FEATURED RESTAURANT

Cucina Bella
Celebrating Dog Days Italian Style

(A Guest Review By Fred)

It's not easy being a Webmeister's dog. Your owner sits in front of the computer so long that you have to nudge his feet up a little bit with your nose just to make sure that there aren't any roots setting themselves down into the floor.

And even on those rare occasions when it's time for the family to go out to a restaurant, guess who gets left behind with a bowl of kibble? That's right: poor ol' Fred and his sister, Ginger.

That's why I'm glad that my owner is Spider's Webmeister, because she finds ways to include us in the fun.

In July, she and her husband Bob and my folks all went to an Italian restaurant called Cucina Bella, and us dogs got to go along!

Cucina Bella is on Diversey Parkway, just a couple blocks east of Clark Street. It's not on the lake, but it's close enough so that you can stroll over and enjoy the sights and the breeze after your dinner on a nice night. (They have a Web site, too. Click here to visit it. And the featured recipe for August and September is from there.)

Now Chicago has health laws like other American cities, and those laws say No Dogs Inside. But Cucina Bella gets around that by having tables out on the sidewalk, and, at those tables, dogs are not only allowed, they're welcomed.

When the Webmeister went inside to say that we had arrived, I took a quick peek around from the sidewalk, and it looked like a really comfortable place to eat a leisurely dinner. Spider backs this up; she tells me that the dining room is a great place to kick back and enjoy your meal, and there's a table in the kitchen for those who want a very special experience. Mark Donaway, who owns Cucina Bella and is the chef, is a friend of Spider's, and he has her picture hanging up in the dining room, so you know he has a great touch for décor as well as for food. (Not only that, but Spider tells me that he sings, too!)

As soon as the four humans were seated, a basket of flat bread came out. They said that it was just the right texture and had a pleasant touch of sweetness. There was a lot of it, which is good, because both the menu and the list of daily specials are long and filled with tempting goodies, and it took them a while to make a decision. Of course, restaurant patrons don't decide on bread alone, and the wine list is as impressive as the menu. The Webmeister asked our server for recommendations and found that the staff is prepared to discuss the styles of the wines and how they might go with the food. So, now with a nice California pinot grigio and the bread at hand, the decision making process began.

At this point, I must admit, Ginger and I lost touch with them for a while, because a big bowl of cool water (it was July) came out for us, followed quickly by two big dishes of pasta. Now this is living. Some places will tolerate dogs, but the good people at Cucina Bella go out of their way to make them part of the fun.

When I ceased doing my world-famous imitation of my wolf cousins, and while I eyed the pasta that Ginger was eating somewhat less voraciously than me, I found that the humans were starting their own chow-down. To keep my mind off Ginger's food, I started paying attention to what was being said about the food at the grown-up's table, so I can tell you pretty much all of what they were saying about the food.

They started out by sharing some appetizers. There was a big bowl of arancini, balls of rice wrapped around cheese and deep fried. This batch was fried perfectly, meaning that they were succulent without being greasy. There was also a generous serving of fried calamari, served with both lemon wedges and a bowl of tomato sauce. Calamari is one of those dishes that is easier to do poorly than to do well, and the poor squid end up being the texture of my chew toys. The calamari at Cucina Bella was good enough to prompt discussions of whether to get another order.

It's probably fortunate that good sense prevailed over gluttonous desire, because the main courses that came out in long, deep silver bowls were plenty big.

The menu at Cucina Bella is as long and deep as the serving bowls, but sometimes you just have to go to basics and see how a restaurant can handle them. That's what Bob did, with his choice of spaghetti and meatballs, and he pronounced them in top form. Spider and the Webmistress had independently chosen the same dish: a house specialty called Peasants. I don't really know that peasants could afford anything this good, but everybody at the table tried (and found wonderful) this dish of penne, corn, peas and excellent Italian sausage. (And garlic! The smell was driving me crazy!). The Webmeister had one of the daily specials of pasta in a light cream and balsamic sauce. He's a great fan of balsamic, but he was concerned that it would be allowed to overwhelm the dish. He should have trusted Chef Donaway, because the balance was perfect.

While all this eating was going on, I took in the sights and sounds. The traffic going by wasn't the problem I thought it would be. The buses were no fun, but the Diversey bus doesn't seem to run that often. Bad for bus riders; good for us. The passersby were a pleasant lot, and Ginger and I got a lot of smiles and good words. Most of the other tables were parties with dogs along. I met a fine Labrador and a handsome young bull mastiff pup named Romeo. You would never know from seeing him sit in his master's lap with his head on the table, sound asleep, that next year at this time he'll be big enough to eat all of our lunches.

Dessert time was another shared affair. The watermelon granita was beautiful to look at and just the refreshing touch that was needed after the meal. And the fresh fruit with amaretto cream passed the famous next-table test. As soon as it was delivered to our table, someone called from the next table and said, "What is that? I have to order some of that!"