Meeting around the table

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.

The Neighborhood 35 Supperclub is on the road again. This time we traveled to the South Barrington Arboretum to “meet around the table” with our friends. What better place to do this than a restaurant with the name Incontro a Tavola, which loosely translates to “meeting around the table.”

Due to some new construction and the fact that the restaurant is by a roundabout, parking is a challenge. Just be creative and put on your walking shoes. Since Jim’s new knee is not playing nice, I was his own personal valet parking attendant.

When you walk in, you see a beautiful, upscale, modern restaurant with all the hustle and bustle typical of a Saturday night.

While perusing the menu with three of our friends that were seated at our table, our waitress brought over a basket of warm, crusty Italian bread with a small bottle of olive oil. This was to accompany the small bowl of assorted olives and the small bowl of Parmesan cheese. The olives were a nice touch and very tasty. Our bowls and basket of bread were empty within minutes. We asked our waitress’ assistant for more bread and cheese. He took our basket containing the bottle of olive oil, and he later returned with a basket filled with bread, but no sign of the olive oil or cheese. Our second attempt brought over the cheese, but still no olive oil. Again, we asked for the olive oil, and he returned with a bowl of olives. This was great, but we still needed the olive oil for our now cool bread. Maybe we should have squeezed the olives. Our last request for the olive oil proved successful, and all was well.

On to our appetizer. We ordered the Fried Calamari ($14), which came with marinara sauce. The calamari was just average and the portion size, in our opinion, was meager for the price. Our friend ordered the Arancini Siciliani ($10), which was crispy deep fried saffron rice filled with bolognese, peas, and mozzarella. She was kind enough to give everyone at the table a taste, and these were incredible. Now that was worth the money! Don’t pass this appetizer up, it will remind you of risotto, but deep-fried.

Nancy ordered the Ravioli di Aragosta ($28) for six ravioli, which was house made pasta filled with cold water lobster, fresh ricotta, lemon zest, and served with lobster pomodorini sauce. She said the ravioli had chunks of lobster in them, but the ravioli were small in size. All items on the menu are a la carte. Her six ravioli were delicious, but again, you would expect them to be considering the hefty price.

Jim spotted the Braciole ($28) which was braised sirloin steak filled with prociutto, cheese, and herbs, and was served in a red wine tomato sauce with cavatelli pasta and grana (Parmesan). It was tasty, but he has had better braciole. The portion size, again in our opinion, was small when you consider the price.

On to dessert! We were going to try something other than Tiramisu, honestly, but the Panna Cotta we were thinking of was cappuccino flavored and Nancy hates coffee, so what were we to do? We had to order the Tiramisu ($6). What came to our table was a small sliver of Tiramisu, but it was tasty. Unfortunately, we noticed that our friend at the table next to us also ordered Tiramisu and received a portion three times the size of ours. Note to Manager: work on consistency…

All in all, we had a good time “meeting around the table” with our friends.

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.

The price for our Supperclub, Part Two was $88.36. No doggie bags came home this evening.

Jim’s take: The Arancini was fantastic, but the cavatelli pasta with my braciole proved to be a disappointment.

Nancy’s take: I know I don’t eat dessert, but at least give me a chance for a couple of forkfuls.

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

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