RECENTLY OPENED RESTAURANTS
The following is a sampling of some of the new restaurants
that have opened in the last few months in the western suburbs.

Tom & Eddie's
348 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard
630 960-5900

By Joanie Faletto

After a fruitless search for upscale burgers in the Chicago area, restaurant industry veterans Tom Dentice and Ed Rensi created Tom & Eddie’s (348 Yorktown Shopping Center, 630 960-5900) to provide diners with a better burger experience.

“We believe we can add something of significance to the restaurant landscape,” Rensi says. “We want our burgers to taste like steak.”

The menu at Tom & Eddie’s features gourmet burger options at value prices and includes selections such as “The Blue Chip” (sliced avocado, roasted garlic aiolo, tomato, crumbled blue cheese and homemade potato chips) and“Bushel & A Peck” (Granny Smith apples, handmade walnut butter, melted brie and caramelized onions).

Also available are non-traditional burger choices such as “The Islander” (Ahi tuna) and “Ying & Yang” (edamame). Tom & Eddie’s also provides a host of soups, salads, milkshakes, beers and wines. The refined yet relaxed restaurant seats 80 inside, plus 20 outside. Tom& Eddie’s is open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Big Fish Grille
1602 Commons Dr., Geneva
630 232-2222

By T.R. Witom

Building on the success of its first Big Fish Grille in Wilmington, south of Joliet, founder John Mathias is about to open a second outlet in mid-September at 1602 Commons Dr., Geneva (630 232-2222).

“As the name implies, we’re all about fresh fish and seafood,” says Mathias. “In Geneva, we also will have an oyster bar.” The restaurant, open daily, will seat 175 and feature an East Coast flavor with a rustic decor from the 1930s and 40s.

Besides Maryland-style crab cakes, diners will find steaks and chops on the menu. Sandwiches start at $8 and most grilled fish is in the $16-$18 range. Vince Mazzaferro, who previously worked the kitchen at the Radisson in Lombard, is chef and co-owner.

Big Fish Grille has a full bar, and Mathias expects the place will offer live music, starting on Friday nights.

Fresh D'Lite
402 Commons Dr., Geneva
630 485-1317

By T.R. Witom

The new Fresh D'Lite, which opened in late July at 1402 Commons Dr., Geneva (630 485-1317), takes tasty fast food to a new level, says owner-operator Paul Chaudury.

“All 35 items on our nutrition-healthy menu are one price – $6.29 – and what’s more, they all meet USDA requirements for calories, cholesterol, fiber, sodium, carbohydrates, saturated fat and proteins,” says Chaudury, who previously spent five years as head of new meals for a major food processor.

The menu, which is still being tweaked, includes premium sandwiches, wraps and pizza, among other offerings. Customers enter the 95-seat restaurant, place an order and then seat themselves. Chaudury says only fresh ingredients are used by its kitchen, and customers have a good view of the grill. Take-out orders also are accommodated.

Fresh D’Lite’s décor features fresh plants outside and “a fresh, inviting ambience” within, highlighted by bright orange and green colors. The place is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Chaudury says this first venture eventually could prove a prototype for future expansion as a chain.

NEO Authentic Pizzeria
31 S. First St., St. Charles
630 377-8700

By T.R. Witom

NEO Authentic pizzeria, which opened in late June at 31 S. First St., St. Charles
(630 377-8700), is the real deal. Before embarking on the new venture, business partners Anthony Alfonso and Gaetano Sorrentino traveled to Naples for a two-week course at Berace Pizzeria Napoletana, which is dedicated to preserving traditional wood-fired neopolitan thin-crust pizza.

“We pride ourselves on using – in all of our pizzas – flour, cheese and tomatoes imported from Italy,” says Alfonso. He adds that because of the intense heat of the wood-fired oven, the 90-seat restaurant can turn out a fully cooked hand-formed thin-crust 12-inch round pizza “in 90 seconds to 2 minutes.”

Also on the menu at NEO Authentic Pizzeria, which is open seven days a week, are a wide assortment of bruschetta, salads, salumi (artisan-cured meats, mostly imported) and cheeses. There’s a full bar, and the average per-person tab is $20. Besides sit-down service, carry-out orders are accommodated.

Chicago Fire Oven
5440 N. River Rd., Rosemont
847 928-3860

By Lauren Dixon

Chicago Fire Oven, 5440 N. River Rd., Rosemont (847 928-3860), combines Chicago’s ethnic cuisine with a cool, relaxed atmosphere at the new venue in the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel & Conference Center.

With a central stone hearth that fires up favorites like thin-crust pizzas, grilled steaks and calzones, Chicago Fire Oven offers a familiar, comfortable, yet upscale feel.

“We’re proud of the fact that we’re not a chain or a high-priced expense account place, which is somewhat a rarity in the O’Hare vicinity,” says Executive Chef Michael Grove.

The place, which includes an eight-seat community table and five-seat kitchen bar, is detailed with contemporary décor featuring cherry wood walls, granite and stainless steel.

Entrées average $12 and appetizers range from $5 to $8. The restaurant is open daily for breakfast from 6 to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 11 p.m.

Gabby's Kitchen
1650 W. Main St., St. Charles
630 549-0656

By T.R. Witom

Home cooking and family-style dining are the hallmarks at the recently opened Gabby’s Kitchen, 1650 W. Main St., St. Charles (630 549-0656), says manager Angelo Sellas, whose family has racked up more than 25 years of foodservice experience.

“We’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, and the average dinner costs from $8 to $12,” says Sellas.

Homemade corned beef, omelets and french toast are popular breakfast items. At lunch, diners go for the made-in-house soups and chili, burgers, chicken wraps and char-broiled pork tenderloin. Among dinner options are coconut shrimp, chop steak and pulled pork with bread pudding and Georgia peach cobbler for dessert.

Gabby’s seats about 145 and has a full liquor license. Carry-out service is available, and there’s a children’s menu. The décor, Sellas says, has “a contemporary look and feel.”

Taste Menu Guide 2010
Peruse sample menus from many of the top
restaurants in the western suburbs.

(View the full menu guide here)