La cucina di Donatella disappoints

Several excellent meals at La Piazza in Forest Park, quite a haul from Highland Park, inspired us to search for "authentic" Italian closer to home. Having read several favorable reviews of La Cucina di Donatella (none available on LTH), we set out for Rogers Park. We've eaten our way through quite a bit of Italy, including a week in Bologna devoted primarily to exploring Slow Foods directory recommendations (right on!), so we're not complete strangers to cucina italiana.

The restaurant is small, 10-12 tables. The kitchen is separated from the eating area only by a refrigerator case housing San Pelligrino. The decor is probably "cute" but we're after the food, so we don't pay much attention to what hangs on walls or windows, or what wait staff wear. We were delighted to hear conversations in Italian among the staff, a promising sign that we would be eating well. The restaurant is BYOB with a $5 corkage fee, so the bottle that accompanied us was welcome.

A small number of specials of the day were listed on a wall mounted board. The actual menu was quite extensive. The waiter was eager to explain all, but didn't seem to quite get it right. When I asked if the pasta portions were American-sized main courses or Italian sized primi, he assured me that the portions were small, only 8 oz. of pasta, not like Maggianos. When asked to describe linguini con bottarga, the pasta special of the day, he called bottarga "little fish," not fish eggs. He was on target in describing the antipasti del giorno, torta di melanzane, as a delicate eggplant souffle.

The bread was warm, but awful, reshaped Wonderbread. We were clinging to the hope that this was somehow a bow to neighborhood tastes and not an omen of what was to come. Our antipasto, the eggplant souffle, was delicious--light, airy and wonderfully flavorful. We awaited our two pastas: pappardelle a la boscaiola and the linguini con bottarga. (We decided to hold off ordering a second course until we evaluated the pastas.) The waiter described in great detail the production of the boscaiola sauce: the cooking of the meat sauce, the cooking of the mushrooms, their delicate merger into a heavenly union. What he neglected to mention is that there is no sauce: only dried bits of meat and mushroom particles; no liquid, not a thimble full, not even a drop. The pappardelle were well cooked but they were covered with dried, flavorless flecks of meat and mushroom which were powerless to adhere to the pasta. Italian ragus are traditionally much drier than what passes for Italian sauces outside of Italy, but they have moisture and flavor, they cling... The other pasta, linguini con bottarga, did have some watery slightly fishy tasting liquid to coat it. We didn't see or taste any bottarga, perhaps they dissolved into the sauce without leaving a trail of flavor. Again, the pasta was perfectly cooked, just poorly sauced.

Instead of cutting our losses and leaving, we succumbed to the sweet siren song of "homemade gelato." We ordered a torta of butter rum gelato and nuts. It was cold and sweet but not much else. Total bill (without tip): $61. Disappointment: Substantial.

La Cucina di Donatella
2221 West Howard
(773) 262-6533

Sadly I have to agree with your assesment of this restaurant. I had one OK meal here with my husband where we both ordered pasta entrees - it was good, but not fantastic. Lured by the proximity and the BYOB (there was no $5 corkage when I was last there) we gave it another shot. I ordered one of the fish specials - an Italian preparation of Tilapia that I recall being around $22. When I order a fish 'special' I expect the fish used to be fresh and since the cost was fairly high for Tilapia I assumed it would be fresh, but it had the distinctively mushy texture that comes from freezer-burn. To my detriment I didn't send it back to the kitchen or say anything to the waiter - I just haven't ever returned.

Bumping this one up to see if anyone has been recently?

Thinking of trying it this weekend, but would rather go on my own than take a friend if most LTHers have found it to be a little disappointing.

dayzella wrote:Bumping this one up to see if anyone has been recently?

Thinking of trying it this weekend, but would rather go on my own than take a friend if most LTHers have found it to be a little disappointing.

Frankly, I am surprised about the reviews above. I have been to Donatella three times in the past year and find it wonderful everytime. In fact, I ordered their whole fish special twice for an entree and it was delicious. I think once it was a salmon and the second time it was bronzini if I remember correctly (also funny about the bread, but they do get it fresh every day from damato's according to the waiter). The owner tends to be a bit corky, but it is a lovely place and I recommend it... BYOB certainly adds to the value also.
Elie

I was also disappointed in La Cucina di Donatella the first couple of times I was there. My last visit, though, a couple of weeks ago, was very good. They seem to have changed the way they operate, or maybe it's just a question of maturity, but they've definitely improved. I had a super-tender braised lamb, my friend had a tilapia with lemon-caper sauce - admittedly, nothing particularly adventurous, but both very well executed. I'd suggest people looking at the 2005 reviews give it another shot.

I've given La Cucina di Donatella a couple chances this summer, the most recent being this past weekend. It falls solidly into the "so-so" category for me: a nice enough place I'd visit if I lived in the area, but not something I'll be making a trip to again.

Pastas are the highlight, always toothsome and tasty, especially the ravioli. Unfortunately I've found everything else sorely lacking in flavor. This weekend's special scaloppina alla milanese (served salad-on-top just like Follia) was crisp, tasteless, and dry. The lemon wedge provided wasn't nearly enough to lift the flavor profile into something that resembled meat. Beef-shank osso buco was meaty and beefy, but seriously under-seasoned and lacked the rich depth that you expect from that dish. A plate of tagliatelle with chunks of walleye and tomato was overpowered by overly-fishy and oily meat. I also found the final bill to be about 15-20% higher than I'd like for what we had.

After my second visit, I was reminded ofTerragusto: an excellent place for hand-made pasta that fumbles meat dishes and slightly over-charges.

In two visits, I've tasted about seven or eight dishes and left uninterested and unimpressed each time. We were the only table for half the time during both of my visits, and I wonder how much longer this place will survive.

La Cucina Di Donatella has a good restaurant hiding inside of it. Donatella, the owner, is warm and friendly and loves to talk about her food and Rome. I just wonder if she's tasting what's coming out of the kitchen. A little salt and pepper and a little more attention to quality ingredients would go a long way here.

Best,
Michael

Recently, I visited La Cucina di Donatella for the first time, and I have to say that I, too, was disappointed. The lamb chops were served with an overpoweringly bitter-tasting sage-butter sauce that ruined the tender meat, and the milanesa was chewy, overly eggy, and undercooked, in contrast to Michael's overly crisp version of the dish. The gnocchi with truffle oil were floating in an overly generous bath of the oil-- along with more of that bitter burned? sage. I'm sorry to report that I didn't enjoy the meal that I had hoped would match the special occasion we chose to celebrate there.

We stopped going to Donatella's when they changed from being an upscale sandwich shop to a fancy restaurant. The food was so much better when it was little pizzas and sandwiches - and more affordable. The atmosphere lends itself to this a little more as well. I wish she would change the menu back...