Arlington Heights finds downhome Italian at Carlos & Carlos
The dining scene ebbs and flows — that's for sure. But one thing remains true: people have their steadies, and they don't want to let them go. Carlos & Carlos, a relocated, reopened Arlington Heights fixture, falls into this camp.
Dating back to 1985, this venture from two brothers — Carlos and Eddy Montiel — forges on. Only now, it's perched in fancier digs down the block from where it once stood.
The Northern Italian fave is a pre-theater go-to (its proximity to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre ensures that) and a staple among local families and daters alike. Menu musts — like fresh-prepped pasta fashioned before diners' eyes — only furthers that fact. It's theatrical in its own right.
This new home is a handsome one, done up in exposed brick with cloth-draped tables and a long, welcoming bar that pours affordable wine.
Many of the anticipated classics are on the menu, starting with a fine, lightly dressed caprese salad of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala and basil. But since tomato season has come and gone, the tomatoes were standard at best. The fried calamari, which we chose to plunk in marinara, was exactly what it was supposed to be: tender, lightly battered and not greasy at all.
Other first-course offerings range from oysters Rockefeller to scallops set atop mustard cream sauce and a shellfish platter with bell peppers and cilantro vinaigrette. Yes, there's minestrone and a trusty Caesar salad, too.
But it's the fresh, homemade pastas you specifically want to save room for. The standout when we dined: sun-dried tomato-accented lobster ravioli in rich basil cream sauce. Your best bet? Get one for the table, and something else to share.
Other pastas include gnocchi cloaked in pesto cream sauce; showy black and white fettuccine with shellfish in sherry-saffron sauce; and penne puttanesca, a scallop and shrimp number sauced with a spicy black olive-anchovy-accented marinara. Throw in one of the risotto selections — filled, perhaps, with shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams — and wait for carb overload to kick in.
For as much seafood as the menu holds, meat isn't overlooked. Veal Francese is lightly battered and served atop lemony white wine sauce; filet mignon gets the bistro treatment with green peppercorn sauce and wild mushrooms; and rosemary-scented lamb chops are cut accompanied by a lush Bordelaise.
Since the portions are large and the dishes as hearty as can be, we found the tiramisu to be a fitting end. Maybe not a calorie-light one, but a good one nonetheless. After all, this version tastes light and fluffy. Souffle is available but because of the the made-to-order nature of the dessert, it should be ordered at the same time as your entree.
Service is enveloping and sincere, if a bit slow. Quality dishes, for the most part, make up for that fact. And the neighborhood feel? That's pretty hard to beat.
Carlos & Carlos
27 N. Campbell Ave., Arlington Heights; (847) 259-2600, carlosandcarlosinc.com
<b>Cuisine: </b>Heavy emphasis on Northern Italian with some French touches
<b>Setting:</b> Lively, intimate trattoria
<b>Dinner entrees:</b> $12.95 to $26.95
<b>Hours:</b> Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday, 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday