Cathy2 wrote:While we were dining, we bumped into Ronnie Suburban collecting take-out for lunch.

It was great running into you and your friends yesterday, Cathy. Your pictures are excellent. I watched the kitchen prepare your chimichanga and I will definitely be trying one out myself in the very near future.

I really enjoyed my lunch, which I asked Isaac to choose for me. I ended up with a taco plate (steak) and a bowl of the pozole. I was actually a little bit skeptical about a chicken-based pozole, but it was outstanding; with a richness and depth of flavor that took me by surprise. I loved the hominy, which was soft but not mushy like it's been with other pozole I've had in the past. I'm not sure if one preparation is considered to be more "authentic" than the other but I really liked it in this 'near al dente' style.

A couple of other notes . . . the place was relatively full, which was great to see. Liquor license is in place, as I spied -- among other things -- an inviting bottle of Cazadores Reposado on the shelf above the cash register.

=R=

Any idea if they use Kosher meats? I can see they will combine milk with meat on some of the photos upstream, but Thing1's girlfriend keeps pretty strict Kosher, and another resto that the 2 of them can go to without her having to order the veggie platter would be a big help.

Instead of being Jewish might they be Seventh Day Adventist?Doesn't matter but might explain the Kosher /Non Kosher thing.(as Larry David would say not that it matters)

trudie wrote:Instead of being Jewish might they be Seventh Day Adventist?Doesn't matter but might explain the Kosher /Non Kosher thing.(as Larry David would say not that it matters)

Hi,

I was there on Friday. I specifically inquired whether they were Jewish, because I wasn't 100% certain myself. Isaac confirmed his parents converted to Judaism before he was born.

Joel - I suggest calling Casa de Isaac about the kosher related question. He did comment about Rabbi's coming to his restaurant. Unfortunately I don't know the fine points well enough to convey them accurately. Once you have a solid sense of their direction, then please advise here for others who will need to know.

Regards,

HI,

Took Mom to Casa de Isaac today. I learned as I stepped in I had missed Suburban Ronnie and his family by minutes.

After all the discussion about Tinga as a pork preparation, I finally tried Isaac's chicken tinga taco. This tinga was highly seasoned overcoming the possibility of blandness when substituting chicken for pork.



We also tried their Rico Suave Steak: broiled hanger steak served with pablano cream sauce, rice, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. The steak was cooked medium rare with the outstanding pablano cream sauce with honey a mellowing flavor element.



Dessert was Torrejas: Mexican bread with ice cream. Isaac advised this dessert has been passed down several generations of their family. It is a traditional Mexican Lenten dessert, though a fairly regular treat in his home. "If we were very good, our Mother would make us Torrejas. At least once a month we got this."



Today was a bit cool unless you were in the sun. Consequently some diners were sitting outside eating their lunch.

As others have said before, this is really a welcome addition to our local Highland Park restaurant scene.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Took Mom to Casa de Isaac today. I learned as I stepped in I had missed Suburban Ronnie and his family by minutes.

Wow! We are definitely on the same rotation lately.

Our brunch was wonderful. We started out with chips, salsa and guacamole . . .


Salsa roja



Guacamole

I really like both these items at CdI. The salsa is very homogenous and has a deep, robust flavor. I've become addicted to it very quickly. I greatly prefer this type of salsa over a chunkier salsa. We've gotten into some debates about this at my office, where I'm in the minority but I rarely enjoy biting into a big piece of onion when eating salsa. The guacamole is tasty and does deliver a bit of a kick. Here too, aside from the great flavor, the relatively fine mince on the ingredients makes it especially nice, in my opinion.

Next up, entrees . . .


Chile relleno de Queso



Tampiquena



Burrito, Desayuno



Chilaquiles de Isaac

Tampiquena was, again, ordered by my son, who has a new favorite. He also sucked down a tasty mamey shake and 2 tall glasses of horchata. The three of us split the chile relleno, which was delicious. The texure of its coating was lightly crisp, the sauce and the crema were excellent and the slight pungency of the cheese provided an excellent top note.

The 2 egg dishes were both delicious. I loved the 'steak and egg' burrito-desayuno, which is filled with cecina, scrambled eggs, cheese, jalapeno tomato and onion. I ordered the chilaqulies and shortly after I did, Isaac emerged from the kitchen and asked me if I'd like to have my chilaquiles the way he makes them for himself. Of course, I obliged. As you can see above, they were prepared with a salsa verde on one side and a fairly fiery salsa de arbol on the other. Both sides of the dish were terrific and the chilaquiles were topped with a pair of perfectly cooked, over-easy eggs.

Looking at Cathy's pics above, I'm sorry we didn't save room for dessert. Luckily, there's always next time . . .

=R=

Breaking news: I just called LCDI (I guess it was probably I. that I talked to) and learned that they do now have their liquor license and are serving "lots of good margaritas."

Just had an excellent dinner at CDI. We had a mix of the above mentioned dishes and they all lived up to their reputations. The Horchata and Jamaica were some of the best I've had.
The only thing I can add is the Margaritas they are now serving were freshly made and really had just the right mix of lime and tequilla. Very smooth.
We met Isaac, his brother Moises and of course Mama. They were very welcoming and really cranked out some great food. By 6:15 every table was filled.
Hopefully they will be here for a long time. A very nice family and a gem of a restaurant.

I visited CDI several times at lunch this month and found that the restaurant was doing a nice business. Once I wasn't able to get there until 1:30 and a few customers came in after me!

Isaac tells me that he's ahead of his plan and very happy that his customers have been so loyal to him and his family. It looks like he's added some staff and the operation is running better than the early shakedown days.

Most people in the restaurant business who I've told about CDI being closed on Fri nights and Sat. think he's crazy but respect him for doing it. I hope that he continues doing well because he and his family are nice folks with a good product at a reasonable price.

Best,
Grandpa Bob

Last Thursday night I met some friends at CDI for a late supper at around 8:30 pm. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table! The place has been opened for less than two months and it looks like the they're doing great.

Later when things settled down a bit, the owner, Isaac, joined us to smooze a bit. He's created his version of a sangria and gave us a sample after dinner. It was really good. When some of the LTHForum folks meet there on 7/1 we ought to order some.

He also brought a sample of his ceviche. Since they don't used seafood in any dishes, Isaac incorporated tilapia. He originally tried red snapper, but he tells me that the lime juice made the dish "mushy" and that tilapia holds up better.

Here's a guy who is trying new things to make his business viable and I hope that he can sustain the quality and succeed.

Besides his mother still being here from Mexico, he tells me that his brother Moishe will be joining him. Moishe's wife, Lidia, works in the kitchen as well as a nephew and two brothers help out part time. It's truly a family-operated restaurant. The Navas are lovely people and I've known them through other restaurants and businesses for the 17 years I've lived in Highland Park.

Regards,
Grandpa Bob

Similar to what Grandpa Bob described above, I too have been frequenting LCdI and it's been pretty full each time -- at both lunch and dinner. Still, Isaac has hired additional crew and even at the peak of the dinner rush this past Tuesday, things were under control. At about 7 pm, the place was full with about 6 tables waiting. From what I could tell, the wait was about 15 minutes. By 7:45, there were a few open tables.

I get the feeling that being closed on Fridays and Saturdays has actually developed into a very nice hook for the place. It also seems that the very fact that they are closed on Fridays and Saturdays is actually driving weeknight traffic. In any case, the food is delicious and remarkably consistent -- especially for a place which has been open such a short time. And Isaac, true to his 'Love Boat' namesake, can mix a very nice cocktail.

Here are a few pictures from my last couple of meals at LCdI . . .


Taquitos Estilo Huitzuco
What I loved about this dish -- and about LCdI in general -- is the story that went with it. When he served this dish to us, Moishe, Isaac's brother, told us about how when he and his brothers were young, they used to get up very early on the weekends to help their father with the family produce stand at the local market. After the long hours of difficult labor, they would all swim together and between the swim and the intense work they had done, they'd develop insane appetites. There was a little food stand right near the swimming venue where taquitos -- made from scratch -- were sold. After their swim, Moishe and his brothers would descend on the place and eat those taquitos, which Moishe told me "tasted better than anything you can imagine." Now, Moishe and Isaac make them at their own restaurant and they are delicious.



Queso Fundido with Portobello Mushrooms
This is a great appetizer and the absence of pork (chorizo) is a mere afterthought.



Picaditas Estilo Huitzuco
Here, rather than using pork chorizo, Isaac's mother developed a chorizo recipe which uses only beef. These picaditas were fantastic, and the homemade chorizo was intensely flavorful with a very enjoyable kick.



Rico Suave Steak
Broiled Hanger Steak served with poblano cream sauce, rice, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables.



Huachinango A La Veracruza (Red Snapper)
A fantastic preparation -- immaculately fresh and delicious.



Barbacoa
I'm not sure this is on the menu yet but I got a preview of it recently. I'm told that this beef was cooked for about 4 hours. It was very tender and packed with flavor. The sauce was smokey, tangy and mildly spicy. I'd love to see this item make the regular menu. It's basically Mexican brisket and it's wonderful.



Isaac's Mother's Favorite Enchiladas



Pollo En Mole Rojo
I'm certainly no expert when it comes to moles but this one tasted great. It was sweet and complex with a subtle heat, which built as time went on. The chicken beneath it was moist and perfectly cooked.



Chimichanga de Lengua
After seeing upthread that Cathy had ordered this, I knew I'd have to try it too and it did not disappoint. I've also had this item filled with tingas de pollo and it too was fantastic. Also, fwiw, this was a particularly beautiful plate.



Torrejas (Mexican Bread) with Ice Cream
This mildly sweet bread was coated in a light egg batter, cooked and served with a sweet sauce, vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. A great finish to our meal that night.

=R=

I read alot on this site but have never posted before and decided to register today and start sharing here.

As a lover of Mexican food, it's my favorite as you can see by my name, I thought I would give Isaac's place a try. Isaac is truly a nice person. I have known him a while since his Gordo days.

Honestly, I was shocked to see that the menu was almost the same as his former place of employment (Gordo). Nothing new or original and having eaten at Gordo a couple of times, I noticed that he even has the same names of entrees (i.e. Rico Suave Steak). I know some dishes are universal but I was confused by this.

To continue, I was a little disappointed in the food. I thought it was average. At the same level of Las Palmas. Although it was obviously all fresh, I thought it just didn't have enough flavor.

And one more question, Why did he choose almost the same name as La Casa del Gordo? Is there some type of issue there? Maybe one of you knows. I would think he would want to avoid the confusion or maybe that was his intent.

Anyways, thanks for creating posts like this. I will continue to post along with everyone else.

mexicanfoodlover wrote:Honestly, I was shocked to see that the menu was almost the same as his former place of employment (Gordo). Nothing new or original and having eaten at Gordo a couple of times, I noticed that he even has the same names of entrees (i.e. Rico Suave Steak). I know some dishes are universal but I was confused by this.

I think most of these dishes were Isaac's before Gordo and that's why they are on his menu now. This restaurant really does reflect the food that Isaac grew up with and the food that he came to love over the years. Many of these dishes have been described to me as being "just like mama makes." The fact that they were rolled out first at Gordo hasn't dissuaded Isaac from offering them at his place now.

mexicanfoodlover wrote:To continue, I was a little disappointed in the food. I thought it was average. At the same level of Las Palmas. Although it was obviously all fresh, I thought it just didn't have enough flavor.

IMO, Isaac's food is a significant cut above LP, quality-wise and I think the flavors are far more bold and satisfying. Even though it's just a blocks from my office, it's been a while since I've eaten at LP (because I've never really cared for it). But Isaac's food is far more soulful and the flavors and execution of so many items like the salsas, guacamole and red mole (to name just a few) really stand out. I can't imagine ever ordering the whole snapper at LP, if they even offer it. At Isaac's, I know it's fresh and can confidently order it. Do they even offer mole, tingas or pozole at LP (I honestly can't remember)? Also, the fresh tortilla chips at Isaac's are first rate. I just find the overall preparation of the dishes to be superior and handled with care at Isaac's whereas at LP, they've always seemed somewhat perfunctory and sloppy to me. Again, I'm just speaking to my overall sense of disappointment over LP because I obviously don't remember many specific details.

mexicanfoodlover wrote:And one more question, Why did he choose almost the same name as La Casa del Gordo? Is there some type of issue there? Maybe one of you knows. I would think he would want to avoid the confusion or maybe that was his intent.

I don't know why he chose it either but at least there's no mistaking whose restaurant it is.

mexicanfoodlover wrote:Anyways, thanks for creating posts like this. I will continue to post along with everyone else.

Please do.

=R=

Ron and Cathy,

Thanks for setting up the LTH dinner at La Casa de Isaac, food was very good, I particularly enjoyed the Picaditas with beef chorizo, especially when graced with a splash of the special request chile de arbol salsa.

Company and conversation were the highlight, and it was terrific to meet a number of LTHers for the first time, not to mention catch up with old friends.

La Casa de Isaac (7.1.07)


Enjoy,
Gary

I'd like to echo the thanks to ronnie_suburban and Cathy2 for putting together the dinner at Casa de Issac. It was a very enjoyable evening of good conversation and wonderful food. I particularly enjoyed my perfectly prepared chile relleno. CdI is a great addition to the Highland Park dining scene. The food is prepared with much care and is, what I would call slightly upscale Mexican food. It put me very much in mind of Wholly Frijoles in Lincolnwood, which is perfect for the market. I wish Issac much success, although it looks like he's got a very popular spot on his hands already. I'll be back next time I'm up north!

I'd like to reply to mexicanfoodlover's comments above:

His comment about CdI's menu being "almost the same" as Casa de Gordo sort of surprises me. I've eaten at Gordo many times. If I recall Gordo's menu has some shrimp and pork dishes that CdI doesn't have because of their religious beliefs. As for the other dishes, I don't have a Mexican heritage but certainly I'd imaged that several dishes can always be found on any Mexican restaurant menu. So there's going to be a similarity in dishes overall. However, it's my feeling that the actual food preparation is very different. Gordo has an excellent chef, but I feel that the "homemade" quality of Isaac's food is unique. I wish them both well. It's certainly great to have more choices of Mexican restaurants in Highland Park.

My wife and I joined some of the LTHForum folks last night at CdI for the first time. The margaritas flowed, good conversation abounded, but the highlight of the event was the food. It was lots of fun sharing appetizers and desserts.

The evening lasted about three hours and I noted that only a few patrons had to wait any length of time for a table. I think that the added seating outside may have helped. With lots of people having an extended 4th of July holiday vacations and being out of town, CdI was full for most of the dining hours. (The reason that I believe lots of folks were out of town was that on Sat. where I normally shop at Sunset foods, there were fewer cars this past Sat. than normal. So this week is probably going to be dead everywhere.)

So CdI continues packing them in. I don't know if I've seen a posting but Isaac has been opening the restaurant late on Sat. nights (one hour after sundown). He tells me that people have been coming by. I guess if you go to an early movie to avoid dinner crowds, having a late meal at some place like CdI is a good idea. The best thing to do would be to call before Friday afternoon closing to find out what time they open on Sat.

Best regards,
GP Bob

We had a wonderful time at our dinner Sunday night at La Casa de Isaac. It was great seeing familiar faces and meeting several other folks for the first time, too. The dinner was delicious and, as Grandpa Bob posted above, the place was full but not to the point where the folks who were waiting had to do so for very long. It surprised me how many larger groups were there last night. Nonetheless, Isaac's crew handled the situation with aplomb. After the meal, he apologized to us for a supposed delay during our service but I hadn't noticed it -- probably due to the excellent conversation and festive atmosphere at our table. Anyway, even though some of these dishes are pictured upthread, I thought it would be worth showing exactly what was ordered and consumed at our meal . . .


One of the stars of the evening, the house margarita. Yeah, we had a few pitchers . . . so what?!



Isaac's guacamole; well-balanced flavor and texture.



These picaditas contain Mama's beef-only chorizo, which is not yet on Isaac's menu.



Taquitos appetizer, based on the taquitos Isaac and Moishe ate as kids.



Queso fundido with portabella mushrooms.



Enchiladas de bistec, iirc.



Isaac's Mother's Favorite Enchiladas served, by request, with red and green salsas.



Jardin Ensalada con Pollo. Ok, the salad looks great but . . . no comment



Chipotle BBQ Marinated Grilled Salmon served with roasted vegetables, garlic-mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach.



Pollo en Mole Rojo.



Rico Suave Steak . . . hanger steak served with poblano cream sauce rice, garlic-mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Here's it useful to know that the poblano cream sauce is mixed into the rice, not served atop the steak. The steak is actually served with Isaac's Chipotle BBQ sauce.



Chile Relleno, which is one of my favorites at Isaac's. stevez ordered this and was pleased that his poblano pepper actually contained some heat.



My son's oft-ordered Tampiquena, which he gets medium rare, with a cheese enchilada in red mole. This is an ambitiously-sized plate of food.



Chilaquiles a la Gary . . . I love how Gary ordered this dish, opting for the salsa de arbol and adding some of Mama's beef chorizo and freshly-chopped jalapenos.



Isaac's Flan, which I'd never tried before. I'm certainly no expert but I thought it was delicious.



Isaac's infamous Torrejas, served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.



Banana Flameadas.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of some of the delicious non-alcoholic beverages we enjoyed (although a few are shown upthread). Isaac turns out excellent jamaica and horchata -- and they were being ordered by our group pretty heavily. Their mamey shakes are also quite tasty.

It was an fun evening of excellent food and drink -- and wonderful company. What better way could there be to celebrate the "meat" of the summer

Thanks all, for a great evening (in Lake County)!

=R=

Ronnie summarized the evening quite nicely and, indeed, a good time was had by all. Thanks for organizing the party, Ronnie.

I'm still trying to understand some of the comments above made by mexicanfoodlover.

Just for the heck of it, I compared a take out menu from CdI that I have with the online menu from Casa del Gordo. There's really no comparison. For example, four of the 11 appetizers at Gordo offers has shrimp or scallops and CdI, of course, doesn't. Plus many of the dishes provided by both restaurants are extremely different.

Mexicanfoodlover mentioned that Rico Suave Steak is one item that is identically listed on both menus. Unless the Gordo online menu is old, I can't find the item anywhere on their menu.

It was a rather strange posting and I really don't understand any of it. Oh well, "onward and upward" as Teddy Roosevelt cried out when he led his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. (Actually what TR shouted was my ex-wife's favorite expression -- "Charge.")

Best
GP Bob

Wow, I didn't think my post would stir up this much action. Alot of you don't understand where I was coming from with my comments.

Just as some of you are posting about how wonderful the place is, I feel I am "allowed" to express my opinions as well.

I thought the food was average. I thought my experience there was not that exceptional. Maybe I caught it on a bad night or maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been after reading this thread.

I look at it 2 ways- you can get the same quality food down the street at Tacos El Norte and pay less or spend a little more and get higher quality and better tasting food down the street at Tamales or Gordo. Of course that's if you are limited to HP. If you can get to the city I can give you about 10 places I would recommend.

Again, it was all fresh and the servings were more than generous. That's not the question. For the price, I thought the meats were low to middle quality and I didn't think it had a lot of flavor. Honestly, I thought it was basic mexican food served on nice plates.

I'm not saying that I am a professional food critic or anything, that's just my humble opinion.

To answer the question about the menu. Since I have been to Gordo, their menu has obviously changed (I checked the website as well). They have since taken the Rico Suave off the menu. So yes I am wrong about that. And there are alot of mexican dishes that are universal which I said in my last post.

Wow, I really feel like I am attacking this guy in defense of myself and I really do like him. The couple of times I have met him he has been very pleasant. I can go on if you wish... I have questions about the whole Jewish and "kosher" thing as well.

Thanks again for this post. I have to get back to work now.

mexicanfoodlover wrote:Just as some of you are posting about how wonderful the place is, I feel I am "allowed" to express my opinions as well.

MexicanFoodLover,

Absolutely, glad to have you posting. If we all agreed on everything LTHForum would be a very boring place.

Enjoy,
Gary

mexicanfoodlover wrote:Wow, I didn't think my post would stir up this much action. Alot of you don't understand where I was coming from with my comments.

Just as some of you are posting about how wonderful the place is, I feel I am "allowed" to express my opinions as well.

I thought the food was average. I thought my experience there was not that exceptional. Maybe I caught it on a bad night or maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been after reading this thread.

I look at it 2 ways- you can get the same quality food down the street at Tacos El Norte and pay less or spend a little more and get higher quality and better tasting food down the street at Tamales or Gordo. Of course that's if you are limited to HP. If you can get to the city I can give you about 10 places I would recommend.

Again, it was all fresh and the servings were more than generous. That's not the question. For the price, I thought the meats were low to middle quality and I didn't think it had a lot of flavor. Honestly, I thought it was basic mexican food served on nice plates.

I'm not saying that I am a professional food critic or anything, that's just my humble opinion.

To answer the question about the menu. Since I have been to Gordo, their menu has obviously changed (I checked the website as well). They have since taken the Rico Suave off the menu. So yes I am wrong about that. And there are alot of mexican dishes that are universal which I said in my last post.

Wow, I really feel like I am attacking this guy in defense of myself and I really do like him. The couple of times I have met him he has been very pleasant. I can go on if you wish... I have questions about the whole Jewish and "kosher" thing as well.

Thanks again for this post. I have to get back to work now.

I understand where you're coming from, I just disagree with it (especially in regards to other HP Mexican restaurants) and I suppose that after enough back and forth, we can just agree to disagree. FWIW, I've been to all of these places and with the exception of Las Palmas, I'm a fan of all of them. But I do find La Casa de Isaac to be the best of them and oustanding in its category.

Also, I don't feel like you're attacking Isaac at all, just being honest with your opinions. As Gary indicated above, disagreement here is inevitable.

It's all good

=R=

It was a very good time. I loved all the appetizers (especially the Queso Fundido with Portabella), the salsas, etc. And the Sangria I ordered was pretty good.

Maybe I was just a victim of my own bad ordering. I tried a piece of Josephine’s skirt steak, which I thought was very good.

I wanted to eat relatively light, so I chose the Salade Caesar con Pollo.

I figured, it’s a salad invented in Mexico (albeit by an Italian who lived in San Diego), so a Mexican restaurant which does everything else so well, should have a good execution of this classic.

I was wrong.

The classic ingredients in a Caesar salad are Romaine, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, with an egg, lemon, olive oil, and Worcestershire dressing.

What I received seemed like a dumbed-down TGI Friday's version of a Caesar salad. The dressing, served on the side, was, to my taste, something that might have come from a bottle labeled “Wish-Bone.”

The lettuce was chopped a little too finely for my tastes, (some versions use full Romaine leaves) but that’s just quibbling.

The croutons were good. The strips of grilled chicken were somewhere between fine and adequate.

The Parmesan wasn’t in evidence (Cojito or Queso Añejo would have been nice substitutes, but they weren’t in evidence, either).

Anchovies might have been nice, but I know whole anchovies are also considered an optional ingredient in a Caesar salad. Sometimes they’re included in the dressing, sometimes they’re simply represented by the Worchestershire sauce in the dressing. I couldn’t discern any anchovy anywhere.

No one offered to crack some pepper over the dish, although, to be fair, they were very busy.

It did include tomato and olive, less traditional, but I understand optional for a Caesar salad.

I said nice stuff to Issac as I left. My bad. I should have discussed some of these issues with him.

I’ll re-emphasize, everything else was very good. Especially the company.

Okay, I’m feeling grumpy today. I might go back, because everything else was very good. But I’ll probably go to Miramar (next door) first.

Just to restate the general themes of this thread: pretty good food and good peoples. Definitely not worth a drive unless you're in the immediate vicinity, but it's a worthy entry in the North Shore Tamales-Gordo-San Gabriel pantheon of Mexican restaurants. There seems to be plenty of room for CdI, after all: both Casa del Gordo and Tamales were bursting with people on Tuesday night.

nr706 wrote:Maybe I was just a victim of my own bad ordering. . .

Maybe so, but it's still a bummer that the salad did not meet your expectations. The irony is, a couple of the other salads on the menu at Isaac's (Isaac's Ensalada, Jardin Ensalada) are delicious and fairly distinctive by comparison. I've never had their caesar dressing but their chipotle ranch dressing is pretty tasty, even though I don't think it's entirely made from scratch.

=R=

It was such a beautiful morning today that my wife and I decided to have breakfast at CdI. We sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air.

We both ordered the breakfast burrito and they were so large that we took two halves home! I asked for the mole sauce (which I dearly love) and Bobbi was brought some housemade green salsa. What a nice start to the day. We felt like we were on vacation.

Isaac tells me that opening late on Saturday nights is working. They had a full house last Saturday night after nine p.m.

I think it's a great idea. Anyone who is willing to wait for seating on a Saturday night is nuts. They typically will wait at the bar, down a few drinks then don't have the ability to really enjoy their meals. The smart ones go to a movie or out for drinks then if they're still hungry go to a place like CdI.

How many restaurants in Highland Park or Highwood are opened late at night on Saturdays?

Best regards,
GP Bob

Grandpa Bob wrote:Isaac tells me that opening late on Saturday nights is working. They had a full house last Saturday night after nine p.m.

Thanks for the confirmation of this, GB. I saw a sign on the door when I picked up lunch on Monday but forgot to ask Isaac about the details.

Grandpa Bob wrote:How many restaurants in Highland Park or Highwood are opened late at night on Saturdays?

Not many, at least in HP. I know Miramar Bistro tends to draw a late crowd but being happily married, the main, late-night attraction there has never been much of a draw for me.

=R=

I wanted to report on our trip to Casa de Isaac. We went a few weeks ago, and after reading about how crowded it is for dinner, we tried to avoid the crowds and went at 5:30 on a Sunday night. The restaurant was already full, but they had an outside table open. We wanted an inside table, so we opted to wait for a bit till we could get an inside table.

The food was great! We really enjoyed the chips and salsa. My husband is a bit of a corn chip snob, and it is hard to find chips that he likes. He really liked Isaac's - in fact, he still talks about them!

We split an order of ceviche, which was nice and flavorful. For the entrees, I had the Tampiquena, and it was cooked perfectly medium, just like I requested. It was very tasty, so were the sides. My husband had steak enchiladas, which, again, we both liked. We were so full after this, that we could not order any desert.

The service was very friendly. Isaac stopped by the table and we chatted with him briefly. He told us that they have been very busy.

We enjoyed our dinner and we will be back to try more on the menu and to try the desserts! Thank you, LTH, for another great recommendation.

Grandpa Bob wrote:How many restaurants in Highland Park or Highwood are opened late at night on Saturdays?

Dennys
Highway 41 and Park Avenue
Highland Park, IL
24/7

Miramar
301 Waukegan Avenue
Highwood, IL
847/433-1078
www.miramarbistro.com
Sun: 4:30 - 10 PM; Mon-Thurs: 11:30 AM - 11 PM; Fri-Sat: 11:30 AM - 12 PM

Mocha
720 Sheridan Road
Highwood, IL
847/579-4010
www.mochahighwood.com
Sun-Thu: 6 AM - 1 AM; Fri-Sat: 6 AM - 2 AM

I was only to Mocha once and wasn't impressed. In the nightowl department, it sure goes deeper into the night than Miramar.

Regards,

I've visited CdI about once a week since the LTHForum party on July 1 and am glad to see that the quality of their food is being maintained.

I was there for lunch this past Friday and Isaac's brother, Moishe, tells me that the Sept. issue of Chicago magazine rated their restaurant as one of the top 10 hot spots in the area.

In addition, the Time Out section of the Daily Herald had a nice review that day too.

And I received on Saturday a copy of the 60035 magazine put out by the Highland Park C of C and sent to all residences and businesses in HP, Highwood and the town of Ft. Sheridan. CdI had a review in that issue too.

So it looks like they're going gangbusters. The Nava family are nice folks and it's great to see their restaurant succeed. The best way for any business to compete is having quality products at reasonable prices and they certainly do.

It's amazing to realize that August 29th will only be CdI's four-month anniversary.

Some of the restaurant owners in town think that they're nuts for being closed on Friday nights and Saturdays until 9 pm, but I think that their customers understand the situation.

Best regards,
GP Bob

Freelance journalist and LTH contributor Leah A. Zeldes wrote a favorable review of La Casa de Isaac, which appeared in last Friday's Daily Herald:

The Navas opened their friendly, moderately priced Mexican restaurant this spring in the former site of Pancho Viti, just outside the Highwood town limits. On pleasant days, the sidewalk seating might beckon. Inside, the bright, intimate space sparkles with color: decoratively painted orange and green walls, terracotta tile floor, paintings from Highwood's Gallery 57 and traditional woven tablecloths under clear plastic.

The flavors are just as bright, starting with the complimentary warm tortilla chips and tangy red salsa that begin the meal. If you want more elaborate chip toppings, you can order guacamole, served mounded in a stone bowl, or get nachos blanketed in beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream, with beef or chicken add-ons available, too.

Excellent ceviche made from tilapia marinated in lemon with tomato and avocado comes piled on a pair of crisp tostadas for a refreshing cold starter. Zesty picaditas estilo Huitzuco (masa boats in the style of the Navas' hometown) offer tongue-tingling guajillo-pepper or green tomatillo sauce over hot oval cornmeal cakes.

Bright and zesty Mexican favorites are all in the family (link only functional through August 24)

=R=