I was totally attracted by the beautiful and romantic photos of Sorelle in the Glen on Yelp. It had been on my list to try their pastries and perhaps a nice cup of coffee in the storybook setting. My husband and I finally came on a Sunday around 6:20 pm, it was for dinner instead. The restaurant was indeed elegantly and tastefully decorated with hanging flowers and chandeliers, despite it being a casual place.
We first lined up at the cashier to place the orders and pay for them. The young woman behind the counter was polite. I wanted to order the Shrimp Scampi but had read reviews about it being very spicy, so I asked if they could make it milder. I was pleasantly surprised that they could make it totally mild! I also ordered a peach iced tea; she just gave me a plastic bottle of it. Husband ordered the Mediterranean White Fish with a glass of white wine, and we ordered a huge Funghi Risotto Arancini to share. This first bill (without desserts, we ordered gelatos later) with tips came up to $70, which was reasonable.
The restaurant was still quite busy at that time. We found a booth at the far end of the room, and put the identifying Italian name label on our table. Husband's white wine came in a glass, the 2 dishes were delivered by a friendly server shortly after, only took about 10 minutes total. However, when I asked for utensils and a glass for my drink, she politely indicated a self-serve station in the middle of the restaurant. We had not noticed this station and did not know about the rules. This was kind of an inconvenience that you have to get up to get your utensils after your hot food have arrived. I thought it would be appropriate for the server to just bring the silverware along with the dishes, especially they suggested a 18%, 20% or 22% tip, and we paid 22%. Oh well, my husband got up to get those.
The food was good and flavorful. Husband liked his white fish, and my shrimp scampi was fresh and tasted just like my home-cooked ones. I do use marinara sauce imported from Italy. I preferred smaller arancini that has a better-balanced ratio of crispy skin to stuffing. Nonetheless, it was still good and filling.
Then, our daughter who had eaten dinner from somewhere else came to join us for gelato as I suggested, which turned out to be a disappointment. Firstly, they sold out the gelatos that we would want, so I settled with Pear and Daughter got Carmel. We had gelatos in our 2 trips to Italy, and lots of gelatos in the US, but the gelatos at Sorelle was nothing like what we are familiar with, they are not creamy nor smooth. These took on the texture of coarse sand and resembled sorbet at best. I felt like I was eating a bosc pear that lacked flavor. We could not finish the "gelatos" which was shocking and a shame.
While many people seem to like the idea of Sorelle having all their dishes in their menu cooked and displayed so patrons know exactly what they are ordering, I do have some reservations about it. I asked the friendly man behind the counter (I assumed he's the manager) a few questions, he was very nice and gave me answers. He said that they cook the dishes twice a week (they open 5 days a week), display them for 2 or 3 days, and then throw them away (we understand that cooked food in room temperature should not be consumed after 2 hours because of bacteria). He said the owner wanted to imitate Italian markets with the look and feel. I have concerns about wasting so much food though. It's simple math, there are 52 weeks in a year, so, each year they throw away 104 salmon, 104 shrimp scampi, 104 chicken Milanese sandwiches with truffle fries... you get the idea, they had about 30 dishes in display. And they have a sister restaurant in Long Grove that has the same practice. I suggested a good and realistic picture for each food, but he said it's not good enough for the owner. It made me ponder as there are people starving in this world, and even in Illinois, there are people who cannot afford these kind of Italian food. Wasting so much food doesn't feel right, and it is not economical for the business either. My humble suggestions are just displaying different kind of bread, and different types of uncooked noodles, and replace real cooked dishes with beautiful photographs. What do you think? After all, in Italian Markets, the cooked food is for sale as well. read more