Skokie Club.

Noted in passing they are changing their name. No idea if they are changing ownership or cuisine.8820 Skokie Blvd,Skokie.

Someone told me it will feature Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cuisine.

hattyn wrote:Someone told me it will feature Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cuisine.

Yep.Presuming they have changed ownership It is now "La Baraka", serving
"Fine Mediterranean cuisine".

Was across the street, stopped in and picked up a menu - havent tried it
yet. Far more upscale than the other Middle-Eastern spots in the area,
with a slightly more expanded menu as well.

Appetizers have the usual hummos, baba etc that Pita Inn-types would have.
But also include Imam Bayaldi (eggplant), Labneh and Okra.In addition
to kibbeh there is also "Lamb Sausage". (All these are 5-6 bucks - as
opposed to Pita Inn's 2-3 bucks, basically).

House Specials include Kibbeh Nayeh, Kibbeh in the pan, Shawarma,
Kalaya and Veggie Kalaya - and couscous royal with chicken/lamb/
shrimp etc. (all ranging from 11 to 15 bucks).

Some Seafood too - snapper, salmon, scallops, shrimp kabob, Lake Superior
Whitefish (range 17 to 19 bucks).

And "Broiler" stuff - shish kabob, shish taouk, kafta, grilled chicken,
lamb chops, NY strip steaks, Filet Mignon etc. They also have a
liquor license.

This makes, by my reckoning, a total of 5 Middle-Eastern restaurants
within about a mile - the new "biggest Middle Eastern strip" in Chicagoland?
It all started with Pita Inn and their amazing success for so many years -
and theyve been followed by Basha, Larsa, Marrakesh (though its
kosher-Moroccan, it does have many similar items IIRC) and now
La Baraka. All on Dempster, all between Skokie Blvd and McCormick
(that is, within Skokie proper) - 5 of em within a mile on the same
street! (In Skokie itself there are more Middle-Eastern places of
course - but 5 of em on one street within a mile sounds a bit like
overkill).


c8w

c8w wrote:

hattyn wrote:Someone told me it will feature Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cuisine.

Yep.Presuming they have changed ownership It is now "La Baraka", serving
"Fine Mediterranean cuisine".

Was across the street, stopped in and picked up a menu - havent tried it
yet. Far more upscale than the other Middle-Eastern spots in the area,
with a slightly more expanded menu as well.

c8w

BTW, the above is only the dinner menu. There is also a lunch menu, a
little cheaper and much smaller (with no seafood at all, from what
I can see).

c8w

Marrakesh is closed -- which wasn't that surprising. While I'm personally glad to see kosher CRC-approved restaurants open on the strip, as a non-observant Jew I'm not going to patronize them if they charge a high premium over trayfe restaurants. Ronnie's (the former Leona's) did, and closed rather quickly (as did LeGateau bakery, and the horrible kosher Thai restaurant that was once in the Kabul House space.) Slice of Life, Ken's Diner and DaNali's Brick Oven (on Oakton) are some places who don't; we'll gladly go to them with more observant family members. I'm interested to see how Shallots does in its new space on Oakton (the former awful Karizma bistro) vis a vis its old Clark Street space; we're going there Monday night and will report if it's worth it.
>>Brent