Sherman Kaplan Restaurant Review

A NEWSRADIO 780 WBBM RESTAURANT REVIEW BY SHERMAN KAPLAN

            Café Bionda, at 1467 North Milwaukee Avenue is about as close to home cooking in an Italian restaurant as I have ever found. That’s not just my opinion, but it’s shared by very close Italian American friends who have cooked for us in their home and share dinner outings quite often.

            The restaurant is the  clone of the original Café in The South Loop. I reviewed that one a couple of years ago and found some flaws which I thought were more transitory than ingrained.

            After our most recent dinner in Wicker Park, I’m a fan. The menu is typical of most good Italian restaurants, with some exceptions.

            Key among them is Nonna’s Gravy, basically pot roast worked into a tomato sauce with rigatoni. It’s stick to the ribs eating. But, things are just as rewarding with another of the pastas, home made pappardelle with authentic marinara sauce. The pleasure is in the broad, flat sheets. I can picture them being rolled out, golden yellow, dropped into boiling water for only the shortest of moments, so they remain al dente. The sauce pools on the serving platter, not quite smooth, but not chunky.

            There are some wonderful appetizers. Grilled calamari is touched with a peppery olive oil for a most distinctive taste. Arugula salad is a mound of summer flavor, heaped on a platter with more than enough to share. Rolled eggplant is plump with creamy ricotta and the flavor of Café Bionda’s characteristic red sauce.

            For entree, there were fish specials such as salmon Vesuvio and Grouper with tomatoes and onions. Listed menu choices include  grilled sausage with peppers and escarole, clearly for the hearty diner.

            Among a host of other options, we ordered  whole Brick Chicken, boned and sautéed with roasted potatoes and rosemary, much like Chicken Vesuvio. Like so much else on the menu, there was plenty to enjoy, and more to take home.

            Desserts include the usual tirami su and cannoli. Though we had a long wait between courses, service is otherwise accommodating,  but unless you like to shout, it is not conversation friendly.  There is valet parking. Café Bionda is at 1467 North Milwaukee and has a K/RATING of 19/20. 

AMBIANCE 3.5/4    HOSPITALITY 4.5/5    FOOD   11/11