DeRusha Eats: Campiello, Fine Italian In Eden Prairie
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In a low-profile, strip mall surrounded by Eden Prairie corporate headquarters, D'Amico's Campiello Restaurant has been quietly creating great Italian food for more than twenty years.
"It's an institution," executive chef Chris Dmochowski said. "D'Amico has a really good knack for running really good restaurants, and they've done it for a long time."
Dmochowski's food is classic, rustic Italian.
"Anything actually Italian is very simplistic. Then you eat it and you're like, 'Whoa. I did not expect that,'" he added.
According to Dmochowski, the short ribs have been the top seller since they went on the menu when the restaurant opened. He said he probably wouldn't design the dish the same way if he were creating it today -- the beef short-ribs are glazed with balsamic vinegar and placed on top of a mound of spaghetti.
"Yeah, it's like ... never mind. It's delicious, don't worry about it," he said.
Campiello's history has brought extremely loyal customers who have been visiting for two decades. But the history, and the suburban location, also leaves it overlooked.
"A couple weeks ago the front page of the [Star Tribune's] taste section said, 'There's no good Italian in the Cities.' Well, we're not technically in the Cities, but we've been around a little while. We do a pretty good job," Dmochowski said.
Dmochowski has worked at Campiello for five years. He's worked at Tryg's, Grand Café, and worked in several restaurants in Orlando before moving to Minneapolis.
He said he started his career doing dishes, and that's how he likes to train his team today.
"Five of my main guys started in the dish pit, now they're main line cooks. This is an honest fulfilling line of work if you let it be. If you want to get rich, don't do it. Stay as far away from it as you can," he said.
So what should you order? Try the beef tartare with lemon, capers and a fried egg. The wood-roasted salmon steak is one of Dmochowski's favorite. And he recommends the bucatini -- a pasta he calls "very underutilized" -- with roasted cauliflower and golden raisins.
For sides, he recommends the Brussels sprouts, which feature caramelized sprouts topped with gorgonzola and a house-made pancetta.
"How do you make Brussels not taste like Brussels? Just add bacon and cheese. They're delicious," he said.
It's not precious. It's not trendy. It's just delicious. Campiello is worth the trip.
"We're not getting cute, not trying to do too many plate set ups," Dmochowski said. "Just good, soulful food."
Campiello
6411 City West Parkway
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
952-941-6868
