It seems positively unlikely (or negatively likely, am I supposed to say?) that there is an authentic home-style Italian restaurant just a few blocks from a gang-infested stretch of Howard, but there is. Tucked between a flat, nondescript bank building and Fish Keg, a fried fish take-out (whose fried fish are actually pretty tasty), Cucina di Donatella serves authentic cooking of your lost Italian mamma. It's classic, but not in the marinara-smothered-overcooked-pasta kind of way; it's classic in you-might-find-the-same-food-in-a-Roman-trattoria kind of way.

The open-kitchen restaurant is small with about 8 tables, but the menu is extensive. Not to be missed is the handmade pasta dishes that take up about half the menu, but there are also nightly specials that show up on the chalk board on the wall, as well as in the almost chant-like recitation by the waiters who seem to emphasize their staccato Italian accent. Though meat and fish entrées sound great, we usually succumb to the temptation of simply prepared pasta dishes.

Tagliatelle alla Boscaiola

Patrick's favorite is the spinach lasagna, which puzzles me as to how in the world Donatella, the owner chef you can often glimpse in the kitchen, makes this usually heavy-with-greasd dish so light. The strong, green flavor of the abundant spinach is definitely the most prominent feature of this dish. My favorite might be a medley of mushroom pasta with black truffle oil (this was one of the specials last year, during the mushroom season), but unfortunately, this might be harder to encounter. There are also pasta dishes that I've never seen anywhere else. One of them is the pasta al prosciutto con burro e salvia (wide, flat pasta rolled with prosciutto and sage in butter sauce). The butter did get a bit much for me toward the end of the meal, but the combination of the salty prosciutto and the fragrant sage was quite delightful.

Gnocchi Genovese

When we visited Donatella's kitchen a few weeks ago, Patrick had Gnocchi Genovese and I had Tagliatelle Boscaiola (fetuccini-like flat pasta with carrot-and-mushroom meat sauce sans tomatoes). Both were excellent in a simple and clean way. The Gnocchi was extremely tender yet still had just the right resilience against my teeth, and the basil-infused olive oil never got overwhelmingly oily. The parmesan cheese sprinkled over the white wine-based meat sauce on my dish was a pleasant (and salty) complement to the otherwise very subtle mix of flavors. But the true BANG! was the appetizer, bruschetta with chopped mussels (see the photo below). The crusty bread was literally piled high with mussels. I'm usually not a huge fun of mussels, but this one was fantastic. The oceanic kick of the mussels was perfectly balanced with the strong zest of freshly chopped garlic and the sharp, green flavor of the Italian parsley.

The service seems to fluctuate. When it's excellent, it's amazing; unintrusive, knowledgeable, friendly and swift. When it's slow, it can be reeeeeeeeeally slow (but never snooty). So, don't go there starving. Bring a bottle of wine (it's BYOB), sit back, enjoy the conversation with your party, and when they're ready, you'll be served an excellent, reasonably priced classic Italian. Many reviews (including this detailed one from Sun Times) rave about their desserts, too--I just have to try some soon!

---------------
La Cucina di Donatella
2221 W. Howard St.
773.262.6533
Parking is available along the alleyway on the west side of the building.