Grotto

Grotto was surprisingly delicious (didn't expect much from a strip mall generic looking exterior). fresh ingredients, great flavors. our waiter was nice, but he claimed the gratuity (for the two of us) was automatically calculated by the computer (we used http://restaurant.com coupon). I didn't question it, but honestly, I did not believe it either. I somewhat understand since there seems to be a lot of cheap people that calculate tip via the total AFTER discounts instead of BEFORE. But it also kind of sucks that the waiter assumed that'd be us.. because it isn't. we would've given him more.

Grotto's Famous Chicken Vesuvio with olive oil, white wine, special seasonings $18

Tender chicken, slightly greasy. Not a fan of huge potato wedges.

Pasta Marinara w/ clams - $21.00

This was right up my alley... LOVED the flavorful sauce, fresh clams... awesome.

I don't remember what soup this was, but I remember it being good.

Oysters were very fresh! $1.75/pc.

Grotto Oak Brook

3011 Butterfield Rd
Oak Brook, IL 60523
(630) 571-5700

Vincitori

We paid $2 for a http://restaurant.com coupon ($25 certificate), and stopped by this restaurant on a Saturday night. Even though it was rainy, this restaurant was packed. We actually waited 15mins or so before getting seated. Aside from the crowd, the volume of this space was increased by a singer on a karaoke machine. We definitely needed to raise our voice to converse.

Here's what we ordered:

Grilled Calamari $12.95 (appetizer)
Served over flash fried spinach and topped with plum tomato relish
Although it's $12.95, the portion is generous. Calamari was cooked nicely, but I'm not a fan of the flash fried spinach -- I think this dish would've worked better if it were sauteed or steamed.

Shrimp Vincitori over Angel Hair Pasta $17.95
Gulf shrimp sautéed with garlic, green scallions, plum tomatoes, ground red pepper, finished with white wine, cream and Romano cheese
This was recommended as a "signature/popular" dish by our waitress. Again, it was tasty but heavy.

I've been craving italian-style pizza for a while.. the kind that's thin, flatbread-like, with fresh ingredients. So when my husband suggested ordering a 12' prosciutto & spinach, I said "ok".

THIN CRUST PIZZA
Cheese
12" $14.95

Toppings (each) - prosciutto & spinach
12" $1.35

Pizza turned out to be thin-crust made at mediocre pizzeria. It was overly salty, and we could barely taste the spinach. The only positive point was the flavorful, decent amount of tomato sauce.

Generally, the food was a bit on the heavier - creamier & buttery- side. Tasty, but nothing spectacular.

Vincitori

www.vincitori.com

14 North Cass Avenue
Westmont, IL 60559-1602
(630) 663-9467

Maui 2008: Sarento's on the Beach

This was a last-minute decision because we wanted to stay around our hotel that night. My sister recommended this place because she heard good reviews from the hotel concierge. We don’t often try Italian when we travel (even though it’s one of my TOP favorite cuisines) so I thought it’d be interesting to give it a try.

I was SO glad we did. Bread was warm, chewy, delicious, served with a curry hummus. Even though we were trying to save room for the actual dishes, we couldn't help but finish all of the bread..mm..

Pan Fried Crab Cakes with Yuzu-Dijon Aioli, Basil Oil -– big chunks of fresh crabs, nice flavors, but the portions were too teeny...

clam pasta – chewy, perfectly cooked linguini in a fresh clams white wine sauce. The only thing I did not care for was the toast with perhaps goat cheese? Not good. The pasta though, was delicious...

We also ordered a market-price special that was a cilantro crusted fish in a perfectly delicious tomato based sauce filled with Italian sausage and clams that I wish to recreate…BURSTING with great flavors. Under it is polenta, which my husband ended up loving. I just miss the sauce...

As announced by one of the waiters, "A team of us will be serving you today"! The "team" included a timely water filler, a great waiter that took our orders and made excellent recommendations with great details, knowledge, and passion...and finally the waiter who made the 'announcement' that didn’t bother apologizing when we asked for bread (they didn’t give us any). He rushed off without saying anything, leaving us confused...then came back to dump the bread on our table.

Overall, nice ambience (another beachfront restaurant), delicious food. Definitely worth returning to (even if it's owned by a restaurant group).

Sarento’s on the Beach
2980 S Kihei Rd, , HI.
Phone: 808-875-7555.