Cafe Roma goes well beyond the typical Italian restaurant

Sun Day
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Thur, December 20 - Wed, January 16, 2013
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eatingaroundtheedge
Cafe Roma goes well beyond the typical Italian restaurant
Sue Tiedeman
Columnist
My mother-in-law, Mimi,
was visiting us for the holidays, and she had a taste for
an Italian meal prepared the
Italian way. She was born and
raised in Italy, visits yearly,
and knows her Italian dishes.
So Roland and I took her to
Café Roma, a true “hidden
gem” at the end of Point Boulevard in Elgin, behind and to
the right of Country Inn Suites.
The restaurant is very eclectic and does not have the usual
Frank Sinatra music playing
in the background. In fact, it
is quite informal at lunchtime,
catering to the many work-
ers in the tall office buildings
surrounding Café Roma. The
lunch crowd is the bulk of
their business, and the regular
lunch menu is nothing compared to the great and imaginative lunch specials, including
the soups, which are posted
on an ever-changing board as
you enter the restaurant. Their
soups are so good they offer a
soup schedule, which you can
download on their website.
(tastecaferoma.com)
They became so well known
in their area that many lunch
customers asked if they could
stay open for cocktails and
dinner, and that is what Frank
Redisi, executive chef and
owner, did. They are open
Thursday and Friday evenings
until nine for dinner with an
elegant setting—white tablecloths, black cloth napkins,
and candles on the tables and
booths. They feature a wellstocked bar for appetizers and
drinks.
We arrived early for dinner
one Friday night and took our
time reading the menu, which
offers daily soups, beautiful
salads, pastas, chicken, fish,
sandwiches, and, of course,
pizzas, which were being
picked up by hungry diners
and taken home to enjoy.
We started out with the house
Chianti which hit the spot. Roland ordered the French onion
soup (in an Italian restaurant?)
and was disappointed because
there was no melted cheese on
top. Mimi and I ordered the
house salad complete with the
house dressing. It was picture
perfect, very fresh and colorful. We like to eat bread with
our soup or salad, but none is
usually offered until the main
course arrives, so we asked for
bread, and it arrived warm and
crusty.
Roland ordered chicken
parmesan served with a side
of pasta and ate all three
pieces of chicken. Mimi had
roasted vegetables over al
dente pasta with a garlic and
olive oil sauce. She complemented the chef on the entire
dish and said if she closed her
eyes and ate, she would have
thought she was back in Italy.
Because I have had many of
the pasta dishes in the past, I
ordered an Italian beef sandwich, served with a side of
pasta (or French fries or garlic
mashed potatoes), and it came
with soup or salad. It was not
your “Chicago-style” Italian
beef sandwich, but tender, thin
sliced beef in a light “gravy”
layered on a crisp piece of Italian bread soaked just enough!
Their pizzas look phenom-
enal, and there are 22 choices for toppings along with
three separate sizes which are
cooked in a 700-degree stone
oven for your dine-in or takeout pleasure. The dessert menu
is tempting. We will go back
next time and have a light dinner so that we can enjoy them
with our espresso.
If you are looking for an
authentic Italian meal that is
prepared with extra care, from
choice ingredients in dishes
and sauces, stop in on a Thursday or Friday evening and settle into your booth or table and
enjoy. Or go for lunch! A little
place close by, Café Roma will
become your choice to go to
enjoy authentic, freshly prepared Italian food. The quality
of the food warrants the few
dollars more you may pay. We
don’t think you will be disappointed.
Fun Friday puts on holiday best
The Edgewater Fun Friday crowd
enjoyed a wonderful holiday evening Friday, Dec. 4. Under the
skilled direction of Carol Siegler
accompanied by husband Jerry
on the banjo, the Music Makers
performed a variety of tunes from
"On the First Day of Christmas" to
"Hava Nagila" along with lots of
audience participation.
The Music Makers are in high demand this time of year, so the Fun
Friday series was extremely fortunate to be able to book them for this
event. The sing along was the perfect chance to get into the spirit with
great friends and neighbors.
Holiday brunch kicks off
season at Randall Oaks
One hundred Edgewater
friends and neighbors gathered
at Randall Oaks Golf and Banquets Sunday, Dec. 2 to enjoy
a relaxing brunch before the
holiday season kicks off in full
swing.
The morning was warm with
brilliant sunshine as attendees
dined on waffles with fruit compote, eggs, bacon and all the
traditional breakfast dishes. The
banquet room’s wrap around
windows gave a perfect view
of the many golfers enjoying an
unexpected game in December.
The Randall brunch was just
the start of the many holiday
events to enjoy at the Edgewater by Del Webb community in
Elgin.