Category Archives: Italian

Union Pizzeria

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**** (4 stars)

This place serves thin crust pizza with an almost burnt crust, which is my favorite style. Unfortunately they are very inflexible about ingredients, so your only option is to order something and have them leave stuff off. Good selection of beers, and the Caesar salad is excellent. The really neat thing about the place is that SPACE, the world’s best intimate live performance venue is attached. You can have a pizza before the show, or even take it back with you and eat it on one of the cocktail tables while watching the show. Because SPACE is such a great audio environment, it attracts the top small acts. SPACE plus Union Pizza and a nice stout is a definite win.

Union Pizzeria
1245 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 475-2400
http://www.yelp.com/biz/union-pizzeria-evanston

Sarpino’s Pizza

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**** (4 stars)

This might not be the fastest delivery place in the world, but the pizza is excellent. I’ll admit it, I’m not a fan of Chicago style pizza, with its thick, saltine tasting pie crust. Sarpino’s offers a thin crust pizza, and an extra done option that makes it slightly crispy. The toppings are tasty and in the correct proportions. We like the basil pesto pizza and the veggie pizza. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for delivery. Check online for deals like two for ones.

Sarpino’s Pizza
2428 Main St
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 869-5555
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sarpinos-pizza-evanston

Trattoria Demi

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*** (3 stars)

There aren’t a lot of authentic Italian places in Evanston, so Trattoria Demi is probably as close as you’re going to come. They make a good Caesar salad, and the pizza is serviceable. There’s nothing about the place that will really fool you into thinking your in a Trattoria in Italy, but it’s a perfectly fine restaurant.

Trattoria Demi
1571 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 332-2330
http://www.yelp.com/biz/trattoria-demi-evanston

Peperoncino

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***** (5 stars)

This is about as close as you can get to authentic Italian food in Orlando. The ingredients are fresh, and many of them are imported. In fact, you know you’re in for a treat from the moment they put down the fresh bread, because the olive oil it’s drizzled with is sublime, and the dusting of grated cheese packs a ton of flavor into each bite.

We tried the antipasto plate, which had a wonderful pecorino cheese studded with black pepper–probably the best pecorino I’ve had. I’m not much of a meat person, but my wife liked all of the meats on the plate.

We also had the mussels, which were served in a tomato sauce that had very fresh tomato pieces. I’m betting these came from Italy, as they weren’t the American kind that you can bounce into a semi truck.

The pictures on the website show lots of fish and shellfish dishes, but the only fish dish I could find was the special, a snapper cooked in parchment, served with shellfish. The snapper was (mostly) de-boned at tableside. It was moist, but a bit of a pain to eat, and the shellfish wasn’t as good as the mussel appetizer.

Perperoncino is tiny, bright and noisy, not my first choice of ambiance, but on nice evenings the restaurant doubles its size by expanding onto the plaza it fronts. That’s the ticket for a truly authentic Italian meal.

Peperoncino
7988 Via Dellagio Way
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 440-2856
http://www.yelp.com/biz/peperoncino-orlando

Ciao Italia Ristorante Italiano

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***** (5 stars)

Ciao Italia Ristorante offers surprising upscale and romantic decor for its strip mall location. There is little doubt that this is the best — and most authentic — Italian food in Orlando. All of the ingredients are extremely fresh. The sauces, seafood and vegetables are highlights, and are pretty much exactly what you’d get in a nice restaurant in Southern Italy. They also have the best garlic bread in Orlando, partially due to the freshness of the underlying bread, and partially to the generous amount of butter and garlic used to make it. Try the “chef’s salad”, a deliciously creamy lime, romaine and pine nut concoction. Reasonably priced.

Ciao Italia Ristorante Italiano
6149 Westwood Blvd
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 354-0770
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ciao-italia-ristorante-italiano-orlando