ALI – ALI – ANO’S

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

One Saturday night, Jim and I realized that we had a couple of restaurant reviews in que. This allowed us a rare opportunity to have a leisurely date night at one of our favorite Italian restaurants and be “off the clock” for a change. While walking in we noticed our friend, Audrey, sitting at a nearby table having a neighborhood get together. We went over to say “hi” and to meet the other people. One gentleman in the group was kind enough to recommend another restaurant for us to review. He proudly proclaimed, “If you think this place is good, you should try Aliano’s in East Dundee.” While we do appreciate recommendations, doing so in earshot of the wait staff, as he did, almost always guarantees that they will take turns spitting in your food!

Arriving for our 6:30 reservation at Aliano’s on a Saturday night, we realized how important reservations are. They only have 14 indoor tables and 8 outdoor tables, which were mostly filled by then. The décor was reminiscent of some of the little out of the way Cucinas that we loved so much when we visited Italy.

When our waitress dropped off the basket of warm, hearty Italian bread, we were perusing the menu. We noticed they claimed all pasta, cheese, olive oils, and sausage are imported from Italy. Being the Doubting Thomases that we are, we thought we would test their claim with the olive oil. After mixing some olive oil and cheese together, we could not believe how good this simple mixture could taste. Olive oil, who would have thunk it!

Our chosen appetizer of Calamari Fritti ($12.95) arrived. This was tender calamari lightly breaded, fried, and served with marinara sauce. They were good, but frankly we’ve had better.

Since all dinners come ala carte, I ordered a bowl of minestrone soup ($3.95). This was a lighter version and not the usual tomato base type. Nancy had the house salad ($3.95) with creamy garlic dressing, of course. This was romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage and tomatoes, exactly what a salad should contain.

Jim can always tell how good an Italian restaurant is by ordering his favorite dish, if it is available, namely Veal Saltimbocca ($22.95). This is veal sautéed and topped with fresh baby spinach, prosciutto, and mozzarella cheese, served with a lemon butter white wine sauce over angel hair pasta. Judging from the Cheshire Cat grin on his face, one can safely assume it passed with flying colors.

Nancy went with something she hasn’t ordered in years. She noticed they had Meat Ravioli (6) for $13.95 on the menu and wanted to try them. With all pasta dishes you get to pick from 8 different sauces and she decided to try their vodka sauce. She said the ravioli were delicious, but next time should would stick with the traditional meat sauce.

Jim and I realized we made a promise to our readers not to have Tiramisu for dessert all the time. Even though we’ve been known to lie on occasion, we decided to give the Lemon Ripieno ($8) a whirl. This was lemon sorbetto served in a frozen hollowed out lemon. It was creamy and refreshing after a heavy Italian meal.

FYI: Not handicap accessible and street parking.

In conclusion, this restaurant is a keeper! But be forewarned, the atmosphere is very loud, however, and the aromas coming from the kitchen were bellisimo! The only change we would like to see happen would be for them to include soup or a salad with your entree.

The costo for our Italian getaway was $78.75, mangia!!!

Jim’s take: My saltimbocca was excellent. The angel hair pasta was a great compliment to the entree.

Nancy’s take: The creamy garlic dressing was yummy, sweet and garlicy. The Lemon Ripieno dessert was oh so delicious.

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com

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