VOLARE

Step inside a little piece of Italy, small and quaintly Italian; a true gem and one of the best-kept local secrets in Chicagoland.  However, if you don’t have a reservation and don’t go early, you’ll likely not get a table for an hour or two. You can then sit at the bar right in the restaurant and watch all the fantastic food go by, so you’ll know what you want to eat by the time you eventually get a table. 

Quietly sitting on the corner of Grand and St. Clair, you can walk by Volare and never get a sense of the hustle and bustle going on inside.  You won’t feel the cozy simple elegance or enjoy the aroma’s of the superb food as the outside façade is non descript. Inside, however, is a small, classically crowded welcoming Italian retreat.  I keep expecting the host to air-kiss both my cheeks when I come in, they are that happy to greet us.  Even though it’s casual, the service, food and décor are not.

Dining al fresco in the summer time you’ll have the best seat in the house, enhancing the Italian feel.  Enjoy the mouth-watering homemade gnocchi with vodka sauce, risotto with chicken, the lovely seafood specials that are always fresh and light, or their delicious version of osso bucco, the house specialty! You’ll still benefit from the same great service we’ve come to expect when cozily dining inside during brutally cold winter months.  My family and I are delighted to have fine Italian food so near to Lakeshore East. After dinner we enjoy a leisurely walk home along the river any time of year.  This is especially nice when we’ve had a heavy meal or too many appetizers and the perfectly light tiramisu, which is the best I’ve had anywhere. 

My dining experiences at Volare have ranged from picking up a favorite meal on my way home from work, two for dinner, parties of four and a gathering of twenty on the outside patio recently, which afforded us the great pleasure of sampling each other’s dinners and have our appetizers ‘family’ style to better serve our table.  I believe our server had the chef make up special trays with almost all the appetizers on the menu.  The homemade buffalo mozzarella was a hit with the whole table served with grilled peppers and eggplant, caprese salad and brushetta.  We all also enjoyed the biggest bowls of delicious calamari ever.

My out-of-town guests as well as locals, who have never been there before, have found a little piece of authentic Italy amongst the sea of Italian restaurants here in downtown Chicagoland.

By Cynthia Wolinski: As always, in search of the perfect bite, I’ve found it here at Volare, just a stroll along the river away from Lakeshore East.

Air, melody, a piece that stands alone, sometimes within a larger piece, usually associated with music, melodies or opera.
Aria, Fairmount Hotel’s restaurant, offers a unique blend of global gourmet appetizers and entrees in a delightfully appropriate atmosphere.  The menu features a well prepared assortment of the world’s best meals as well as ‘Comfortably American’ selections for those who like traditional Chicagoan fare.
Our dining party arrived early enough Friday to have cocktails, appetizers and some leisurely conversation in the upscale lounge where we felt neither hurried nor harried.  The large, comfortable seating and well spaced tables in the lounge provided a relaxing setting to unwind in at the end of the work week.
‘Naan with Four Sauces’ our first presentation at dinner, was an unexpected, extraordinarily wonderful surprise.  We all agreed we could have eaten just the naan all night but it was delightful with the best mushroom soup we’ve ever had, so we didn’t have too.  The beet and goat cheese salad is in vogue around town, but I guarantee you’ve never had it prepared like this before, and again it complimented the naan in a new and unexpected way.  I don’t know how much anyone can say about a pork chop, if it was up to my husband and daughter this whole article would be describing the pork chop, the ooohhh’s and ahh’s were endless throughout dinner.  We also enjoyed the spicy beef stir fry, and some of the seafood selections.  Along with our entrees we were presented with a complementary potato trio, each a meal unto themselves.  Taking a look back onto our evening, we enjoyed great food in an upscale atmosphere with sophisticated décor that was bold yet gentle to the senses.  Our table was large enough for all the food presented, we never felt crowded, the music playing overhead was soothing as we had pleasant dinner conversation throughout our meal without struggling to hear one another, somewhat rare here in Chicagoland.
Also, the service is fantastic at Aria; we had four or five waiters attending to our table at all times.  We didn’t really notice them hovering but as soon as someone desired something they magically appeared out of nowhere.  Our experience at Aria was a gourmet’s delight, yet it is in a hotel, a piece that stands alone within a larger setting.
Be careful when ordering the chocolate cake for two, it’s the size a hostess usually serves at a party and you’ll have enough to last for deserts all week.  We did.
By Cynthia Wolinski, as always in search of the perfect bite, I found it here at Aria, right across the park from Lakeshore East.

Here in our celebrated city within a city, where we walk our well groomed dogs, hustle off to work, play with our children in the park, and stop along the way to chat with a neighbor or two, we now have
Caffe RoM, the ‘caffeinated heart’ of Lakeshore East.
While I watched and waited all summer for the paper to come off the windows or someone to come out and leave the door open, even if just for a moment to get  a peek inside, all I could do was wait and wonder what they had in store for us.  Anticipation growing, Caffe RoM officially opened Sept 23rd, the very last day of summer.  They celebrated their opening with the Corale Bilacus singing traditional Italian folksongs in our park.  Even though the afternoon was hot and sticky a lot of people from Lakeshore East and the surrounding area came out to wish them well, we all seemed to enjoy the music, drink our coffees and took pleasure in the selection of gelatos.    Talking and laughing away the afternoon in our park with neighbors and friends was a great way to end the summer.
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At Caffe RoM we can get a sandwich big enough to satisfy any appetite, have a snack or talk with the barista’s who’ve been certified in making espresso’s the traditional Italian way.  That must be where they learned to make designs on the foam which I look forward to as much as their great coffee. While coffee is the main theme of this chic little Italian café, you will also find a pleasant selection of teas and smoothies without the caffeine.  Don’t forget to try the gelatos, they import one of Italy’s most popular brands, now you don’t have to go to Rome get your favorite desert.

I’ve come to enjoy Caffe RoM for more than just a coffee on the run, having eaten one of their sandwiches and sampled their pastries I find it’s a nice place to meet up with family and friends who live in the area.  Since a couple of my favorites in life is a great cup of Italian coffee and spending time visiting with friends, I can now do both right outside my front door at Caffe RoM