OP_092916

opprairie.com Dining Out
the orland park prairie | September 29, 2016 | 23
The Dish
Enrico’s Italian Dining redefines tradition at new Frankfort location
Rotating specials,
signature meals
attract patrons
Thomas Czaja
Contributing Editor
Before Harry D’Ercole reopened
Enrico’s Italian Dining
in Frankfort at its new location
this May, the man who
spent decades working at his
family’s restaurant business
found himself in unfamiliar
territory — on an extended
vacation.
After working at the original
Enrico’s from its inception
in 1974 until its closing
in 2012, when the D’Ercole
family agreed to sell the restaurant
and the land it sat on
to make way for a Mariano’s
grocery store, D’Ercole had a
respite that ended up lasting
several years.
While he admits the time
off was relaxing, he said he
spent much of it consistently
searching for the right spot to
reopen Enrico’s.
“I thought it would be an
easy task,” D’Ercole said of
finding where to go in Frankfort.
“It turned into a terrible
task.”
D’Ercole said a number of
deals fell through “for one
reason or another” until the
right one came about, with
the carryout at the current
spot opening shortly before
the dining room did in late
April.
In the months since,
D’Ercole said the response
has been “very, very positive,”
and while they are still
adjusting to the new surroundings,
the management
and staff have been “honored”
by the good feedback.
“Getting a restaurant up
and running and trying to
meet that expectation is a
challenge,” D’Ercole said.
“Fortunately, we had 38
years’ experience behind us.”
The Pork Tenderloin Madeira ($18.95) is a fixture on the
specials menu, with pork tenderloin medallions sautéed
with fresh mushrooms and Madeira wine served over
sautéed spinach.
Utilizing that know-how,
D’Ercole and his staff quickly
began serving up dishes
the restaurant had become
known for among locals,
including Enrico’s Famous
Minestrone Soup ($4.50 by
the bowl, $9.95 for one quart
plus garlic bread), which is
made with 17 vegetable ingredients,
according to the
owner.
“It’s all-natural ingredients,
so you know there’s no
preservatives in it,” D’Ercole
said. “The soup is made fresh
here daily, and we sell a lot
of soup because it’s so good.
That was one of the things I
think people were really waiting
for when we reopened
was to get some soup. It has
kale, three different kinds of
beans, corn, zucchini, yellow
squash, onions and more.”
For those looking for more
than soup, D’Ercole pointed
to The Railroad Tie ($7.95),
another inspiration from the
original restaurant — which
had a boxcar and caboose —
and is made with a half pound
of ground round on toasted
garlic bread and topped with
lettuce, tomato, grilled onions,
ketchup and mustard.
“It’s kind of a long steak
burger,” D’Ercole said.
Of course, no Italian restaurant
would be complete
Enrico’s Italian Dining
20535 S. LaGrange
Road in Frankfort
Hours
• 4:30-9:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday
• 4:30-10 p.m. Friday
and Saturday
For more information ...
Web: www.enricositalian.
com
Phone: (815) 469-4187
without a variety of specialty
pasta dishes and cheeses, and
Enrico’s features a Baked
Macaroni & Cheese ($11.95),
another popular item made
with cavatappi pasta that is
tossed in a cheddar cheese
cream with sun-dried tomatoes
and Canadian bacon before
being topped with more
cheese and baked.
Dinners on the Enrico’s
menu come with warm garlic
bread and soup or salad.
One of D’Ercole’s favorites
there is the Chicken Florence
($16.95), a boneless chicken
breast grilled and topped with
fresh mushrooms and mozzarella
over a bed of spinach.
The key, however, to Enrico’s
and its push to keep
offering new things is its
specials menu, according
Please see DISH, 26
The Baked Mostaccioli ($11.95) is an Enrico’s tradition that consists of mostaccioli tossed
with Parmesan cheese and covered with a meat sauce before being smothered with
mozzarella and baked to a hot and gooey finish.
photos by thomas Czaja/22nd Century Media
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