Chicago Sun-Times Review

Isabella makes good impression right away

July 26, 2002

Open every day for lunch and dinner; reservations accepted; three-course dinner about $22 before tax and tip.

Old homes that get converted into restaurants most often creak with the contrivance of kitsch. Isabella avoided that musty trap, so pardon me if I say that Isabella is, well, bella.

Not as ambitious a menu as at Biaggio's (Biaggio's does more with chicken, veal and seafood), and a bit more straightforward in its approach, Isabella still cuts a pleasing swath through the Italian foodscape.

Right from the start, I was quite impressed with the selection of first-course choices--appetizers, soups, salads--which number about two dozen. The range is quite interesting in that you can choose from three flavors of bruschetta--garlic and oil, tomato and basil, tomato, basil and cheese. I took the purist approach here and went with the classic tomato and basil (and olive oil), which was totally enjoyable in every way (the dead-ripe tomatoes made the dish). Another starter option would be the "With Bread" choices, a nice idea that pairs crusty bread with various foods--olives, roasted garlic, cheeses, red pepper pesto. Though I lusted after all of them, the only one I got to try was the great-tasting eggplant and onion spread.

Another fine opener would be the "polenta torte." The "torte" designation means this is polenta that has been left to sit and set up a bit, so that it becomes, as the restaurant notes, a "cake." Whatever you call it, call it wonderful. Lavished with a silky and tangy goat cheese sauce, with an escort of spinach and bell pepper, it is a polenta arrangement that takes the cake.

Pasta dishes of note include penne gilded with a lusty, smoky cream sauce. Pieces of dried porcini that had been soaked in water and folded into the cream sauce gave this dish a bounty of good flavor. I had a dish similar to this in Italy, and the Isabella version was every bit as good.

A more rustic pasta dish is a combination of rigatoni pasta, Italian sausage, peppers and onions. This is what I call a "no-sauce" pasta idea, but the ingredients are so flavor intense that no sauce is needed, only that which comes from the sausage, peppers and onions.

Pork tenderloin, lamb chops and roasted duck are not your usual Italian entrees. However, indulging in the veal limone one night made me aware that the kitchen knows Italian, with the veal tender and the sauce of garlic, olive oil and lemon hitting just the right flavor balance. On the other hand, when sampling the grilled salmon, I was not impressed. The salmon was not all that great-tasting, and the sun-dried tomato sauce that came with it was totally misplaced. That sauce wrestled with the fish and the sauce won, which means that the taste of the salmon was corrupted.

Desserts are a little of this and a bit of that: tiramisu, bread pudding, creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake. A dozen choices, and not a whole lot that captured my fancy. It seems to me that restaurants are missing out on a good thing (as in a higher check average) by not doing more creative work on the sweet end of the meal. I lucked out at Isabella with the very flavorful mango and almond torte (it even had good mango flavor). The flourless chocolate cake was pretty much like every other flourless chocolate cake out there, so I have nothing exciting to say about it (but nothing bad to say, either).

On the other hand, I can say this: The prices at Isabella are rock-bottom. No pasta dish goes over 10 bucks, and entrees average around $13. Definitely a bargain.

Pat Bruno