Chef remains true to his Sicilian roots

The Campanellas' story is the story of the American Dream.

"If you can't make it here, you can't make it anywhere," says Phil Campanella, whose family emigrated from Italy when he was a teenager.

Campanella and his wife, Regina, an immigrant from Poland, have been successfully running Regina's Ristorante in downtown Arlington Heights since 1985, serving pasta dishes and pizza made from his Sicilian family recipes. Before that, the Campanellas owned Phil's Pizza D'Oro in Chicago.

In 2005, the family opened Regina's Via Trent Uno in West Dundee, where daughter Annette and her husband, Curt Kittel, handle day-to-day operations. The Campanellas also have an older daughter, Maria, and a son, Franco, a student at St. Viator High School.

What made you become a chef? I was born in Italy. We had no refrigeration, so we had to make everything fresh. My mom and grandmother, they could make a meal out of nothing. Being Italian, I love food. At my first job, I started out washing pots and pans, and once I got into it, I was hooked.

When did you come to the United States? I came here at 14 years old Christmas Eve, 1969. That was my Christmas present, coming to America. This was the land of opportunity.

Why Chicago? My aunt and my uncle were here. She worked at Marshall Field's and he was at Pat's Pizza. Sometimes I wonder, "Why couldn't we have gone to California?" In Sicily, we had never seen snow. I remember coming from New York on the train, looking out and seeing mounds and mounds of snow. I thought, "This is really different."

What were the hardest things to adjust to? The language was one, and the way the food tasted so different. Being as we used to have a farm, it was very different We used to go to the market on Randolph Street and the fruit would look so perfect -- and you'd bite in and would have no taste.

What was Arlington Heights like when you opened Regina's? It was the wild, wild west -- way different than it is today. I never thought there'd be three Italian restaurants, one within one block of another.

Was it harder or easier to open the West Dundee location? It was way harder. We did everything on our own -- it was all our own money. It's harder because I can't be in two places at once. But it gives us more buying power.

What's your culinary philosophy? We still do things the old-fashioned way. We don't microwave anything. We make everything from scratch. I'm really a nitpicker about making sure our quality never changes except to improve. There are people who have been coming in since the day we opened -- and they always order the same thing.

We try to make it as comfortable as possible. A lot of people think of us as a fancy place. It doesn't have to be a special occasion. We have people come in jeans and T-shirts all the time.

Do you do a lot of the cooking? Not as much as I used to. I'll still go into the kitchen and help. I do all the menu planning. I'm always involved in that. And the specials. I'm the one who checks everything.

My chef, Carlos Sanchez, is my right-hand man. He has been with me over 20 years and we cooked side-by-side for over 15 years.

What do you do when you're not at the restaurant? During the summer, I'm always in the garden. I love tomatoes. We grow eggplant, zucchini. And flowers.

And I like music. I was studying music before I came to the United States. I like classical jazz, blues, Tony Bennett. I took my son to see Tony Bennett at Ravinia.

Tell us about this recipe. Giambotto. My mama used to make this back in Sicily. Spice to your taste; add your own touch. The thing about cooking -- it should be fun to do.

Now that all your neighbors have gotten a strong whiff of your giambotto, they will be knocking at the front door. All you need is some crusty Italian bread, a good tossed salad and bottle of vino. Barbera or Chianti would be great.

Try this at home or at Regina's Ristorante, 27 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, (847) 394-2728, or Regina's Via Trent Uno, 629 S. Eighth St., West Dundee, (847) 836-0078, www.reginas.net.

Giambotto -- Italian Sausage and Chicken With Peppers and Potatoes

¼ cup olive oil

1 pound hot or mild Italian sausage, cut in 1-inch pieces

2 pounds small red potatoes, cut in halves

2 boneless chicken breasts (12-16 ounces total), cut in strips

1 medium Spanish onion, cut in strips

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 ounces white wine

2 large green or red peppers, cut in strips

4 large canned plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano, or another imported Italian brand)

Salt, pepper, fresh basil or oregano and crushed red pepper to taste

1 cup chicken broth

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or deep saute pan. Add the sausage and potatoes; cook and stir for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken; cook about 5 more minutes. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, another 2 or 3 minutes

Add the wine and simmer another 2 or 3 minutes to reduce the wine. Add the peppers, tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs and chicken broth; cover, cook for another 10 minutes.

Serves four.

Phil Campanella, Regina's, West Dundee and Arlington Heights