Conscious Choice: Organic Odyssey

May 2001 | Conscious Dining

Organic Odyssey

by Lauren Malloy

Depending on where you read about it, Campagnola has been billed as an organic restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and even one of the Chicago area’s top restaurants, rated on a par with Charlie Trotter’s. But the average observer would know none of these things upon entering the homey interior of this cozy storefront restaurant. There is nothing particularly fancy about the place, and the menu appears to be a step up from a typical Italian trattoria. As for the organic angle, only those who ask would ever know that more than 90 percent of the menu is composed of organic ingredients from the Midwest.

What is apparent from looking at the menu is that there is some fancy footwork going on in the kitchen. Diners might need a food dictionary to decipher some of the menu items’ descriptions — guanciale, al ceppo, and cipolline agrodolce were all new to my vocabulary — but waiters will fill in the blanks upon request. While the appetizers were merely good, we knew there was a special kind of chef in the kitchen when the entrées and vegetable side dishes were brought out. If I had to do it again, I’d skip the appetizers and head straight for sides and mains.

The ambiance and the service is so different from trendy Chicago restaurants, I had to pinch myself to realize I was not dining at a rustic restaurant in a lakeside town or ski resort. An older, more conservative crowd lingered at plain wooden tables, rather than at the bar, which has only three stools anyway. The only folks at the simple bar were the college students who seem to comprise the staff. By the time we left the restaurant at 10:00 pm on a Thursday, we were the only ones in the restaurant.

No, the focus at Campagnola is definitely on the food. The furnishings are simple, almost quaint, and the dinnerware is standard white ceramic. The unpretentious service is only as good as it needs to be, and sometimes less than that. Dramatic fabrics draped across the overhead lighting give the room its sole modern feature.

Throughout the meal, beginning with the crusty bread, I kept getting the distinct feeling that perhaps there was a giant wood-burning oven in the kitchen just rolling out the food. I particularly got that feeling when the vegetables side dishes arrived. Charred butternut squash, cut into sections like an orange, oozed with a juicy maple syrup-like sweetness. Its toasty flavor was enhanced by the addition of crunchy hazelnuts. A crispy deck of "garlic chips" topped Brussels sprouts as crunchy as stir-fried vegetables, yet roasted as red potatoes. My only regret with this meal was that we didn’t save room for the other enticing-sounding sides.

Starters were less memorable. Because there were no vegetarian appetizers on either the regular menu or as specials, we opted for one of the seafood dishes — scallops in a gooey lobster sauce — which, though tasty in that au gratin kind of way, was a bit overpriced at $13 for four pieces. A toss of baby greens in a citrus dressing with a few pieces of grapefruit strewn here or there was certainly nothing to write home about, but it did the trick as a simple salad. The best appetizer we encountered was the greco pizza, a large pie that is only a good idea if you have a large party or would like something to take home, since it is a meal in itself. Ours arrived warm, rather than hot, but it was a nice blend of unusual ingredients that complemented each other well — thin slivers of artichokes, black and green olives, briney feta, and a bit of oregano.

We were almost willing to concede that Campagnola, although offering satisfying fare, wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. But then the entrees arrived. Even though I have almost become tired of pasta from years of overindulgence, a sudden flashback of why I love the stuff took hold when the large crock of al ceppo arrived. Ceppo, apparently a lesser-known pasta tube, which the restaurant makes from scratch, was so chewy and sturdy it almost seemed fibrous. The dish itself was just a simple toss of spinach leaves, sun-dried tomatoes, and thick slabs of Taleggio cheese, but the way it all came together told me the chef had a special gift.

The swordfish we ordered also appeared in have taken a spin in the oven. Crispy branches of rosemary were draped over the tender filet, which was crowned by a trio of charred artichoke flowers. Rustic is the word that most comes to mind when describing the essence of this dish and others.

After the hearty meal we had just indulged in, the idea of dessert was difficult to fathom. A cheese course was simply out of the question, but available for guests with more room to spare. The course includes selections from both local farmers and European cheese producers. The after-dinner array of beverages includes a tea list as well as a full accruement of ports, sherries, grappas, cognacs, and liquors. We settled for just plain dessert, the Crème Brûlée, in keeping with the rich theme of the meal. Campagnola’s version is a good one, speckled with flecks of fresh vanilla bean and topped by a crispy lid of caramelized sugar.

The menu changes all the time, depending on the availability of the local farmers’ bounty. And as with the seasons, change is gradual. By the time this article goes to print, spring should be written all over the menu. I can’t wait to see what this talented chef does with the new palette of ingredients.

Campagnola, 847-475-6100, Evanston, IL

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