Cristiano Bassani, the 26-year-old chef who wowed Chicago diners at Coco Pazzo and Bice before leaving to open a new Bice restaurant in South Beach, Miami, has returned to town — in the unlikeliest of places.
Bassani is chef-partner, with Carlo Calderone, in Carpaccio Ristorante, a strip-mall location along a nondescript stretch of Rand Road in Palatine. How nondescript? The host advises callers that “it’s just north of Menard’s.”
Well, “just north of Menard’s” may become an important northwest suburban destination, because Carpaccio Ristorante definitely is worth seeking out.
Fans of Bassani will be happy to enjoy his cooking at prices considerably lower than those of his previous restaurants. Meat and seafood entrees average $19; pastas average $12. And for the most part, portions are anything but skimpy.
The spaghetti with fruitti di mare, for instance, is an abundant mix of pasta with well-cooked mussels, clams, scallops and shrimp (the mussels and scallops are particularly good), and a seafood risotto with a tomato-cream sauce is similarly generous. A plump, well-seasoned Cornish hen is served with sauteed spinach and plenty of roasted potatoes. Only the ravioli, filled with ground veal, is a touch on the skimpy side, though the homemade ravioli are very good.
Other entrees include a very good sea bass fillet, perked up with a little balsamic vinegar, served with a fresh eggplant puree whose mildness pairs nicely with the full-flavored fish.
I’m a big fan of tagliata, strips of grilled beef served with arugula, and Carpaccio’s version is a keeper, though a bit light on the garlic. The grilled veal chop is a superior choice; I’ve seen thicker chops, but the quality of the meat is unassailable. A trio of tenderloin medallions, in a rich red-wine sauce with porcini mushrooms and buttery mashed potatoes, is packed with flavor. First-rate veal makes the unadventurous, mozzarella-topped veal scallopine worth a try.
Appetizers offer a nice range of flavors. Given the restaurant’s name, you’d expect carpaccio on the menu, but the kitchen goes beyond the perfunctory by offering carpaccio in four versions. Classic beef carpaccio features micro-thin slices of delicious beef with arugula and fat flakes of parmesan cheese; there is also swordfish carpaccio, near-translucent slices served with vegetables and a splash of balsamic vinegar, and tuna carpaccio, served with baby greens. (For dessert, there’s even pineapple carpaccio, the thin pineapple shavings topped with a scoop of strawberry sorbetto.)
Also from the raw bar, so to speak, is salmon tartare, lightly dressed and piled high on pieces of toasted bread.
Hot appetizers include crab cakes paired with a red-pepper puree; the crab cakes are merely fine, but the smooth, slightly sweet sauce is sensational. Grilled calamari is simple and well-executed, the hoods left intact and served over some chopped tomatoes.
Carpaccio’s Caesar salad is large; the dressing is on the light side, perked up with a hint of lemon. Spinach salad with a goat-cheese dressing is good, though the dressing could stand a little more cheese presence. No such problem exists with the beet salad, which includes a generous amount of crumbled gorgonzola cheese with the oil-glossed beets and mixed baby greens.
Besides the pineapple carpaccio, desserts are very traditional and very good. Offerings include a good vanilla-flecked panna cotta, light and delicious; ciccolato fondente, a flourless chocolate cake with a warm, moist chocolate interior; and torta di mele, an apple tart with a sturdy pastry crust and juicy apple slices, topped with vanilla gelato.
White chocolate mousse with strawberry sauce is smooth and fluffy; ricotta cheesecake with chocolate sauce is agreeably coarse and light-tasting.
The Italian wine list is surprisingly lengthy and thoughtful, dotted with well-known and less-familiar names. Prices are quite reasonable, and most wines are less than $30.
Service manages that easy familiarity and eagerness to please that makes regular customers out of first-timers. Waiters are engaging and accommodating, and know the menu and wine list thoroughly.
It’s clear the decor was managed on a shoestring budget, but the ambience is warm and comfortable, if a little noisy. Large glass windows overlooking the parking lot don’t offer much of a view but let in plenty of sunlight at lunchtime. Brick and stucco wall coverings soften the look, as does a handsome wood bar by the entrance.
Tables are topped with white cloth (without butcher paper, we’re pleased to note). There are olive oil and grated parmesan cheese at each table, along with a basket of sturdy Italian bread and pillow-soft focaccia. A complimentary plate of bruschetta, toasted garlic-rubbed bread topped with chopped tomatoes and caper berries, makes its way to each table as well.
Carpaccio is just north of Menard’s, but it’s head and shoulders above most other restaurants in the area.
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Carpaccio Ristorante
(star) (star) (star)
2001 N. Rand Rd., Palatine
847-202-1191
Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., lunch Mon.-Fri.
Entree prices: $9.50-$23
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V
Reservations: Recommended
Other: Wheelchair accessible
Rating system
(star) (star) (star) (star) Outstanding
(star) (star) (star) Excellent
(star) (star) Very Good
(star) Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
