REVIEWS

Cucina Paradiso on DineOakPark.com

Nick and Anthony Gambino grew up in the food business. Their father was the deep-dish-wheeling owner of Nancy’s Stuffed Pizza in Chicago. While heavy-duty pizza may be in their blood, don’t expect to find that Chicago favorite at Cucina Paradiso. Expect thin crust. Expect gourmet. Expect Pear Pizza, a flatbread pie dressed in blue cheese, red onions and sliced fruit.

Four to five items a week change in Cucina’s finely edited menu. The brothers’ goal is to keep their regulars’ mouths watering. There are some house favorites, though, like the tangy Rustic Salad with strawberries and the surprisingly sweet Chicken Pistachio Skewers. Pasta comes in two portion sizes. Cucina also caters, whether at you’re home or at such notable destinations as the Cheney Mansion, the 19th Century Club, Pleasant Home and many venues in Chicago.

A restored and rebuilt Cucina Paradiso has been open a little more than a year after a fire in which the Gambinos lost almost everything in their restaurant. Showers of support from customers, fellow restaurateurs and village firefighters left the brothers with a whole new appreciation for Oak Park. “It brought tears to our eyes how wonderful people were,” says Nick.

One place to toast community good will is the Cucina bar, specials and specialties are the norm. But wine and cocktails aren’t the only treats there. The ceiling is incredible. If Cirque du Soleil were to design a bar, this would be it. Watch the billowing puffs of fabric and see what happens.

Oak Park’s Cucina Paradiso rises from ashes

The Stew, Chicago Tribune
When a ringing phone woke him up around 2 a.m. last summer, Anthony Gambino had a feeling something was wrong. Sure enough, he arrived at Cucina Paradiso and watched as a kitchen fire destroyed the restaurant he built with his brother, Nick.

“No phone call at 2 in the morning is ever a good call,” said Gambino, 37, of Oak Lawn, recalling that night.

Fast forward to January 2008. After six months of reconstruction, Cucina Paradiso (814 North Blvd., 708-848-3434) is again open for business. And while the stone-bricked pizzas are back, the cozy, Oak Park restaurant has added a few new options. The new menu includes eight tapas-sized appetizers dubbed “little plates,” including polenta fries served with marinara, zucchini fritters and chicken pistachio skewers. Cucina has cut back on its “big bowl of pasta,” offering a smaller portion for $10-$11. If [customers] want a big bowl of pasta, they can have it,” Gambino said. “If they want it smaller and have some appetizers, they can have that, too.”

Considering the water and smoke damage the fire caused, the brothers had the interior completely rebuilt, from the studs and the drywall to new floors, ceiling and light fixtures. Gambino boiled down the six-month process into a single word. “Hell,” he said.

But the grueling process paid off in late December when Cucina Paradiso opened on a cold Thursday. By Friday, the place was packed, Gambino said. He thanked the locals who inundated the restaurant’s voice mail with pleas to open. “It’s been awesome to say the least,” he said.

Cucina Paradiso on CenterstageChicago.com

Cucina Paradiso is one of few restaurants that are worth a trip to the ‘burbs. And by the time you finally arrive in Oak Park, you’ll have worked up a serious appetite for the restaurant’s extensive menu of regional Italian dishes. Paradiso’s dining room is dressed to impress with its floor-length red drapes and vintage art prints adorning its exposed-brick interior. Plush banquettes and white linen-topped tables make room for canoodling lovers, business professionals and hungry families.

Start things off with some chicken pistachio skewers, served with red pepper balsamic or go for the classic caprese with fresh mozzarella, beef steak tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil, $5 each. For dinner, try the restaurant’s specialty pear pizza with caramelized red onions, gorgonzola and balsamic or get your daily dose of protein with the meatball marinara and provolone flatbread, $11 each. Pastas range from $11 to $15 and include rigatoni Bolognese (read: spiraly noodles with a ton of meat), whole wheat pasta with veggies and spinach ricotta gnocchi prepared in a mushroom sauce.

Cuicna Paradiso also offers a bevy of specials throughout the week, so you can impress a date without breaking the bank. Mondays boast half-price bottles of wine, while Tuesedays and Wednesdays promote the bar with $3 appetizers and $5 signature martinis, respectively.