Restaurants in Western Springs

Gauzy curtains usher a sea of sunlight into Caspian Cafe, where Mediterranean cuisine and seafood are sandwiched between crisp, white tablecloths and circular hanging lamps. The signature nachos take on a breezy vibe with tangy feta, cucumber, tomato, and hummus topping pita wedges. Lamb shank, blackened catfish, and hummus complement patron-toted potables in the BYOB dining room, and free parking allows guests to have a nice meal without worrying about bringing enough hot dogs to feed the parking meters.

At this one-of-a-kind hybrid of fine dining and fast food, chefs are just as adept slinging hot dogs as they are crafting king-crab fondue. The dichotomy plays out down to the last detail at Cassianas: white tablecloths dotted with flickering tea lights cloak the tables, though heaps of giardiniera top its sandwiches. After showing off their miniature-yachting skills in a bowl of acorn-squash bisque, guests can opt for a cocktail, or take the alternative route and down a beer along with golden onion rings fresh out of the fryer.

Glowing wall sconces glint off burnished-wood furnishings at Skores Sports Bar and Grill, where textured yellow walls hoist up 19 plasma TVs. Cheering sections perched atop bar stools can hurl hoots and hollers at the NFL and UFC athletes who grace these screens as bartenders pour craft suds from the likes of Goose Island, and as chefs conjure upscale bar fare from secret recipes and homemade ingredients. With grumbling stomachs silenced, diners can swivel hips to the toe-tapping tuneage of a DJ, live band, or internet jukebox, or hone their hustling skills on any number of dart boards or touchscreen games. Those glued to the TV or their child's science project can take advantage of Skores’ delivery services, which ferry food to patrons as late as 2 a.m.

Alibaba Retro Restaurant's menu of Slavic and Mediterranean dishes, from goulash and blintzes to chicken kebabs and lamb steaks, tops tables surrounded by yellow walls bearing colorful murals. Bartenders serve drinks from a fully stocked bar in the back of the restaurant as music fills the dining room. The eatery often rearranges tables so that patrons can dance or practice karate in the middle of the room.

As reported by Chicago magazine, a major fire in 2009 left Caffé Italia’s owners, Giuseppe Lollino and his son Angelo, completely devastated. But the article was marked by optimism, as the 78-year-old Giuseppe wasn’t nearly ready to throw in the towel. He spent three years renovating the 62-seat Italian eatery, updating the space with an open kitchen, modern patio seating, and paper menus to replace the outdated stone ones. The 2011 reopening also revealed to guests a mammoth outdoor facility where the family now blends and roasts their signature arabica coffee beans––a Lollino tradition spanning more then 20 years.

Though Giuseppe has been in the biz for 45 years, it's clear that he's never lost touch with his Old-World aesthetics. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times subsidiary ElmLeaves, the Italian-born restaurateur confessed, “I was raised with my family on the farm and we made our own food." The team at Caffé Italia follows suit, cooking meals from scratch using authentic ingredients. Dough is made onsite with fresh imported flour, and then wood-fired to form the base for cheesy pizzas or prosciutto-laden paninis. The Italian menu is rounded out with garlic-infused pastas, housemade gnocchi, and steak and chicken dishes sautéed in wine.

Enormous postcards reading Verona, Mera, and Sorrento sprawl the length of Caffé Italia's walls, overlapping like colorful layers of lasagna. Across the dark hardwood floor, another wall displays enormous shelving units with the Caffé Italia's many offerings of wines and spirits. Patrons can complete meals with scoops of housemade gelato on the outdoor patio, where a line of bright red umbrellas provides shelter from the sun’s melt-inducing rays.

Though the menu boasts south american empanadas, tropical-fruit marinades, and southern-style smoked brisket, co-owner Mike Jettner defines Dish Dine & Drink as a neighborhood joint above all. By at least one measure, it would have to be: he lives right around the corner, having moved there after a childhood spent only a few miles east in Rogers Park. His proximity lets him get to know the regulars and tempt new neighbors with promises of rich, comforting dishes such as the skillet mac 'n' cheese, a baked blend of cheeses and pasta topped with herbed breadcrumbs.

To help open a business in a place he knew well, Jettner gathered some of the people he knew best. His wife, Mary, is co-owner, and the menu of homemade crepes, creative sauces, and hearty sandwiches arose from a 30-year friendship with an instructor of culinary science. The space with the long, dark-wood bar still shows the sheen of Dish’s 2012 opening, but it too has Jettner’s sledgehammer’s handwriting all over it. The pub had been a dentist's office before Jettner, a former construction worker, broke it down and built it back up into a space where natural light streams onto paintings depicting streetscapes similar to those customers see from behind the huge windows.

From this outpost, Jettner hopes to watch the revitalization of the surrounding Norwood Park hub continue, as the new streetlights outside illuminate an ever greater number of just-opened storefronts and better-groomed sparrows. In the process, Dish plans to keep drawing in newcomers to explore this patch of the city with the strains of frequent live music and the aromas of its eclectic global cuisine.