Sunday, September 14, 2008

Natalino's 1523 Chicago Ave. Chicago,IL

This place is very nice. The staff is accommodating and informative, the service is pretty good. I really liked the vibe at the bar, bartenders are cool but not aloof, talkative but not annoying.
You walk in the place and it is warm with dark wood walls and bar. Fun bar stools around an inviting bar. The dining room has warm lighting and dark wood tables that make you feel comfortable as soon as you sit down.
So..We ate dinner in the dining room, that was a good experience from an ambiance point of view. Our server was great, he took very good care of us. The server made great suggestions and even steered us away from what was possibly a BAD choice. The food was good! I would suggest these things as a starting point:
For an App: Rolled Eggplant, it is thinly slice eggplant rolled and stuffed with ricotta and Parmesan cheese baked with an imported provolone cheese and a tomato ragu.
Salad? Ok, here is a good one: Martini Salad, it has beets, apples, mixed lettuce, mangos, bleu cheese in a light raspberry vinaigrette.
Entrees: Well, Mine was good except the rapini was so bitter I could not get past it. I know, I know what the flavor is but..could they have done better? I had the Chicken Joey. Overall it was wonderful. Again the Rapini was too bitter. White Beans, tomatoes good..So what was the problem? I don't know. The food was good overall. One of our friends mentioned that the meatballs were a bit dry. Hmmm, well we liked this place and we will be back. You know, the cocktails were good and the service was good. The food was pretty good too. Over all was it a choice, or was it the food? I just know that this place has so much potential and I will be back.
Diner23 gives Natalino's 4 triangles for ambiance and 2 1/2 triangles for food. They are a great go to spot and deserve another try!

No comments: