the chewy beef and sauce, and the flavor was not excessive so it is pretty good and really might be worse with less peppers. I think I have to do some more research to be sure.

Giacomo's
740 N. Wolf Road
Des Plaines, IL
847-390-7330

Dickson,

Glad to hear someone finally followed my recommendation of Giacomo's. In addition to the braciole, I've branched out a bit and can highly recommend the lasagna and especially the cannelloni. It's made in the same old school abondanza manner as the braciole and, besides being an excellent example of the dish, is enough food to satisfy a hungry man with enough leftover for a midnight snack. I also usually get an order of baked clams to start. Nothing earth shattering there, but a solid version of the classic neighborhood Italian joint standard.

Looking back at that old thread, it reminded me that I need to get back to Giacomo's with a decent camera and get some new pictures.

Since we live only a few blocks from Giacomo's, we see it more often than we eat it, and were just talking about it the other day -- MrsF and I are considering fronting an LTH outing there. We know the owners (one of our sons was in the middle school band with their daughter), and I think I'll move it up on our to-do list, see if they can do a family-style dinner for a small crowd.

I've actually never gotten around to the braciole, because I love their eggplant dishes. Their picky-packy sauce is a garlic-lover's delight, and their bolognese is pretty darn good too. Gnocchi are tender and chewy. Salad dressings are very tasty. Thing2 is addicted to their alfredo sauce. I could go on.

We had a friend in from out town staying in Rosemont, and wanting to avoid all the overpriced tourist trap resto's there, I searched under Des Plaines, and was pleasantly surprised to find this rec for Giacomo's.

So we ate there this Fri nite and had a truly delicious meal.
Sadly no camera was in attendance, because some of the plates were so lovely!

We started with a really generous plate of fried calamari that were perfectly done,
crispy and light, plenty for 3 to share, and would easily have been enough for 4.
We also had the baked clams, which were just OK.
The clams themselves were fresh, but the topping was kind of bland and meh.

We also enjoyed a very nice bottle of Prosecco.

For our mains, our guest had a Shrimp fettucini, which had a tomato sauce, I think it was a little more tomato-ey than he though it would be, since it was described as a light marinara, but it had tons of fresh, big shrimp, and a huge amount of pasta.

Hubby had the braciole, which were a little different than what I have tasted before, with salami and other things rolled inside, a really unique and delicious rendition. He got two humongous rolls and only finished one.
Also a large side of fetuccine came with.

I had what was (IMHO) the star dish of the night a mixed seafood grill in sicilian marinade, with calamari, octopus, and shrimp. At my request they added in a few scallops as well. In addition they brought my pasta with garlic and oil which was magnificent. Everything was cooked perfectly- tender, not overcooked or chewy...(all too easy to do with seafood)
This was an abundant amount of food, it could easily have been shared. As it was we all went home with take home containers...

Service was friendly, and pacing was on point.
Our friend had probably had a few in the hotel room before we picked him up, and he was a little loud....
I hope they don't don't wince when we come back with our family,
because we'll definitely be coming back here...

I love the way our fellow LTH'ers never steer us wrong!

Giacomo's has been nominated as a Great Neighborhood Restaurant. Please post your comments here. Discussion continues through March 7.

Thanks,

=R=
for the GNRs

I am perhaps the biggest proponent of Giacomo's on LTH Forum, and I would love to see it become a GNR. It certainly has all the makings of one. My only issue with this nomination (as well as a couple of others this round) is there isn't much of a track record for this restaurant here on LTH. I'd love to hear more people comment about their Giacomo's experience. Come on all you closet Giacomo's fans, let's hear it!

In response to stevez encouragement, and that great pic upthread, and that I had to work late again and didn't want to cook, I called Giacomo's a few nights ago and placed a takeout order ...for the braciole, of course.

Very, Very surprised. The minute you walk in you can tell this is a family at work. Nice room, staff ready and waiting and a warm, homemade sense to the place.

The food was really good. I guess you could call this a "red sauce" Italian place so it is worth noting that Giacomo can bring it - lots of fresh garlic and olive oil fried bell peppers to provide a silky, tart-sweet bite to the gravy. The braciole is a treat - two very large rolls of seasoned steak and a little capicola in the center.

Thanks LTH for a great rec! I will be back to Giacomo's for sure.

Enjoyed lunch at Giacomo's yesterday. There is no lunch Braciole (though they offered me a dinner serving), so I decided to branch out. Fettucine Verde for me, tomatoes, garlic, basil - a salad on top of my green noodles. A decent rendition, possibly a bit heavy on the garlic which overshadowed the other flavor components, and the noodles could have been a bit more al dente, but I enjoyed it. My companion had the ravioli (cheese) with bolognese and declared it excellent. Not knowing him that well, I was not comfortable poaching off his plate.

Service was good despite two very large parties that day.

So, based on two visits, braciole is delightful, the rest of the food pretty good, have not had a bad dish yet, but also nothing else great.

We've gone back to Giacomo's and celebrated my daughter's 21st BD there.
It even pleased my parental units who are the owners of "bad restaurant karma".
no really..
those of you who know me know this...
IT's delicious every time.
I just wish it was closer to Deerfield.
I think they'd be a perfect GNR.

I realized I haven't posted since I nominated.
I definitely support this nomination, I just wish that more people would come out here.
I'm a garlic lover, and this place is where you go for it.

I have 6pm reservations here tonight which will be my family's first visit. I'm psyched. Will report back on our dining experience later. The risotto with scallops, shrimp and portabello mushrooms is calling my name.

We had an absolutely delightful dinner at Giacomo's last night. We arrived shortly after 6pm and were warmly greeted by owner and hostess Anna Maria Zito. We immediately felt welcome by her friendly demeanor and sincere enthusiasm. We very much felt like being welcomed into another family's house for a home cooked meal.

We started by ordering the stuffed artichoke which requires a 20 minute cooking time. We wanted to enjoy a leisurely dinner so the wait was fine with us. It gave us time to peruse the menu and converse. Despite our knowing that it took 20 minutes to cook, daughter Amanda came to our table about 15 minutes into the wait with a complimentary plate of bruschetta and apologized for the wait. This was a totally unnecessary gesture as we weren't waiting any longer than we expected. But it showed a high level of commitment to customer service and satisfaction. Nonetheless, we were thrilled with the kind gesture and the bruschetta couldn't have been more delicous. The tomatoes were fresh and popped with flavor due to the infusion of fresh basil and heavy bits of garlic. A truly unexpected but perfect start to our meal.

Our stuffed artichoke arrived shortly after the 20 minute mark and was devoured in 5 minutes. Delicious tender heart and a nicely seasoned stuffing, light on the cheese (which I like), between all of the leaves. The stuffing and artichoke meat from the leaves certainly hit the spot.

My wife had a salad which she deemed very good. But I have to comment on the homemade cup of soup I had - cream of spinach. Oh my, was this a knock out. Heavy cream and garlicky spinach!! What more could I ask for. I told my wife that if we weren't hosting a birthday party for our 2 boys today, I would have ordered a half gallon of it for me to consume while watching the Bears game today. Really, it was that good. And yes, I did confirm with our waitress that it was indeed homemade.

For our entrees, I couldn't pass up the risotto. If risotto's on a menu, I'm usually gonna end up ordering it. Perfectly cooked risotto in a nice white wine tomato broth with ample shrimp, slices of portabello mushrooms, and 5 or 6 plump, tender, sweet scallops. This was right up my alley and I loved it. My wife ordered a special of homemade pumpkin gnocchi with shrimp in a light vodka sauce. Again, this was simply delightful. The gnocchi were (in my wife's words) "toothsome yet pillowy" and infused with the slightest taste of pumpkin and cinnamon. Another winner. My 11 and 8 year old sons split a simple dish of spaghetti with garlic and olive oil which they both enjoyed immensely.

For dessert, the 11 year old had vanilla gelato. It was his first time having gelato and he dubbed it "better than ice cream". The 8 year old had lemon Italian ice which again was a winner with him. My wife and I split the tiramisu. This is a dessert which I must order if it's on a menu. This was the only slight miss of the night for me. I love my tiramisu boozy and it was lacking in that regard. My wife, on the other hand, quite enjoyed the lack of boozy taste and was quite a fan. It certainly was fine but I'll try a different dessert on my next visit.

And yes, there will be a next visit. This place has it all - a welcoming, friendly staff, delicious homemade food and a warm atmosphere that just made me and my family happy. What more could one want? Great food, warm atmosphere, and family!! I felt a future GNR my entire visit there.