Scrementi's Merges Fine Dining With Comfort Food

As your Thanksgiving leftovers dwindle and holiday shopping becomes more like a part-time job, now is the perfect time to test out a new restaurant in town. Scrementi's, with its homemade Italian dishes, serves up the perfect food for a chilly, snowy day.

Scrementi's opened its Mokena location at 9301 W. 191st Street on Oct. 14. According to Nancy Vandal, restaurant manager, the restaurant's original location was opened for over 40 years before moving a few miles down to its current Steger location. Vandal said the head of the Scrementi family that began the business still helps out everyday at the Steger location. Sam Scrementi, one of the three sons that now run the business, is owner of the Mokena location.

Since I also , I felt the need to ask about how healthy the restaurant cooks its food. Minus the fried foods that I generally steer away from, there isn't a single menu item that I would not persuade you to try. The reason is this: everything on the Scrementi's menu is made from scratch in the kitchen. That includes the pasta sauces, the pasta itself, the meatballs and even the mashed potatoes.

Scrementi's does not use any MSG in their food, and they'll work with any food allergies or diet regulations. For example, for banquet and catering orders, Vandal said they'll sit down with you and explain what options are gluten-free. If the menu items don't accommodate for a particular diet, Scrementi's allows you to bring in your own food.

Vandal said that people drive long distances to eat some of the restaurant's specialty dishes, such as the giblets and tripe dishes. "People from this area drove all the way to Steger for the dishes we're famous for, so they're so happy to have this one opened," Vandal said.

Each afternoon for lunch, the restaurant offers three to four specials, and four to five specials are available in the evenings. Tuesday afternoon when I dined, the specials included a salad dish, a chicken Romano panini and a fried perch sandwich. Both the panini and the sandwich were already available on the menu, but with the special, they were each about $2 cheaper. Scrementi's also offers two soups each day, made from scratch, and my options were beef barley and chicken rice Florentine.

My friend and I sat down around 12:30 p.m. to an afternoon of catching up and trying new food. The ambiance inside Scrementi's is that of an upscale Italian restaurant, but the dress code is casual. Vandal had told me that the roasted half-chicken with roasted potatoes is their most famous dish, so I had to try it. My friend ordered fettucini Alfredo.

As we waited, Vandal had our server bring out one of each of the soups to try. I had the chicken rice Florentine, which was filled with chunks of chicken, spinach, rice and carrots, and served at just the right temperature. My friend's beef barley didn't have too much beef in it, but by the time the bowl was scraped clean, he admitted it was very tasty.

As soon as the main course appeared, I saw that my half chicken was not compromised. It was, in fact, half a chicken. I certainly ended up with leftovers. I'm a huge fan of chicken, and this fell apart the minute the knife touched it. Moist and full of spices, it's a dish I would recommend to anyone. The potatoes, however, were a bit mushy from being soaked in the chicken juices. Next time, I'd choose the homemade mashed potatoes, which was an option.

My friend enjoyed his Alfredo, although I think I liked it more than he did. When I tried it, in just one small bite, I tasted numerous types of cheese and a warm, creamy sauce. For the lunch price of $10.75, it was a massive amount of pasta, and he too boxed up a good amount of leftovers.

Although we both had boxes of leftover food in front of us, I insisted on ordering dessert. I may eat healthy most of the time, but my sweet tooth is as strong as ever.

After our server brought out a tray of the desserts for us to view, I made the very difficult decision to order the chocolate lava cake. The server explained that when they warm the cake up, the chocolate in the middle oozes out the top.

 That sold it for me.

If you're a fan of chocolate, you have to try this warm, oozing, brownie-like cake. If not, other options included tiramisu, a chocolate-custard cake that the server recommended, cheesecake with a berry sauce and a plethora of homemade gelato flavors.

Overall, I would return to Scrementis in a heartbeat. My friend's only complaint was that his Jack Daniels and coke was a little watered down (my iced tea was just perfect) and my potatoes were mushy. But I still ate them, so what does that tell you? Everything I had tasted delicious. I even managed to fit a piece of warm bread and butter into my already full stomach.

On the lunch menu, pizzas cost about $7, sandwiches run $7 to $10 and main dishes average between $8 and $11. The dinner menu pastas range from $14 to $16, chicken dishes average out to $16 and the most expensive item I saw was the filet mignon for $29.95. There was also a separate, extensive list of red and wine wines, martinis and after-dinner drinks, but prices were not included.

Scrementi's opens at 11 a.m. for lunch and the kitchen closes at 9:30 p.m. Scrementi's also has an upstairs banquet room, which can fit up to 135 people, and they offer catering and takeout.