Salentino Offers Sophisticated Dining Experience

You don't have to go to Italy to find old world cuisine -- a new upscale restaurant in Plainfield is the perfect spot to indulge your palette.

Salentino Italian Ristorante opened five months ago in a Route 59 strip mall at Fort Beggs Drive, filling a spot where sports bar and grill used to be. You're probably thinking, "Oh, great another recycle."

Not true. The entire site has been gutted and redesigned, and the result is stunning. From the deep red walls to the gold-colored ceiling to the heavy velvet drapes, the dining room and adjoining bar create an inviting backdrop for a sophisticated meal.

Chef Guy Turi owns both Salentino and the well-known Barolo Ristorante in Joliet, where I dined a few years ago before a concert at the Rialto Square Theatre. I enjoyed that experience immensely, and what I remember most was the restaurant's upscale atmosphere, romantic candlelight, soothing background vocals by Tony Bennett and the amazing food. (Tony Bennett dined at Barolo when it was still in downtown Joliet, as have many other Rialto performers over the years.)

Salentino may give off a different vibe than Barolo, which is to be expected given that it's in a different type of location, but we liked that the decor reminded us of what you'd find in the neighborhood Italian restaurants of Chicago.

But let's move on to the most important facet of the dining experience, the food; in this case, pasta! Salentino, with its elaborate menu and daily menu specials, is a pasta lover's dream.

We sampled one the one of the night's specials, a tri-colored, crab meat-filled tortellini with shells of red (tomato), green (spinach) and cream (basil) pasta covered in a slightly heavy cream sauce ($17). Although we would have preferred that to be a bit more subtle, the dish was visually appealing and passed the taste test with flying colors. Fresh, delicate, flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth, all the things this diner looks for.

Other pasta dishes included lobster ravioli, angel hair sorrento, ziti campagnola, rotollo and fettuccini Bolognese. Prices range from $15 to $19.

Dinner entrees include a number of chicken, veal, steak and fish (cod, tilapia, orange-roughy and salmon) dishes. You can expect to drop anywhere from $15 to $25, and all come with a side dish and vegetable of the day. You can split an entree by adding a $3 charge. 

We also tried two appetizers, the hummus with toasted bread and the portabella mushrooms, both of which were very good. Other appetizers are calamari, bruschetta and baked clams. Prices range from $8 to $17.

For dessert we chose the elegantly served crème brulée, which came with wonderful garnishes that added just the right touches. This vanilla pudding-like dish with a sugar crackled topping was heavenly.

The staff was pleasant and our server had a long history with Barolo, which made for interesting conversation. The atmosphere and dining experience is that of a "special dinner," which could include family, friends or a date. We saw all of these combinations.