Comfort food right at home at Vernon Hills' Fiamma restaurant

Posted November 03, 2009 10:00 pm

By Leah Zeldes

Pizza dello chef at Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta in Vernon Hills. The white pizza is made with talaggio cheese, speck ham, mozzarella and walnuts. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta is unabashedly suburban: big, consistent, unchallenging, clean and comfortable.

This large pizzeria and pasta house in Vernon Hills has several things to recommend it. A huge central bar dominates the dining room, ringed by dark woods, red-checked tablecloths and flat-screen TVs tuned to sports. Frank Sinatra and vintage jazz play on the sound system.

Chris Georges, owner of Opa Estiatorio next door and Elly's Pancake House in Mundelein, opened Fiamma in May. It's no chain outlet, but it has the sense of trying to be one. The portions are ample and the menu big on comfort foods.

The fritto misto, battered fried calamari with a few shrimp and artichoke hearts, served with a fresh-tasting, chunky marinara, was easily the best dish we tried, with its crisp, light, ungreasy coating and tender seafood. The artichokes provide a fine counterpoint.

Other appetizers seemed more ordinary: tomato or mushroom bruschetta; prosciutto and Parmesan served over arugula; and a Caprese salad. Salads such as the house toss of mixed greens, cucumbers and carrots are fine, but generously sized.

The pizzas, called "Neapolitan-style," are single-serving size, baked in a wood-fired oven. But the crust lies between thick and thin and it's cooked just a tad beyond underdone - lacking the nearly burned, crackling crispness that makes the best of this style so appealing. More than half the choices are sauceless white pizzas, such as wild mushroom and mortadella. We split the pizza dello chef. Despite taleggio cheese, prosciutto-like speck and walnuts, it was a little bland. Next time, I'd try a red pizza, such as the margherita or pepperoni, and ask for it well-done.

Pastas include your choice of several shapes in your pick of sauce - marinara, vodka cream, alfredo and a very sweet Bolognese. (Gluten-free pasta is available.)

Besides these, there are specialty pastas, including stuffed gnocchi and lasagna; half a dozen entrees including roasted salmon, sauteed tilapia, skirt steak and chef's specials. The roasted chicken, a breast and a leg quarter marinated in Italian herbs and lemon, appeared to have been seared at too-high a temperature.

Fiamma offers a full bar, with a wine list of reasonably priced global options and plenty of by-the-glass choices, draft beers and martini choices like the Vernon Hills Valium (Midori, Malibu, blue Curacao and pineapple juice).

Desserts are traditional: tiramisu, New York cheesecake, chocolate tortino, gelato and generous scoops of refreshing if slightly gummy sorbetto. Exemplary cannoli wrapped crunchy shells around rich, ricotta filling. They make for a nice end to the meal.

The dining room of Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta in Vernon Hills. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

Fritto Misto appetizer at Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta in Vernon Hills: You'll find your plate full of calamari, fried shrimp and artichoke. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

One of the chef's specials is the pasta e Fagioli at Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta in Vernon Hills. The traditional Italian soup is made up of spinach, Italian sausage, beans and tomatoes. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

Bartender Jonathan Dervis works in the bar at Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta in Vernon Hills. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

Fiamma Pizzeria + Pasta 102 Hawthorn Parkway, Vernon Hills, (847) 680-4300, <a href="http://fiammapizza.com" target="new">fiammapizza.com</a> Cuisine: Family-style Italian Setting: 250-seat restaurant with a sports-bar ambience Entrees: $8.95 to $15.95 Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Accepts: Reservations; major credit cards

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