Frontier: By Maggie

Maggie is a special education teacher who enjoys going out to eat, being with friends, crafting, and riding her scooter. Maggie considers a restaurant worthwhile if it has delicious and interesting flavors delivered with consistency. She also appreciates a restaurant that has inventive and thoughtful vegetarian dishes. One of the reasons Maggie watches Check, Please! is to encourage her to leave her neighborhood and try new places.

I recently headed south on Milwaukee and ended up at Frontier, the former Corosh spot. I’ve found myself there multiple times; meeting friends for drinks, stopping by with my boyfriend on my way home for one more IPA, going and leaving because there is a ridiculous wait for a table (and a bar-stool?- not a chance).
The space is cool. There is a great outdoor patio with a bar, TV, and huge fireplace. There is ample seating outside, which makes the restaurant much more accessible to the crowd. Inside there are tables that line the long bar and restaurant, with an additional area above the main room. The music is a combination of great alternative and indie rock that transitions into typical bar tunes as the night wears on. The décor is rustic yet comfortable, showing off lots of wood, stone, and cool metal.
I must admit that the large stuffed bear and frequent delivery of full roasted pigs to tables is a bit off putting, seeing as I am a vegetarian. This is precisely the reason why going there for the food and drinks makes Frontier all the more special.

They have a beer selection big enough to meet any hipster or beer connoisseur’s needs; one of my favorites is the Avery IPA in a can. There is also a decent wine selection given the bar-type atmosphere. On my most recent visit, I ordered the fried green tomato sandwich. While it is one of the only purely vegetarian dishes on the menu, hats off to Frontier for making it outstanding. It is on a delicious, long bun topped with a caponata, arugula,and goat cheese. The fresh green tomato is perfectly seasoned and fried. The balance between the tomato and toppings is perfect and all feel necessary and right to create this amazing sandwich.
All sandwiches come with a side, rather a huge basket of fries that are obviously homemade and fresh. While my stomach said “stop eating, you are full” my taste buds won and I finished my whole sandwich. I had plenty of fries left and could have definitely shared my order with someone else.

I would recommend Frontier, for the unassuming cool spot that it is. It is comfortable and unpretentious, while clearly having become a“scene”. The food and beer are great and the price is right.

Frontier
1072 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60642

(773) 772-4322
http://www.thefrontierchicago.com

I just can't get enough of Graziano's: By John Newman

John is a teacher that enjoys all different types of food. You can bet that when he's not playing softball he is out on the town looking for a fantastic food experience. For John dining out is all about good food and not worrying about being seen. As many would agree, he says his favorite part about dining out is that you don't have to spend hours on recipes and most importantly on the cleanup.

Whether I have a craving for an overwhelming portion of chicken parmesan or the city’s tastiest bowl of bottomless salad, Graziano’s is the place I go to satiate my hunger.  For more than ten years, Graziano’s Brick Oven Pizza has sent me home with doggy bag after doggy bag of Italian classics.  Good for lunch or dinner, alone, with my wife, or with a large group of family and friends, the exposed brick walls, accessible seating options, and friendly service keep me coming back…… for the food!

A typical meal for me begins with an appetizer and is followed by the best house salad in the Chicagoland area, a portion sized entrée I never finish, a glass of wine or cocktail, and dessert.  Staples in my rotation for appetizers are the polenta, bruschetta, or often one of the dozen or so specialty pizzettes. When available the skirt steak polenta, often a daily special, takes the crown. House salad is always next, and bottomless. 

If only stopping by for lunch, the Italian Turkey Sandwich gets the job done. Dinner, however, requires a bit more heavy lifting. Although I do not have an allergy and don’t pretend I am on a diet, I like the option of gluten free or low-carb dishes to keep my wife happy. If we ever have children, or just decide to borrow my niece, I know I can count on Graziano’s to keep them full and entertained, giving kids the chance to watch their pizzas cook in the wood burning oven. 

In the city of big shoulders and waistbands, the best options are the Tuscan brick chicken (chicken breast and balsamic marinade with roasted potatoes), chicken parmesan, or bowtie pasta with vodka sauce (rich and creamy). If you are looking for something with a little more kick, try the penne arrabiatta (spicy tomato sauce and a few red pepper flakes) with an oversized meatball.

And what would a nice Italian dinner be without dessert?  The profiteroles are outstanding, but don’t be afraid to dig into a messy sundae, piece of tiramisu, or grab an espresso from the bar. And when leaving with tomorrow’s lunch feel free to grab a root beer barrel for me.  

Graziano's

5960 West Touhy Ave.

Niles, IL 60741

(847) 647-4096

http://www.grazianosrestaurant.com

Merichka's-The Restaurant That Keeps Me Coming Back Like a Boomerang By: Pam Turlow

Pam is a voice over artist and writer. Her hobbies include traveling, vintage amusement parks, Mid-Century modernism, tarot, and Barbies. Pam dines out not only to delve into an exciting new world of tastes but stimulating all of her senses. She appreciates the smells, tastes, aromas, sounds and "tactile thingies" of each restaurant. South Indian cuisine tops her list of favorite foods.

I love Googie architecture.  If you're not familiar, it's that Mid-century, slightly kitschy form of design that was all the rage in the 1950s.  Full of boomerangs and kidney shapes and starbursts, its height of popularity coincided with interest in space travel and all its trappings: rockets, atomic energy, parabolas, flying saucers.  George Jetson lived in a Googie world.

Designed by original owner Joe Zdralevich, a former graphic designer, the signage outside Merichka's restaurant in south suburban Crest Hill is shaped like a boomerang.  The reasoning: because they wanted customers to keep coming back.  And it's worked now for decades.  Well, the fact that the food is delish and the atmosphere is a homey time capsule dated back to 1957 doesn't hurt matters one iota.

On a typical visit to Merichka's, I usually do the following: venerate the rockin' cool aforementioned boomerang sign, settle in and order a Steak Poor Boy sandwich with garlic butterine, and opt for the dinner, thus availing myself to the double-baked potato that has no business being this incredible, a salad, cracker basket, and the relish tray featuring three cold relishes (just like my Aunt Mary Ann would bring to Sunday dinner at Grandma Pauline's house back in the late 60s, but without the customary argument after the pinochle game).

You'd also do wise to belly up to the vintage bar, pay your respects to the stuffed trophy fish mounted above it, and order a Cuba Libre.  I once ordered a Pink Squirrel - you can do that here and raise absolutely no eyebrows.

As long as Merichka's keeps that boomerang in play, and as long as they have some of the best comfort food in the greater Chicagoland area, I'll keep my Honda Civic-shaped rocket poised and ready for that return blast-off.

Merichka's

604 Theodore Street

Crest Hill, Illinois

(815) 723-9371

www.merichkas.com

Inovasi By: Steve Rheinstrom

Steve lives in Highland Park and enjoys cooking, photography and even hitting the slopes skiing in the winter.  He says because he enjoys cooking so much he truly appreciates going out to restaurants and experiencing the creations of a great chef. If you asked him what the best ingredients are for a perfect meal is he would say love and care.

We had dinner with our friends the W**** at one of my favorite restaurants, Inovasi in Lake Bluff.  A delightful place in an unlikely spot, as Lake Bluff is not know for fine dining, but that has changed since Inovasi arrived 2 ½ years ago.  “Inovasi” means innovation in Indonesian, and it is an apt name for this restaurant.

To give you a flavor for the surroundings, the restaurant is right in the middle of the small town center area of Lake Bluff, east of Sheridan Road off Rt. 176.  You walk into the restaurant in it’s bar area, a nice sized room with an almost Jackson Pollock like, bar counter.  The bartender is first rate, and the assortment of spirits and craft brews are excellent.  The seating areas are divided into 3, a smaller room off the bar, and 2 larger, open spaces with window views of the kitchen as you walk to your table.  The furthest room has a gas fireplace, and there is a touch of prairie style architecture to the moldings on the ceiling.  A picture of Theodore Roosevelt sits above the fireplace, and the menu makes mention of the ideal of conservation and the restaurant’s support of local sustainable organic farms.  The wait staff is uniformly knowledgeable and helpful, and the service is impeccable.

The chef, John des Rosiers, has a local background.  His career started at Gabriel’s in Highwood, and then to training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.  He then worked at Charlie Trotter’s, and returned to climb the ladder at Gabriel’s to the reach the level of chef de cuisine.  He then worked at Bank Lane Bistro in Lake Forest before he opened Inovasi.

This restaurant gives him the stage to create his style of fusion, mixing Asian accents with local ingredients.  This is not fusion restricted to one geographic area, but can reflect Spanish influences, low country Carolina cooking, and many others.  The menu changes with the seasons, reflecting what is best available.  The first time I went to Inovasi, I had rainbow trout served on a piece of cardboard, with a palate of 4 different sauces in a very random and abstract Jackson Pollock painting type of presentation on the shiny side of the cardboard, each of the sauces delicious, and the trout perfectly cooked.  The menu here has enough choices to satisfy my vegetarian daughter, and plenty of meat opinions for the carnivores, as well as fish choices.

On our last visit, we started with “Argyle St” flatbread, with pecans “driftless cheese” and wild huckleberries, sprinkled with herb oil.  Roasted Brussels sprouts were topped with shallot, a local cheese, and a touch of a truffle mayonnaise.  A circle of “El Piconero” goat cheese was mated with a small pillow of polenta and a tomato fondant.  Perfectly fried and lightly breaded calamari was spiced with Spanish chorizo and hints of marcona almonds.  These plates are small portions, designed to be starters, but were enough to share.

For entrées, I had the “fish swimming yesterday” which in my case turned out to be striped sea bass on a bed of julienned carrots with macadamia nuts.  D*** had the “carnivore addition” which was a delightful preparation of pork shoulder with anson mills farro verde, huckleberry vinaigrette, and fennel tops marinated in a variety of spices and presented in a round timbale about 2 ½ inches high.  My wife had dry aged beef sirloin served aside dollops of spicy chocolate (a take on molé) and cheese croutons.  J*** had organic roasted chicken breast on antebellum grits.

Chef des Rosiers constructs the plates elegantly.  The thing to keep in mind is that the “main” plates are still on a small portion concept, but the costs reflect the quality of the ingredients used.  The “fish swimming yesterday” is apt, as the piece of fish is sourced from small family operation fishing boats.  The striped sea bass I had was hand caught the day before in Rhode Island.  There is a Kentucky grilled squab on the menu that I am going to try next time. Add a little extra trust in Chef des Rosiers, and let him pick a tasting menu of 5 courses, that can be tailored around individual’s food allergies/aversions.

I also can't forget that I love burger night, every Tuesday.  They are not the cheapest burgers in town, but they are all very well executed and worthwhile!

 

Inovasi

28 East Center Ave.
Lake Bluff, IL 60044

(847)295-1000

http://inovasi.us/