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LakeForestLeader.com DINING OUT
the lake forest leader | January 17, 2019 | 23
Highland Park’s Viaggio ‘all about family and good food’
Martin Carlino
Contributing Editor
Like most who experience
success in the restaurant
industry, Lori and
Larry Slavin consider
themselves lucky.
The husband-and-wife
duo almost feels as if everything
in their lives has
fallen right into place.
Lori and Larry’s first
success story originates
nearly seven years ago with
the purchase of Viaggio, a
popular Italian restaurant in
Chicago’s West Loop.
After years of prosperity
in the city, the pair decided
opening a second suburban
location would be its next
journey.
The couple officially
opened Viaggio in Highland
Park on May 1 at 581
Roger Williams Ave., the
space that formerly housed
Merlo’s, which closed in
February 2018 after six
years in the city.
“We wanted this area because
we live so close by,
so that made it very attractive,”
Lori said. “We’re familiar
with the North Shore
… it’s kind of a comfort
zone in a way.”
To help ease the transition,
the Slavins brought
over the same family-first,
down-home feel of the
original location, and a
familiar menu featuring
Viaggio’s signature oldschool
Italian classics.
The menus at the two
locations are nearly identical,
but each spot has its
subtleties. The Slavins said
that a couple of the salad
options in Highland Park
are different, as well as one
or two varying choices for
side dishes. The daily and
weekly specials are different,
and are determined by
the restaurant’s executive
chef.
Don Gagliano, executive
chef at the Highland Park
Viaggio’s brick chicken ($29) is cooked in olive oil,
lemon, garlic and white wine and is served with roasted
potatoes and broccolini.
Viaggio, spent two months
training at the Chicago location
prior to opening.
Larry and Lori attributed
the smooth opening to the
dedicated preparation of
Gagliano, manager Todd
Cohen and the restaurant’s
entire staff.
“We’ve gotten so lucky
with both restaurants,”
Lori said. “We’ve got such
an incredible staff at both
places. At each location,
the staff is like a family.
We’ve have two unbelievably
strong managers at
both places.”
And although each location
has its own intricacies,
the Slavins’ philosophical
belief is ingrained in each
— and in Highland Park
it hangs on the right-hand
wall as a daily reminder of
what Viaggio is all about.
“The plaque on the wall
says what we’re all about:
‘Viaggio is all about family
and good food,’” Lori said.
The Slavins said the
Highland Park community
greeted them with a warm
reception and a feeling of
excitement for the new restaurant.
Now less than a year after
the opening of the sister
location, Lori and Larry are
reminded of their good fortunate
nearly every night as
the loyal regulars stroll into
Viaggio.
“Highland Park and this
Viaggio
581 Rogers Ave.,
Highland Park
(847) 926-3441
EatatViaggio.com
4-10 p.m. Monday-
Thursday
4-11 p.m. Friday-
Saturday
4-9 p.m. Sunday
area have been very receptive
to us,” Lori said. “The
people are friendly; we’ve
already gotten our groups
of regulars, that’s really
been nice. Every night,
there’s always a group of
regulars from the area that
just walk by and come in.”
As a way to thank their
loyal customers, the Slavins
rolled out some new specials
at the start of 2019.
Viaggio now offers a
new happy hour that runs
from 4-6 p.m. Monday-
Friday and an early-bird
special during those same
hours. On Wednesdays,
guests can enjoy a “winedown
Wednesday,” where
bottles of wine are half-off
and on Sundays, kids eat
for free.
“We want to really not
only do things that are
good for us, but things that
are good for the neighborhood,”
Lori said.
Editors from 22nd Century
Media headed to Highland
Park last week to taste
Viaggio’s meatball salad ($16) pairs two large meatballs, cooked in the restaurant’s
signature red sauce, with a romaine salad topped with tomato, onion, cucumber and
a red-wine vinaigrette. Photos by Jason Addy/22nd Century Media
The restaurant’s classic rigatoni vodka ($18) is topped with a generous helping of
ricotta cheese.
some of Viaggio’s classics.
Viaggio’s meatball salad
($16), a fan-favorite dish
that originated at the Chicago
location, was the first
offering we got a taste of.
The appetizer offering is
served with two large meatballs
in Viaggio’s signature
red sauce on one side of the
plate, and romaine salad
topped with tomato, onion,
cucumber and a red-wine
vinaigrette on the other half.
The Slavins said the dish
is one of Viaggio’s specialties.
And this Italian-American
writer recommends
the offering for a unique
start to your meal.
We next tasted Viaggio’s
rigatoni vodka ($18),
a staple pasta dish for most
Italian eateries. Viaggio
homemade vodka sauce
paired nicely with the wellprepared
rigatoni and is
sure to please pasta-lovers.
For an added touch to the
dish, Viaggio adds a touch
of ricotta cheese to the top.
We finished our visit
with a taste of the restaurant’s
brick chicken ($29).
Our editors highly recommend
bringing your appetite
if you order this dish.
The tasteful offering of
boneless whole chicken,
prepared with olive oil,
lemon, garlic, white wine,
Italian seasoning, and
served with roasted potatoes
and broccolini, will
certainly fill you up.