David Witter

The scene of Gambino Family boss Paul Castellano being gunned down in front of New York's trendy Sparks Steak House has inspired countless re-creations in film and dramas. Chicago's restaurants have also seen a fair share of mobsters and gangland killings. Yet while most of the culinary hangouts of the gangsters have vanished, a handful remain in more or less their original state, including two frequented by Al Capone.

The most fascinating of these is Cicero's Klas Restaurant. Located down the street from one of Capone's headquarters at the Hawthorne Hotel (demolished in 1970), Klas has been in the same location since 1922. Walking inside, you feel like you are in a Czechoslovakian castle. The entranceways are crowded with glass cases containing a virtual museum of European china, dolls, beer steins and a deck of cards that Big Al and owner Adolph Klas used for their backroom gin games. The giant dining rooms are lit by wooden chandeliers adorned with hand-carved wooden bears, owls and woodsmen. Stone fireplaces, wooden cuckoo clocks, and big-game trophies, as well as a copy of a European poster reading Het Levin Van Capone, round out the décor.

The food is basic Czech/German, including heaping schnitzels, goulash, smoked butt and pickled beef. The house specialties include Pork Tenderloin Budwies. Named after the Czech town that spawned the fine lager "Budweiser" (no relation to the mass-market Anheuser-Busch product of today; the real thing is still imported under the name Czechvar), the pork is packed and roasted in a unique blend of spices, and a very light breading leaves it tender, flavorful and lean. Other house offerings include roast duck, which was a little dry, and an assortment of fish and seafood including broiled trout, halibut, red snapper and sole.

Besides the movie-set atmosphere, the sides, prices and portions make a visit to Klas a definite drive-to. The appetizers include potato pancakes, fried cheese and a dish called Topinka. Made from the house rye bread drizzled with garlic, butter and other seasonings before being toasted and baked, it is the Czech version of bruschetta. A plateful costs fifty cents. All entrees are served with soup (liver dumpling, goulash, etc.) and salad bar, which includes several kinds of red and white cabbage. Meals also include homemade bread, sauerkraut and two potato dumplings that are each the size of a small shoe. If that is not enough, dessert, including strudel and wonderful homemade kolackies that resemble light, fruit-filled beignets, are also included. Entrées priced between $8 and $11 will leave enough food left over for the next day's lunch, plus a start on dinner.

Inside the doorway of the Village Pub, a passage from Richard Lindberg's book, "Return to the Scene of the Crime," states that the restaurant, which was once called The Lone Tree Inn, was also known as "Al's Place." Located at an almost chateau-like roadhouse on the Niles side of the Chicago border became Capone's outpost as he stalked the Northern Territory of the Touhy Brothers gang. The turf war apparently came to a head inside the restaurant; in 1927 John Touhy was murdered as he stepped inside its entrance.

Today, a bullet hole is embedded in the glass doorway. The waitress said it had only been there for about two weeks, and was definitely not a leftover from the days of Al Capone. But the image of shattered glass, the ruddy, hardwood flooring, and the ornate, pressed copper ceiling are about the only things that haven't changed since the days of the gangsters. Otherwise, it has been turned into a nightclub, complete with red-velvet couches surrounded by stainless steel flamingos.

The food is a slightly upscale version of that served at the Red Apple down the street and the namesake of the Lone Tree Inn, which is now a Polish-American banquet hall, a half-mile north on Milwaukee. The pork tenderloin is generous, tasty, lightly breaded, and served with dill potatoes and Polish sauerkraut, or cabbage cooked with carrots and meat flavoring until it is almost like a stew. Their other trademark dish is Chicken Frances, a chicken breast sautéed in white wine, dill weed and a light cream sauce. Traditional Polish-style dishes also include pierogi, tripe soup, and a sausage plate.

Perhaps the restaurant most akin to Sparks Steak House is Horwath's. Located on the Chicago/Elmwood Park border, reputed mobster Charles "Chuck" English was gunned down in the restaurants' parking lot. It is a posh, Las Vegas-style steakhouse. Along with Klas Restaurant and the Village Pub, it survives as one of the remaining restaurant reminders of Chicago's gangland past.

Klas Restaurant, 5734 West Cermak, (708)652-0795

Village Pub, 6873 North Milwaukee, (847)647-8147

Horwath's, 1850 North Harlem, (773)625-3399

(2004-02-18)

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