Lots to love

Amore Mio

1457 Palatine Road, Hoffman Estates, (847) 358-5506

Cuisine:  Italian specialties including fresh seafood, chicken, veal and homemade pastas

Setting:  Cozy bistro nestled in a strip mall

Price Range:  Appetizers $5.95 to $9.95; salads $3.95 to $6.95; pasta $8.95 to $12.95; entrees $9.95 to $20.95

Hours:  4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Sunday; 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
3:30 - 10:30; closed Monday

Accepts:  Major credit cards; reservations for parties of four or more

Also:  Because of its small size, this restaurant is entirely non-smoking; catering and private business luncheons available

Amore Mio pleases with menu of traditional Italian dishes

 By Keri Wyatt Kent

Daily Herald Correspondent

If you like Italian food, but you’re looking for something unique and unusual; you may just fall in love with Amore Mio.

Located in a new strip mall next to a Jewel Food Store on Palatine Road, its location is anything but glamorous.  But it is situated smack in the middle of the upscale residential neighborhoods of north Hoffman Estates and Inverness, which means it should have plenty of potential customers right near by. “We’ve had people from all over come here, because we’ve got good quality food,” says chef and owner Antonio Barbanente.  “It’s not just a neighborhood thing.”

Barbanente opened Amore Mio with his father, Nicola, in August.  They formerly worked at La Donna, a restaurant in Chicago owned by Antonio’s aunt.  They also once owned and ran La Donna Nord in Hoffman Estates.The family has been in the restaurant business for many years, both in the Chicago area (their first restaurant here was Portofino in Elmwood Park about 15 years ago) and in their native Italy. For Antonio Barbanente, it’s been a part of his life from childhood.

“I remember working in the family restaurant at 7 years old, cleaning potatoes,” he says. “We try to create dishes that everyone else doesn’t have,” Barbanente said.  “We have vegetarian, we have traditional, we have all different things.  The options are endless.”

The menu includes many traditional chicken – and veal-based Italian dishes and some very good fresh seafood, as well as a number of imaginative vegetarian choices, including the intriguing ravioli di modena, which is pumpkin-filled ravioli in a balsamic vinegar cream sauce, topped with roasted walnuts.

Another vegetarian choice, which topped Barbanente’s recommended list, is the parpadelle al gusto, a homemade pasta dish with olive oil, garlic, white beans, spinach, zucchini, fresh tomatoes and pine nuts.

We started with fried calamari, an appetizer of generous proportions. It comes with what the menu calls a “special house sauce” – the consistency and flavor of which reminded us of a thick cream of tomato soup with a little basil and pepper.  Bu the calamari was good, tender with a light breading, and there was plenty of it.

We also sampled the crostini al fresco, slices of crusty Italian bread topped with mounds of chopped fresh tomatoes mixed with fontina cheese and herbs.  This is a terrific appetizer, fresh, light but satisfying. Not so traditional choices on the appetizer menu include a grilled octopus with balsamic vinegar and tomatoes, and a stuffed Portobello mushroom with goat cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomato.

For an entrée we sampled the ravioli of the week, which was stuffed with a mixture of ground filet mignon and porcini mushrooms. It was topped with a tomato sauce very similar to the one served with the calamari appetizer.  Although it was a tasty dish, you got only six ravioli, each about 3 inches in diameter. For $11.95, the portion was a little skimpy.  Also, why take two ingredients whose appeal, at least in part, is in their texture (filet and porcini mushrooms), and grind them up?

We also ordered a Chilean sea bass, served with spinach and white beans in a white wine sauce.  This was delicious.  Like many of the restaurant’s other specialties, this came to the table attractively presented, garnished with a spear of rosemary sticking straight up out of the fish.  The combination of the sauce, spinach and beans was delightful, and the large serving of fish was tender and flavorful.

Another fish entrée that’s popular starts again with the sea bass, which is then topped with a mixture of salmon and shrimp. Another popular dish is the involtini di pollo barese, a chicken breast rolled with red onions, spinach and gorgonzola cheese in a red wine tomato sauce. The service was very good, with a friendly waitstaff and attentive bus boys, who cleared the table quickly as we finished each course.

One thing that detracted from my dining experience was the fact that every time the door opened into this rather small bistro, a blast of cold air swept through.  I was in line with the door, but as the third table in, which at Amore is half way to the kitchen, this shouldn’t have happened.  It was a chilly night, but not frigid.  If you were closer to the door on a really cold night, you’d be very uncomfortable.  I managed by wrapping my coat around my shoulders, but I felt the cold air on my legs as it whooshed under my chair. Just a small distraction, but next time, I’ll ask for a table in the back corner.

For dessert, like any Italian restaurant, Amore Mio offers homemade tiramisu and cannoli as well as gelato. We opted for the more unusual offering from the specials menu: a mixed berry tart.  Very good. There’s a lot to love about Amore Mio. Specials change weekly, and the menu has something for everyone, from the traditionalists to the more adventurous diner.

·       Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. Our aim is to describe the overall dining experience while guiding the reader toward the menu’s strengths. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.