RoccoVino’s Offers Traditional Italian with a Modern Twist

Orland Park is now home to a recently-opened Italian restaurant that prides itself in using fresh ingredients and unique approaches to traditional dishes.

Whether visitors order an entree like the restaurant’s signature hand-cut veal or chicken alla Vince’s - with sliced prosciutto, mozzarella cheese and made-on-the-spot sauce – or a simple pizza with spinach, tomato, garlic, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan, general manager Tony Gloria is confident customers will find that brings a new taste to the southwest suburbs.

RoccoVino’s has only been open at 11255 W. 143rd St. since May 7, but Gloria said business so far has been “super busy.”

“We’re really happy and excited everyone has responded so well,” he said, adding that the restaurant has received great reviews so far on Yelp.com and that he is already seeing quite a few repeat customers.

Gloria is the nephew of RoccoVino’s co-owner Nuccio D'Argento, who started the business more than a decade ago with his good friend Rocco DeFrenza.

The two worked together at Vince’s Italian Restaurant in Harwood Heights for years, and in 2001 decided to buy the place from its original owners.

Since then, the duo manages the more traditional Vince’s while opening two other RoccoVino’s locations – a café-like Elk Grove Village eatery in 2003 and a modern, but casual, restaurant in Carol Stream in 2005.

They also operate 10 satellite locations where they provide concession or banquet food, such as Twin Lakes Golf Course in Palatine and Legoland at Streets of Woodfield.

Gloria said because all their other locations are in the northern suburbs, his uncle and Defrenza had no immediate intentions of moving their business to the southern suburbs.

But the opportunity fell in their lap when a friend, who happens to be one of the strip mall owners, mentioned the space open soon.  formerly occupied the space, until they moved to a location on Wolf Road just north of 159th Street earlier this year.

“It’s a great location,” Gloria said, adding guests can avoid the congestion of LaGrange Road. “We love being in a residential area, as opposed to being in a business or corporate-style area because we are a family-owned restaurant. We like having families.”

Other unique meals offered at RoccoVino's include the Penni Speziato, made of sliced Italian sausage with pepperoncini, Portobello mushroom, bell peppers and red onion in a spicy tomato sauce, and the breaded and baked Chicken Caprese, complete with sundried tomato and mozzarella and spinach stuffing in a champagne shallot sauce.

The potato-crusted Salmon Tarragon, served over angel hair pasta with tomato and green onion in tarragon cream sauce, and the Stuffed Pork Chops, filled with spinach and fontina cheese with mushroom and shallot in sherry wine sauce, are also guest favorites.

“(It’s) not necessarily something that my nonna would have made, but it’s something that’s one way or another influenced, whether it’s based around an Italian ingredient or based around an Italian style of cooking,” Gloria said, adding that every dish is made from scratch. “I’m proud to say the majority of our menu, you can’t find anywhere else.”

RoccoVino’s also has a fully stocked bar, with $6 glasses of house wines and bottles ranging from $24 to $110 that include everything from traditional Italian wines to unique brands, such as The Dreaming Tree Crush by Dave Matthews and an unfiltered Napa Valley cabernet.

Gloria said he hopes to expand on craft beers too, but for now some offerings include Sierra Nevada and Goose Island.

Diners can also expect daily specials soon and slight changes in the menu twice a year, as items will be rotated and added in an effort to offer what customers are responding to, Gloria said.

“It’s really friendly for a range of people and occasions,” Gloria said. “The atmosphere is so diverse you can come in with the kids after a baseball game and get a couple of pizzas … and you could come in on your 25th anniversary date night and get a nice bottle of wine and some nice seafood dishes.”

RoccoVino’s is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

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