La Donna

Italian Food In A Swedish Neighborhood

In the summer of 1999, my husband Bob and I ventured with my Webmeister and his frau and their longhaired dachshunds Fred and Ginger to a restaurant called Cucina Bella, and Fred wrote a review of the place.

It had been too long since we had all gathered together for Italian food, so regretfully leaving Fred and Ginger behind, we ventured out to La Donna.

Chicago is a city of ethnic neighborhoods, and La Donna is in Andersonville, a section originally settled by Swedish immigrants. Chicago is also a city of surprises, so if you go into the Swedish neighborhood and walk into an unassuming storefront, you can find yourself walking into a narrow little restaurant with a chef from Rome and a menu and wine list both extensive and impressive in their scope. And, sure enough, that's what happened to us.

In a place this size, everyone pitches in to help, so we weren't surprised that the bartender came out to be our waiter. That worked out well, actually, because he was able to discuss his special martini menu (and you know that I love a place with a special martini menu) and fix some marvelous drinks for me and Bob. Extra points were awarded him for the hand-stuffed bleu cheese olives (for Bob) and hand-stuffed anchovy olives (for me.) Webmeister and frau remained within the Italian spirit and stuck to Campari.

We received fair warning about portions, so I'm going to pass it along to you. The menu lists hot appetizers, cold appetizers, first courses, pastas, pizzas and second courses. And desserts, but you know that those really don't interest me. Unless you're monumentally hungry, one and a half of these courses is about all you're going to be able to handle without serious groaning. Be prepared to share. The tables are small, so that will be easy. The tables are also close together, so you can get a good idea of what your neighbors are having and see if it looks good to you.

We started with an order of grilled calamari. Instead of the sliced rounds you frequently encounter, we got three large whole squid bodies (tentacles on the side) that looked almost big enough to star in a remake of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Our first fear was that squid that large would be tough, but our fears were groundless. They were tender and perfectly grilled.

Raviolis and lasagnas have become a favorite at La Donna, and the chef has found himself called on for them more and more. Bob had the ravioli special of the night, which were stuffed with ground veal and shiitake mushrooms and served in a sauce of roasted red peppers. The Webmeister had his ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and served on a bed of creamy brown sauce heavily flavored with a reduction of balsamic vinegar. The Webmeister's frau was tempted by the pizza menu and got a plate-sized, crispy thin-crust pie with fresh Italian sausage, mushroom and mozzarella. For myself, I decided to use up my remaining cholesterol allotment for the year 2000 by having my old favorite Spaghetti Carbonara. Literally translated as spaghetti in the style of the coal miner's wife, this dish takes its name from the liberal sprinkling of coarse-ground black pepper that makes it look like it was covered with coal dust. The black flakes also make you forget that the sauce is primarily composed of cream and eggs and cheese. Everything was well-rendered, and there was a lot of it.

You know that I don't care for sweets, but my three dining companions decided to have a helping of zuccotto with their after-dinner drinks. Zuccotto is a Florentine dish, and it's supposed to be made in the shape of the cupola of the Duomo in Florence. It's chock full of nuts and candied fruits and cream and covered with chocolate. La Donna upped the ante by substituting mascarpone for the whipping cream. Our table got a large wedge on a gridwork of raspberry sauce, and it was easily enough for the three of them. I should note that I didn't hear any complaints about it.

La Donna, while it has sophisticated food, is also the kind of neighborhood place where I wasn't at all surprised to meet and have a nice chat with one of my voice students from the Bloom School of Jazz. Go there and enjoy yourself.