Old-World lessons essential ingredients at Mambo Italiano

“Hey Mambo, Mambo Italiano …” Rosemary Clooney sang it first, some argue Dean Martin sang it best. Whichever version you prefer, it's difficult to hear Mambo Italiano and not hum the tune all day.

For chef Salvatore Cardone, that song may well have been the background music to his childhood, when, as a 4-year-old, he hung out in the kitchen with his Italian-speaking grandmother and watched her cook. Later, when he started working in his stepfather's restaurant, Salvatore knew that he wanted to own his own restaurant someday. And because he and his wife, Briana, love that classic song, they named their restaurant, Mambo Italiano. Mambo serves up classic Italian dishes with a modern twist.

While his wife went to culinary school, Salvatore's culinary education came through years of hands-on kitchen experience. The couple opened the restaurant seven years ago and have already expanded the dining rooms.

How important is your Italian heritage to your cooking? Very. I'm a first generation Italian. I was born here, but both my parents came from Italy. I spoke Italian before I spoke English. A lot of my recipes are traditional Italian recipes that I learned from my mom and my grandmother. I was taught at a very young age. I always watched the way they made the special dishes in the kitchen.

Have you been able to visit Italy; do you still have relatives there? We visited Italy about four years ago. I have a bunch of relatives there in Naples, a lot of cousins. I had such high expectations after hearing about it for so many years, that I was almost disappointed until we found a restaurant that wasn't so touristy — everything there was good.

Who has most influenced you in the kitchen? I have to say my mom and my grandmother. My grandmother baked bread every week and cooked every night. We never went out for dinner. The first dish was pasta, and then we'd have the meat and the salad. Sunday was always a big meal with the gravy and meatballs. She was very old school. That's the way we grew up. She had a garden in the back so we always had the fresh vegetables. She lived to be 98 — the secret is a lot of garlic and a lot of wine!

Your wife is a chef as well; who does the cooking at home? My wife went to culinary school and worked at for four years. Now she makes most of our daily specials at the restaurant and she does all the cooking at home. I get enough of it here at work. We have a 2-year-old daughter; she's a little young to cook yet, but soon!

What do you like to do with your time off? I like to go golfing and fishing. We like going out to eat and hanging out with our family — nothing crazy.

Mambo is known as an authentic Italian restaurant with a modern twist. What is the twist? We wanted to make Mambo the kind of restaurant where you could come in and get the best of both worlds. For those who like the simple, basic Italian dishes and don't want to spend a fortune, we have it. We also have creative dishes that seem higher end, like our rack of lamb, or our halibut.

We've taken some of the old recipes and given them a new style, a new twist. Where they used to use 15 hundred pounds of garlic, we've changed things up. We use lighter sauces, and different ingredients and cooking techniques. For example, our Braciole has dried cranberries. Our stuffed peppers are very different. So when you come here you can have old school or new style — you choose.

If you could only have five ingredients in your pantry, what would the be? I would have to have garlic, a good cheese (a provolone, or Fontana or Romano?) fresh tomatoes, onions and pasta. You can make anything good with those five essential ingredients.

Tell us about this recipe: Seafood Risotto is an old recipe from my grandmother and my mother. We often make this at Christmas, because we Italians only eat fish on Christmas Eve.

I can remember getting up early on Christmas Eve to go to the fish market with my grandmother in order to get the freshest seafood. Later, there would be eels in our bathtub! Once one went down the drain and my grandfather went crazy! Our Christmas Eve dinner was always a seven-hour process. We ate until midnight, then we got to open the presents!

Try it at home or at Mambo Italiano, 748 S. Butterfield Road, Mundelein. (847) 281-9100.

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