Piazza Bella Trattoria

3rd time is not a charm. My wife and I tried Piazza Bella again for the 4th time in 4 years. Our neighbors love it. I don't get it. I figured this time ordering something simple like spaghetti and meatballs would reveal what I've been missing. Nope. The noodles were mush, meatballs flavorless, and the best way to describe the sauce was....a hate crime.... a hate crime against Italian cooking. Non mi piace!
Still high prices and bad food. There are issues with uncontrolled kids, but that's not Piazza's fault. Just a reflection of Roscoe's indulgent parents. (See Also John's Place).

Very underwhelmed.

I live nearby and have wanted to try this place for a long time.  It's cute, the menu looked good, and it's close to my apt.  So on a Saturday evening, my date and I stopped by for an early dinner.  

It was cold, we walked in the awkward entrance (lack of lobby) and the young hostess asked if we had a reservation; I said no; and immediately, she shuttled us back out into the cold, saying "follow me."  No explanation.  I asked if we came in the right entrance and she said yeah, but this is a separate door.  Huh?  What the H is going on here... We walked in through a new door, just feet down the street from the main restaurant's door, and entered what appeared to be a completely separate business - a lackluster sports bar with TVs on the wall, high-top tables, and a bar.  No warmth, no ambiance.  This is not the semi-romantic restaurant that I had intended on visiting; this was a sports bar that served Piazza's menu.  

We sat, confused about everything that had just happened, but this is the point where we should have just left.  We gave the food a shot.  Table bread was warm and crusty and I started with a delicious creamy potato/broccoli soup.  Entrees were not so good.  My fettuccine with vegetables and garlic/butter/white wine sauce was just plain ...plain, and flavorless and something I know I could better prepare myself at home.  Tiramisu was also not that great - and again, we recalled the last time we made this at home, and our results being equal or superior.  (I'm not THAT great of a cook either... I'm just saying, while paying moderately high restaurant prices, I expect better quality.)

Servers were very friendly and quick with water refills.  At the end of the meal, I asked about the separate bar/lounge, and the waiter informed us that they use this space on the weekends (when very busy?).  Weird.  I won't be returning.

I have a love-hate relationship with this place. I've been here quite a few times and here's my observation:
- I realize you want to maximize your space, but I have two problems: the tables are RIGHT on top of each other. Also, when I come in with one other person and you tell me there's a 20 minute wait when I see three 4-tops open, it just pisses me off.
- I live in Roscoe Village. I love Roscoe Village. But there are some times/places I don't want your children screaming at the top of their lungs in the same room as me. And that time is a date NIGHT out at a "nice" Italian restaurant. The last time this happened, I thought I was on some hidden camera show. This was not an upset, crying baby. This was high-pitched outburts by toddlers having fun, and the parents who apparently can't hear them. I kept looking at the wait-staff like "Is anyone going to say something!?" Nope. I digress...
- The food is good. Not great, but decent. I'm a chicken parm snob to I may be biased, but it's just meh. The pastas I've had are better.