Impecca-ble Dining in Roselle, Illinois

Don't you just hate it when one restaurant review site makes an eatery sound like nirvana while another dubs the place food hell? Extremes compel me to bring both a healthy tip and a bottle of antacids along each time I venture into the land of mixed reviews, so when meeting the girls at Impecca Restaurant in the heart of downtown Roselle, IL, I was prepared for all eventualities.

A perky member of the wait staff swept down on us with menus, lavishing praise on the virtues of the new chef. Addicted as I am to "Chopped" on the Food Network, I figured the new kitchen dude may be the answer to those less than enthusiastic reviews and my insight was spot on. The food was excellent and plentiful, though if you can't live without theatrics like blow-torched crème brulee and architectural elements gracing plates, this isn't your place. Impecca is the quintessential neighborhood Italian bistro and as such, you'll find familiar dishes on the menu.

Appetizers run the gamut from the ubiquitous fried calamari to rolled eggplant sharing the menu with the usual suspects -flavorful clams, mussels, earthy sausage and peppers. Brie and apple bruchetta plus its' less frou-frou cousin make great starters. The newbie chef loves his goat cheese, so if you're a fan, you can indulge yourself big time.

Go directly to the Main Street Salad loaded with thinly sliced meats, cheeses and veggies tossed in the house dressing if you're not an appetizer fan or compare the traditional Caprese Salad to your favorite. If you love predictability, there's minestrone soup on the menu. If you're all about adventures, try the soup du jour.

Take either of two roads when choosing a main course: the pizza path or the full meal freeway with complementary sides. Pizza fans can sample one that wins praises from vegetarians: Brie, shaved apples and fig spread. Mix and match other toppings like garlic cream sauce, roasted chicken, asiago cheese and spinach or carmelized onions nestled into goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Love bacon? The roasted garlic pizza could become your new best friend.

If you're a Midwesterner who never met a brimming plate that didn't delight, pick the pasta that appeals -- Orecchiette with sausage and escarole, mushroom-laced penne, farfalle tossed with creamy béchamel sauce, made-from-scratch manicotti crepes, gnocchi and Impecca's rendition of linguini with shrimp. Fork on the wild side by ordering black linguini in wine sauce with jumbo crab claws.

Find a chicken recipe that suits your taste by ordering cutlets or a lemon-basil infused bird sharing a plate with garlic-mashed or roasted potatoes and veggies in delicious wine-based sauces. Perhaps you like it hot. The chicken breast sautéed with hot giardiniera has heat to spare.

The new chef prepares encrusted whitefish, oven-roasted pork chops, filet of beef, New York strip steak and veal medallions, but if you're out to impress, the Impecca Surf and Turf can do the job and you won't have to buy the cheap cat food to pay the tab.

You're not going to skip dessert, are you? Talk about happy coincidences: there's a bakery next door to Impecca so if the treat your sweet tooth craves isn't on the ever-changing menu, your server may volunteer to pop next door and retrieve your favorite.

When the check comes, unless you've ordered more booze than food, you'll be happy you hit the 'burbs for dinner: we spent about $26 each, including wine. On busy nights, the well-stocked Impecca bar will keep you mellow while you await your table, and there are a wide variety of domestic and imported wines to swirl before and during your meal. Make a reservation just in case - and if you're a dessert freak, you may want to ask whether the bakery is open next door.