Biaggi's
Karen Walker
but I'd be interested in the general opinions from our local "experts", and
perhaps some recommendations about their better entrees.
I just chaired a convention at the Clarion last weekend and recommended
Biaggi's to several out-of-town people, mainly because it was easy to find
and I didn't want to send them into the morass of chain restaurants on North
Neil. They all came back with rave reviews, so we tried it for the first
time Sunday night.
We started with the house "Italian" salad, which was decidedly
un-Italian and bland -- iceberg lettuce, a few strips of red cabbage and a
tomato. Why do so many local restaurants seem to have an aversion to using
mixed greens?
My entree was the Capellini di Mare. The spicy sauce was good, but the
"mare" (seafood) was virtually invisible -- the shrimp and mussels and
calamari were so tiny and sparse that they were dwarfed by the tomatoes in
the sauce. The serving was more than generous, though. I had a half order
and took half of it home.
My friends had the cioppino and the salmon, which they rated as okay but
pricey for the serving sizes. We also ordered glasses of the house chianti.
It was a nice wine and tasted, to me, exactly like Dom's chianti, but at
twice the price. We'll check the menu next time before we order two rounds
of a "house" wine that costs $5.95 a glass!
The waiters were very friendly and the service was excellent. I'll
probably go back, but I don't think Biaggi's will be my choice for a
romantic evening . The noise in the dining area was so bad that we could
barely hear each other speak. We were there early (5:30 p.m.) and there were
a few empty tables, so I can imagine the roar on a night when the place is
packed.
===========================================================
Karen Walker, Champaign IL www.prairienet.org/bridge/games.htm
Bridge at Ginger Creek -- Community Duplicate-Bridge Center
Stuart Laird
tries, and couldn't find anything about it that was other than Very
Ordinary. I guess some people are impressed by linen table cloths.
The good news is that Great Impasta is opening in a couple of weeks
(finally! -- and assuming that all the inspectors get off their butts and
get their jobs done).
-sl
"Karen Walker" <kwa...@prairienet.org> wrote in message
news:PU1Z4.879$p92.195@firefly...
Jenny Gerbi
> For my $, Biaggi's is The Most Overrated Restaurant in CU. I gave it 4
> tries, and couldn't find anything about it that was other than Very
> Ordinary. I guess some people are impressed by linen table cloths.
The KEY to biaggi's is to fill up on the foccacia bread. Totally. Don't get
salad, don't get wine. Stuff yourself with that bread (and if you ask for more,
and JUST foccacia, they will give it to you!) and the surprisingly good olive
oil, and then get a half order of a standard pasta, nothing too extreme, and
that tends to be pretty good. I was dissapointed with the fish I got there once,
but then again, I"ve been dissapointed with all fish in this town except for the
salmon at RM.
The cannoli at biaggis when I went 2 our of 3 times was mindblowing for this
part of the country (i.e. no real italian food.) The third time I think they
left the sugar out of it! We mildly complained and they took it off the bill
which was very nice.
And I do really like the style of biaggis, even though it is loud. The entrees
tend to be ready VERY QUICKLY, which is either good or bad.
So, doing the grad student cheapie, drinking water, stuffing bread, and getting
two half orders of something for the both of us, and one cannoli dessert (which
is two rather huge cannoli for like 3 bucks, a bargan) it's totally worth it.
Nothing worse than iceburg lettuce salads.
The two times I was at impasta I hated it. Overcooked pasta in overly heavy
cream sauces. The type of italian I like is fresh, olive oil (no cream), no
overdone pasta, veggies like crazy. Basically I just make it at home. But, I
haven't been to impasta enough to have tried all that much. Any veteran impasta
people have suggestions for someone with tastes like mine? Actually, we'll wait
till it re-opens...
Otherwise, anyone have anything to say about Dom's? I have never been, and I"ve
always biked past it, thinking it was some sort of a front for something. But
they seem to be an actual food place. -j
Kate Hellenga
On Thu, 1 Jun 2000, Jenny Gerbi wrote:
> Otherwise, anyone have anything to say about Dom's? I have never been, and I"ve
> always biked past it, thinking it was some sort of a front for something. But
> they seem to be an actual food place. -j
I was only recently introduced to Dom's (thanks Charley!), and I really
like it... a lot of what I like is the small, family-run restaurant thing.
You've got the owners (grandma and grandpa) and I think their kids, and
sometimes the grandkids bussing tables late in the evening. I think the
best part is the little random appetizer things they sometimes bring out,
apparently when grandpa shows up in the kitchen and decides to mess around
and make something. And the waitstaff are really nice, it's a pretty
laidback place, and the people that go there seem like mostly
non-academics, a mix of big families and couples mostly.
The food is, to my mind, pretty basic/simple homemade-like Italian fare,
nothing particularly fancy but it's pretty damn good and they give you
plenty for your $$$. Sorry to say I can't recall the specific meals I've
eaten there, so no reviews of specific ingredients/style/flavor/price...
I like to support Dom's, too, because they donated a big meal for a lot of
families, for a dinner/information night put on by Best Interest of
Children (local advocacy group that helps parents keep their kids out of
foster care, or get them back if possible and appropriate).
--Kate
Kelly at klkbeadworks
Kate Hellenga wrote:
>
> On Thu, 1 Jun 2000, Jenny Gerbi wrote:
>
> > Otherwise, anyone have anything to say about Dom's? I have never been, and I"ve
> > always biked past it, thinking it was some sort of a front for something. But
> > they seem to be an actual food place. -j
>
> I was only recently introduced to Dom's (thanks Charley!),
Sounds good! Where is it??
Charley Kline
On Locust (between the tracks and First) about a block north of
Springfield. It's hard to miss the little yellow sign. Hope you
enjoy it; I think it's one of the town's little gems.
/cvk
Karen Walker
> On Locust (between the tracks and First) about a block north of
> Springfield. It's hard to miss the little yellow sign. Hope you
> enjoy it; I think it's one of the town's little gems.
I second the vote for Dom's. The Italian dishes are simple and very good,
the wine is reasonably priced, and they have a few unusual entrees. If you
like chicken livers, Dom's is the place. I'm not normally a fan of this
dish, but I get the half-order (with side of pasta) almost every time I go
there.
Dipesh Navsaria
Great Impasta to open up...
Biaggi's lost my business when they removed the gnocchi dishes. You can't
claim to be a nothern Itallian place andnot serve gnocchi. Lega Nord
should fire-bomb them. :-)
Peace and Prosperity,
Dipesh
Karen Walker (kwa...@prairienet.org) wrote:
: "Charley Kline" <kl...@uiuc.edu> wrote in message
Guanyao Cheng
Krol) wrote:
> Basically Biaggi's is wonderful, but it is not really an
> italian restaurant - it is interesting food in the italian style.
>
> For example: There ciappino is some of the best bouleabaise I have
> ever had, but it ain't ciappino.
>
To me Biaggi's is nothing special. I've been there 3 times now, and each
time it underwhelms me. To me, it's no better than the Olive Garden.
Larry Gushee
several weeks in Paris (with an exchange rate of 7.3 francs to the $) and who
just dined at Dom's last night:
In the culinary wasteland that is central Illinois, the slightest glimmer of
cooking intelligence deserves notice, but I'd have to give Dom's C minus. The
salad was doused with "Italian dressing" in which not a molecule of olive oil or
an herb or two could be detected but the sugar sure could. The huge manicotti
-- stuffing not too bad -- was swimming in a sea of tomato sauce, also way too
sweet. The garlic bread had no garlic flavor. The coffee was unspeakable:
instead of a pleasant coda to a meal it should have been used to mop the floor.
Actually, the tiramisu ordered by one of my companions might be rated B, except
for the unbelievable price of $4.50.
Dom's should be given points for consistency, however. My last meal there
was at least 15 years ago, when I remarked that the tomato sauce was probably
pumped from a 55 gallon drum and vowed never to return. To be fair, the sauce
probably was better last night and may even have have been made in the kitchen.
It was still way too sweet and applied indiscriminately.
Yes, it is a family restaurant with pleasant and rapid service, and, the
major selling point, even half full was really rather quiet. So if that's what
you want, Dom's is for you. Just ask them to cut back on the tomato sauce.
L. Gushee
Karen Walker wrote:
> ===========================================================
> Karen Walker, Champaign IL www.prairienet.org/bridge/games.htm
Doug McDonald
>
> Interpret the following as the ravings of someone just recently back from
> several weeks in Paris (with an exchange rate of 7.3 francs to the $) and who
> just dined at Dom's last night:
> In the culinary wasteland that is central Illinois, the slightest glimmer of
> cooking intelligence deserves notice,
PLEASE!! Let us know what you ate in Paris.
I'm already drooling on the keyboard.
And give some comments on how our better places are doing.
I've been here 29 years and I must say that on a scale
of 1 to 10 in food, the taking say the top 5 place in our town,
the average has risen from say a 1.5 to perhaps 3 .
Doug McDonald