The night before we flew to San Diego for our Southern California vacation, my wife and I stayed near O'Hare Airport as we had a very early morning flight (as in 5:30 a.m.). We decided to go find a place for some Italian food and I came across Giacomo's Ristorante Italian in suburban Des Plaines.
The Giacomo behind Giacomo's Ristorante is Sicilian-born Giacomo "Jack" Zito who bought what was already an Italian restaurant in 1998. Along with his wife, Anna Marie, and their daughter, Amanda, Zito transformed his restaurant into a "casually-elegant" old world-Italian restaurant serving southern Italian homemade-style meals with an old country flair.
Pictured right - Amanda, Giacomo and Anna Marie Zito.
Giacomo's Ristorante has had a nice following in the Northwest Suburbs over the years, but in recent times they've been featured on a number of local television programs in Chicago as one of the best kept culinary secrets. It was a review from WGN-TV's "Chicago's Best" program that brought us to Giacomo's Ristorante.
Giacomo's is located on N. Wolf Road, just north of E. Central Ave. in Des Plaines. (see map) In fact, it's just up the road a bit from one of my favorite pizza places on the northwest side of Chicago, Bob Mele's Little Villa. (Click here to see the entry on Bob Mele's Little Villa.) We'd called ahead to make sure that we could get in on a Saturday night and we were told we could be seated at 7:30 p.m.
We were seated in the main dining room, a long and somewhat narrow area that featured linen-clad tables topped with butcher paper. We were told that the original building was a Dog and Suds drive-in restaurant from back in the 60's. We were given dinner menus and our server for the evening, a pleasant lady by the name of Linda, came over to greet us.
Looking through the menu, we found a number of interesting and delectable items to choose from. Pasta is made fresh daily in Giacomo's kitchen, they also feature chicken and veal dishes, a number of seafood pasta dishes, beef and seafood entrees, and a number of appetizers. Giacomo's also allows you to create your own pasta dishes choosing from seven different types of house-made pastas, adding your choice of one of 10 different types of sauces, as well as adding meatballs or Italian sausage to the dish if you like.
When we ordered dinner, I also got a bottle of the Bertani Due Uve, an Italian white wine blend (pinot grigio/sauvignon blanc) that was on Giacomo's wine list. It was reasonably priced at $32 bucks and had a wonderful taste on it's own that was heightened with the flavors from our food.
Linda brought back a basket full of fresh baked bread to go along with the dinner salads we had before our main entrees were served. The bread was warm and soft with ample amounts of sesame seeds on the crust. Dipped in some olive oil and parmesan cheese, it was sensational in taste.
I ordered the lobster ravioli with sautéed shrimp in a vodka tomato cream sauce. I almost went with a veal dish, and I was being pulled toward the shrimp, scallops and marinated portobello mushrooms in a white wine sauce over risotto, as well. But at the last moment I steered myself toward the lobster ravioli. And I was glad I did. The large, pillowy ravioli was filled with fresh lobster and accompanied by large grilled shrimp. The slightly spicy vodka tomato cream sauce actually went well with the ravioli and shrimp - I usually don't like a tomato-based sauce with seafood. But Giacomo's pulled it off very well.
Cindy went with the veal picante entree that I heavily considered getting - tender slices of veal medallions in a lemon/butter/white wine sauce and topped with capers. She gave me a bite of the veal and it was exquisite. Tender and flavorful, for a second I thought that I had possibly ordered the wrong thing. But I was very happy with the lobster ravioli.
She also asked for a side of fettuccine alfredo to go with her meal. Wide pasta noodles in a heavy cream sauce made up the fettuccine alfredo at Giacomo's. The cream sauce was nearly decadent with its rich taste. I had a couple three bites of it, but decided that I liked the lobster ravioli better.
After we finished most - but not all of our dinners (it was all so damned rich and oh, so good!) - Linda came back with the dessert menu for us. Cindy asked if the tiramisu was house-made. "Every day," was Linda's immediate response. Cindy ordered up a piece with two forks. I sort of groaned when she ordered it, but after the first bite I was glad she did.
The tiramisu at Giacomo's Ristorante had that exquisite full-bodied, mixed with a light taste that good tiramisu has. There were four or five different tastes going on with the tiramisu that it was difficult to pick out what was what between the soaked lady fingers and the whipped mocha flavored cream in the dessert. It was a wonderful ending to what was a fine meal.
Our visit to Giacomo's Ristorante Italiano was a very pleasant experience. The food was way above average, the menu was adventurous and somewhat unique, Linda's service was very good, and we were comfortable in the dining room. For being in business for 17 years, Giacomo's may still be a well-kept secret to many. But I'd highly recommend a trip to Giacomo's for some highly respectable, very good old-world Southern Italian cooking.
Comments