Cucina Paradiso

We ate at Cucina Paradiso in Oak Park on Saturday for a birthday dinner. Although we have eaten at almost every other restaurant in the immediate vicinity, we didn't even know this place was there until it was recommended by a coworker. We walked past it awhile ago, and filed it away for another time.

So we went Sat. about 7. We were able to park right across from the door in the metered parking. There is valet for $3, but it seemed kind of silly as there were plenty of spaces available, and the parking structure on the next block. The place seemed a little more than 1/2 full and we were seated quickly by the window. I usually don't like sitting right in the window because I feel a bit like a zoo exhibit, but there isn't as much foot traffic as on Oak Pk Ave, and you can watch the trains go by, so I found it a very nice table.

I had the rustic salad: mixed greens, candied nuts, strawberries, pears, gorgonzola, a light vinaigrette that almost wasn't there. This was the best salad I have had in a long time. The strawberries were delicious and everything was very pretty and fresh. The pear, 3 very thin slices, seemed more a garnish than part of the salad, but I'm not really complaining as the strawberries were generous. The birthday boy had the chopped salad: romaine, corn, bacon, avocado, scallions, red peppers,
cucumbers, honey mustard dressing. Very good as well, with large chunks of avocado.

I then had the pollo al forno. This was a nice dish, but I probably would order something different next time. The BB had penne with Bolognese, made with cream. It was really, really good.

Coffe was excellent - so good I asked what kind it was - Superior's something or other dark French roast. We also had the tiramisu which was good, and a large portion, and the cheesecake which was very good. The menu says the cheesecake is homemade and it tastes like it. Very good flavor and texture, and prettily plated.

They were offering a wine flight of 3 Toad Hollow wines. The BB had a glass of the pinot noir which he enjoyed.

The whole meal was really better than I expected. The room was warmly decorated. The noise level was conducive to conversation. Service was very efficient and friendly. The specials sounded very good and were described in detail, with prices. (It's a pet peeve when prices aren't given). We will definitely be back.

Marmish,

It's been a while since I've been in Cucina Paradiso, though it's less than a mile from my house. When this restaurant came into the neighborhood, it was quite a stand-out, offering an almost "urban" dining experience in little old Oak Park. I enjoy the room a lot, and the servers are usually pretty good. Strange, though, that my only memory of the food is a pumpkin soup that I sent back on grounds of inedibility -- I'm sure I had some good stuff there (I went four or five times in the 1998-9 timeframe), but the memory of the one bad thing blots all else out. Seems unfair, but there it is.

Hammond

Maybe it's time to try again. We went on a strong recommendation from a friend, and I was really pleasantly surprised.

I've been maybe 4 times, over the course of the past 4 or 5 years. It's always been fine, semi-upscale italian. I don't think it holds a candle to, say, La Piazza in forest park, though.

I liked the food at La Piazza, but was treated very poorly there on our last visit. I only remember I had something with eggplant. I doubt I could get my husband to darken their doorway again. Maybe I'll go with friends for lunch this summer. The semifreddi was excellent.

Marmish wrote:I liked the food at La Piazza, but was treated very poorly there on our last visit. I only remember I had something with eggplant. I doubt I could get my husband to darken their doorway again. Maybe I'll go with friends for lunch this summer. The semifreddi was excellent.

Marmish,

Wow, that's very surprising. I've always gotten a very warm response from the chef and his staff. What happened, exactly, if you care to discuss it?

Hammond

We had already been there a couple of times, but the last time, we went with my parents, who were visiting from out of town in sweltering July. We had to wait at least 45 minutes for our table, leaning up against the parking meter because the tiny foyer was neither air conditioned nor roomy enough for 4 people. Maybe that just set the tone and made me more annoyed than I would have been otherwise by the rest of the evening. The waiter was competent, but came off as smarmy and condescending. The chef spent a great deal of time at a table near ours, and visited every other table in the vicinity asking how things were, but not ours. I don't really care to be visited in general, but it seemed a deliberate avoidance, especially since he knew we waited a long time for our table because I had spoken to him twice at the door during our wait.

It was just unpleasant.

Marmish wrote:We had already been there a couple of times, but the last time, we went with my parents, who were visiting from out of town in sweltering July. We had to wait at least 45 minutes for our table, leaning up against the parking meter because the tiny foyer was neither air conditioned nor roomy enough for 4 people. Maybe that just set the tone and made me more annoyed than I would have been otherwise by the rest of the evening. The waiter was competent, but came off as smarmy and condescending. The chef spent a great deal of time at a table near ours, and visited every other table in the vicinity asking how things were, but not ours. I don't really care to be visited in general, but it seemed a deliberate avoidance, especially since he knew we waited a long time for our table because I had spoken to him twice at the door during our wait.

It was just unpleasant.

Marmish,

I can see what you describe; feels like I been there.

Not having been there at the time, of course, I can only speculate, but could it have been the case that, given your perceived "attitude" by the parking meters, that the staff tagged you as Trouble, and so everyone felt obliged to treat you with kid (i.e., condescending, patronizing, or smarmy) gloves. Not fair, of course, but I’m trying to understand how this otherwise simpatico place should have come off so poorly to you.

Hammond

It's not necessarily a favorite of mine, but I appreciate the time and effort taken to do the report!

Rob

Hammond - It's possible, but I don't like feeling like a second class citizen, which is exactly how I felt.

Rob - Thanks. I read a few boards all the time, and am trying to contribute more where I lurk.

Marmish wrote:Hammond - It's possible, but I don't like feeling like a second class citizen, which is exactly how I felt.

Marmish, if I felt I were being treated poorly, for whatever reason, I probably wouldn't go back to the place again, either.

Hammond

I'm threadjacking this to post some more about La Piazza, since it was already threadjacked a while ago.

My birthday dinner last wednesday was up for grabs, I was feeling pretty ill, and I'd come back from Montreal the previous morning. I didn't really want to go out at all, but my parents insisted. I hemmed and hawed and eventually settled on La Piazza. Amazingly, we were able to get reservations last minute. This is not nearly as amazing, though, when you enter and realize they have about four times as much seating as they did a few months ago.

Anyway, it was a superb meal. My mom may post on her food, but I'll sum up theirs:

Dad: crab cake app, lasagna entree.
Mom: salad app, zuppa di pesce app as entree

They both loved all of theirs, and the app-sized portion of the fish soup was pretty damned generous.

Me: App of some goats cheese stuffed fried squash blossoms, served with some deep fried super-sweet-onion wedges, in a spicy tomato sauce of some sort. Quite good. It took me a moment to recognize that the onions were onions, since they had far less of that pungent mostly-raw onion flavor than I'd expected.

My entree was the real standout: "Pici Toscani ai cannestrelli e pomodorini ", handmade cavatelli-sized black-pepper pasta with some tomatoes, garlic, and basil. The whole thing was topped with about 3 scallops that had been cut into 1cm cubes, battered, and fried. They, and the pasta, were cooked absolutely perfectly. The pasta was still chewy, the scallops still meaty and tender and flavorful. It was a great dish, and a real steal at $19.

I was the only one who had dessert, and it was a vanilla semifreddo drizzled with real (tradizionale) balsamic vinegar. Although it was great, it seemed to be missing something. I'm not sure what. Maybe some sort of wafer to cut through the sweetness of the semifreddo and the balsamico.

Service was good and attentive, but a little sloppy in that fancy-restaurant-in-the-suburbs way. I think someone else described encountering this phenomenon at the Bistrot Margot in Naperville.

Anyway, It was a superb meal.

I'm being taken to La Piazza for a business dinner in a few weeks. I'll be there with a pretty diverse group of people, so it will be an interesting evening to say the least.

They've been doing construction all summer, and it doesn't look like it's finished, judging from the debris outside.

I saw no evidence of any construction inside the restaurant, so I'd imagine you won't notice anything either.

Ed,

I'm glad you had a good dinner there -- I had wondered if success would spoil Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto, and apparently it hasn't. He tries some interesting new dishes, and he seems to have a handle on many traditional ones. La Piazza is probably the best restaurant in the area -- certainly the best Italian.

Hammond

I don't have a lot to add to Ed's post, except to note that it was very noisy. They had live music going in the third room, and even though we were in the second, (with a balcony over us--even more seating), all the tiles made it so noisy that, seated between Bill and Ed, I had to lean in to hear either one, and the possibility of them talking to each other across the table was out of the question.

My soup was indeed excellent and plenty for a main course, even at $9. And Ed's pasta was one of the best I've ever had.

The construction is done at La Piazza. They are still working on the rest of the building for a couple of stores that have moved in there as well. In the future keep an eye out for a new jazz club down in the Basement that Chef Gaetano is going to open as well.