Two Des Plaines Restaurants to Visit: Mehanata & Via Roma

Looking for somewhere different to eat in Des Plaines?

The local media have covered two interesting options this week, Mehanata (The Old Well) and Via Roma.

Here's what the Daily Herald had to say about Mehanata, a Bulgarian Restaurant at 1141 Lee Street, between Foremost Liquors and 7-11 (The building was built in about 1936 and enlarged in 1949 as Herman H. Wolf's Westfield Motors Hudson, and served as a number of auto dealerships afterward). The restaurant has been there a few years, but I've never visited - I never knew quite what to make of it, since it doesn't have much of a sign, but it seems to draw a crowd. I'll make a point of visiting now.

Inviting umbrella tables sit on the patio. Indoors, a charmingly rustic motif of dark woods, terra cotta tiles, bright tablecloths and canopies jars just a bit with a huge screen playing Bulgarian music videos. On weekends, DJs and musicians entertain.

The menu, in English and Cyrillic, is dauntingly long: nine soups, including the refreshing national favorite, tarator, a chilled summer potage made from yogurt and cucumber flavored with garlic and dill; more than 20 salads, such as the famed salata shopska, named for its Sofia origins; hot and cold appetizers; cheese; several pages of chicken and pork items; beef dishes; fish; a page of kebabs and grilled fare; omelets; and more.

The other restaurant is a new arrival, Via Roma, at 686 Lee, in the Morava building next to the downtown Post Office. We had written about this space before, but I guess the rumors were false. This sounds much more interesting than another Mexican restaurant. The Des Plaines Journal wrote about it Wednesday:

Proprietors Chef Alessandro Forti, and his fiancé Lisa Leslie, recently moved to Des Plaines. Forti said when he arrived in Des Plaines he quickly found there was, "no place to go out and have a good dinner."

After emigrating from the Roma region of central Italy in 1993, Forti quickly became a top sous-chef and executive chef at some of Chicago's most renowned restaurants including La Strada on Michigan Avenue, La Donna on Clark Street in Chicago and Sapori Trattoria in Lincoln Park.

With his history of running kitchens in some of Chicago's most prestigious and expensive restaurants, people might be surprised at Via Roma's prices. While the Zuppa Di Pesce (a seafood dish) will cost diners $29.95 at La Donna, the most expensive dish on Via Roma's menu is the Saltimbocca Romana (veal and prosciutto rolls in a white wine sauce) for $8.50.

Forti pledged that everything would be made from scratch using all organic ingredients and would be influenced by the Roma region in the center of Italy where he grew up, incorporating the best from northern and southern Italian cuisines.

Strangely, they are only open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the week and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends for now. Hours notwithstanding, this sounds like a promising addition to downtown.