nsxtasy wrote:
Pucca wrote:
Pizano's opened up a branch in Glenview

Do you know for sure that they are actually open now? The website only says "coming soon" for that location, and I just tried phoning and got no answer. Given that it's 5 p.m. on Friday, that makes me think they're not open yet.
Oops, no I don't know for fact. I was at the Loop location 2 weeks ago, and there were signs that their Glenview location opened. Hopefully this will help someone in the future!

We're shooting to open sometime between Dec 26th and Jan 3rd if I had to guess. I just hung our "now hiring" banners on Wednesday and am putting the final touches on everything. Meeting with all the vendors, etc. etc.

It's been a long time in the coming but we're almost there. Everything is going to be exactly the same as our other two locations, this place will be our flagship though, twice the size as Madison which makes it three times the size of State St.

If anyone is curious of the exact location, if you know where FredHots is, you know where we are, we're exactly across the street on Chestnut. Our phones won't be live until Friday, after that feel free to call and check on the status.

pizano345 wrote:If anyone is curious of the exact location, if you know where FredHots is, you know where we are, we're exactly across the street on Chestnut.

For those not familiar with the area, it's about half a mile north of Lake Avenue, and a mile south of Willow Road.

I think it will be a good location for you, not too close to other deep-dish places. Good luck to you!

Flight serves excellent, contemporary American/eclectic fare -- not at all chainlike. Lots of care given to handmade food and a wide wine selection.

When I was there in the spring, for example, they had house-made gnudi dumplings with freshly shucked peas, pea shoots and asparagus. The chef confided that she shucked the peas herself because it would be too costly to pay the hourly cooks to do it. This dish is still showing on the online menu, but I have no doubt that it has been replaced with something more seasonal by now.

The menu is full of interesting touches, like herb- and manchego-dusted fries, served with a trio of aiolis, not only garlic and the by-now commonplace truffle, but also a rose-flavored one.

For homier fare, Amici is a cozy little Italian spot farther south on Milwaukee in Niles.

Downtown Glenview has a great Korean restaurant, Cho Jung.

I also love Siam's House, and I have had excellent meals at Cafe Lucci; Periyali; Pita Inn; Mitchell's, which certainly measures up to seafood houses like Shaw's and McCormick & Schmick's; and Hackney's, which has two locations in Glenview, both closer to Abt than the Wheeling location, which is actually 8 miles away. Flamingo's is also great, but it's not near Abt.

Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar
847/729-WINE
www.flightwinebar.com
The Glen, 1820 Tower Drive, Glenview

Amici Ristorante
847/967-0606
www.amicifood.com
7620 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles

Cho Jung Restaurant
847/742-1111
Olympia Shopping Center, 952 Harlem Ave., Glenview

ChiNOLA wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I'm headed to the Yard House tonight; if noteworthy, I will post about.

Hammond -

Don't get your hopes up. Hopleaf it ain't.

Had a Hoegaarden on tap, which was the highlight of the evening. Restrooms were very clean and restaurant itself was quite tidy. Good place to bring a family. Plenty of parking.

LAZ wrote:Hackney's, which has two locations in Glenview, both closer to Abt than the Wheeling location, which is actually 8 miles away.

The one on Lake is slightly closer, but the one on Milwaukee isn't 8 miles away. Distances per Mapquest (numbers are similar at Google Maps):

Abt to Hackney's on Lake in Glenview: 3.89 miles
Abt to Hackney's on Milwaukee in Wheeling: 4.73 miles
Abt to Hackney's on Harms in Glenview: 5.29 miles

These map programs have fascinating quirks. Typing 1200 Milwaukee Ave, Glenview, into Google Maps gets different results than 1200 N. Milwaukee Ave, Glenview. But then it puts both the Harms and Wheeling locations at 5.3 miles from Abt.

FWIW, the nearest location, 1514 E. Lake Ave., Glenview, actually predates the official original site on Harms. It was a bar opened in the 1920s by the great-great grandparents of the current generation of Hackney's owners.

LAZ wrote:These map programs have fascinating quirks. Typing 1200 Milwaukee Ave, Glenview, into Google Maps gets different results than 1200 N. Milwaukee Ave, Glenview. But then it puts both the Harms and Wheeling locations at 5.3 miles from Abt.

Yes, they do have quirks. Google Maps starts out with 1/2 mile on "Zenith Drive" before it puts you onto Milwaukee Avenue northbound to Wheeling, which is why it's 1/2 mile longer than Mapquest. Google Maps also uses a slightly shorter route to the Lake Avenue location, by going south on Milwaukee to Central and across, jogging north to Lake, whereas Mapquest uses the slightly longer route of Milwaukee to Lake (which involves fewer turns).

LAZ wrote:FWIW, the nearest location, 1514 E. Lake Ave., Glenview, actually predates the official original site on Harms. It was a bar opened in the 1920s by the great-great grandparents of the current generation of Hackney's owners.

I didn't know that! I always assumed the site on Harms was the original, because it's so much smaller (as well as more rustic in appearance).

We actually call the Glen "Stepford" because it is all eerily the same. We like Flight and Yard House is good for casual. Plus, Yard House has a decent kid's menu. There isn't anything very inventive there, but you can get a solid meal.

To call the Glen Disneyland is an insult to Disneyland.....
now Stepford, truman show, and pleasantville before color I WILL buy, and I think it kind of puts the finger on what I don't like about the area....
Although I do miss the nice grocery store and grill they had when they first opened (I forget the name-it didn't last long)
But please -leave Disney out of it-....

Arnie Salerno's Pizzeria & Catering
1716 E. Kensington Rd.
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
847-699-2822

Chicken dishes ....all very good $8.95
Skirt steak ...generous ...very good
Very good pizza!!
Strip mall setting
Very casual!!!

Directions and map from Abt. ( I might go north on Milwaukee to Euclid and make left)
Google maps

David Hammond wrote:Had a Hoegaarden on tap, which was the highlight of the evening. Restrooms were very clean and restaurant itself was quite tidy. Good place to bring a family. Plenty of parking.

Ahhh, the old "damning with faint praise" trick... Like I said, Hopleaf it ain't...

LAZ wrote:Downtown Glenview has a great Korean restaurant, Cho Jung.

I also love Siam's House, and I have had excellent meals at Cafe Lucci; Periyali; Pita Inn; Mitchell's, which certainly measures up to seafood houses like Shaw's and McCormick & Schmick's; and Hackney's, which has two locations in Glenview, both closer to Abt than the Wheeling location, which is actually 8 miles away. Flamingo's is also great, but it's not near Abt.

Have eaten at a couple of the places you mention above, LAZ, and
agree that theyre very solid.

Quick question, however.. anything good in terms of Chinese in the
area? A friend tried a place at random a week ago (Kim's, I think its
called, this was the ice-storm day and it was the closest place that
delivered), and he was very impressed.. has tried it once more since
and is still very impressed. I think this is on Glenview Road somewhere..
maybe near Waukegan or Harlem or something. Has anyone tried it?
Any other Chinese rec's in the area at all?

c8w

DitkaFan,

Where did you go and how did it work out?

nsxtasy wrote:DitkaFan,

Where did you go and how did it work out?

Lol. For some reason, I just thought it would be quite amusing if DitkaFan responded with a:

"Taco Bell, and it was great!"

jesteinf wrote:Is anyone else kind of freaked out by The Glen? It always reminds me of the Truman Show.
.

OMG, seriously, this long with no one else picking up on it... The Truman Show was filmed at The Glenn!!!!

gnoju wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Is anyone else kind of freaked out by The Glen? It always reminds me of the Truman Show.
.

OMG, seriously, this long with no one else picking up on it... The Truman Show was filmed at The Glenn!!!!

I thought The Truman Show was filmed in Seaside, Florida.

Matt wrote:I thought The Truman Show was filmed in Seaside, Florida.

It was. Seaside is a similarly eerie pre-planned community (faux Victorian in the case of Seaside).

Matt wrote:

gnoju wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Is anyone else kind of freaked out by The Glen? It always reminds me of the Truman Show.
.

OMG, seriously, this long with no one else picking up on it... The Truman Show was filmed at The Glenn!!!!

I thought The Truman Show was filmed in Seaside, Florida.

Moreover, did The Glen even exist back then? I don't think so. According to IMDB.com, the film was released in June of 1998, which means it was probably shot in 1997. I believe that pre-dates The Glen by at least a couple of years.

=R=

The Glenview Naval Air Station closed in 1995. The name The Glen wasn't chosen 'til 1999 (from '95 to '99 there were fights between Northbrook, Northfield and Glenview over who would get control over the redevelopment). I don't think any retail opened until 2003 or 2004. So that's a wordy way of agreeing with Ron that the Truman Show couldn't remotely have been filmed at The Glen.

I think that we need an emoticon for irony.

Yikes, I just got my ass handed back to me after a kickn'. Sorry for posting bad info. Maybe I did get suckered into a rumor but I could swear it was that first phase over by the Steak and Shake and everybody was so excited about the movie. Oh well scratch that and sorry.

As for the lunch recomendations, I had Grazianos on Toughy last night and was presently surprised. Mostly focus on their brick oven pizzas but lots of sandwiches and plated meals. I had the chicken parm and was pleasantly surprised - also huge portions. I would even go back just for the house salad. They use a creamy Italian versus the VO mix typically found. If he has to take the highway home this might be a convinient option.

seebee wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:DitkaFan,

Where did you go and how did it work out?

Lol. For some reason, I just thought it would be quite amusing if DitkaFan responded with a:

"Taco Bell, and it was great!"

Haha, ironically enough you aren't too far off.

After getting to the Glen, it was pretty much what we expected from all of the descriptions on here and we decided it may be nice to hit a movie because our legs were tired. So the only thing playing that we were interested in seeing was starting in a half an hour so we panicked and ended up just eating at Gold Coast Dogs. It isn't the worst choice (Taco Bell) but not exactly a great meal. Oh well, we got in and out fairly cheap and enjoyed a fairly watchable but ultimately pointless "I Am Legend."

I, unfortunately, was not a legend on that day. Just a hot dog eating schlub shuffling around in the snow window shopping at stores I can't afford and probably wouldn't buy anything from anyway.

Also-We hit up the free cookies at ABT first, thanks for the tip.

DitkaFan wrote: Just a hot dog eating schlub shuffling around in the snow window shopping at stores I can't afford and probably wouldn't buy anything from anyway.

This is my nomination for "Best Forum Quote of the Year"

DitkaFan wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Is anyone else kind of freaked out by The Glen? It always reminds me of the Truman Show.
.

Disneyland and now the Truman show? I'm getting scared. Isn't it just an outdoor mall

I'm so used to city life that these little suburban meccas of consumerism can occasionally be a treat-no driving store to store etc...
.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, if Glenview is The Truman Show, it
is one set in an area teeming with more ethnic options than most
cities (including some better ones than Chicago itself

The ethnic options in the general area are growing all the time (more
of which anon, after a couple more "grazings" at a couple more places
But, for the moment, a sure bet...

One newish place that deserves a fair bit of attention is Royal
Malabar Catering, located at 911-B Greenwood St, Glenview.
(Ph: 847-998-5635), almost at the intersection of Greenwood
and Glenview Roads. Home of *the* best takeout Kerala-style
Indian food, bar none, in the Chicagoland area.

This is probably familiar to some - Malabar Cateriing was a
Chicagoland location that received some attention and raves even
going back to the Chowhound days. They closed in Chicago
last year, and have reopened a couple weeks ago in Glenview,
a couple of minutes north of Golf (ie close to Niles) - an area
with a rapidly growing Indian (and specifically Keralan)
population.

It is almost entirely a takeout spot (though there is a table with
some chairs which may be possible to use, presumably). The
theoretical menu is extensive - but only a half dozen or so
items are prepared daily on weekdays, a few more on
weekends. One would presumably have to call them on
any day to find out what was available on that day (the food
is certainly available by late afternoon - youd have to ask
if it was available for luch too).

Ive tried their food a couple of times so far, and have enjoyed
it a fair bit. My favourite so far has been their "Beef Fry" - one
of the best versions in the city, a nicely spicy-hot dish. (In
general their food is nicely spiced, the way Keralan food
usually is). There was a kingfish curry dish which was
very good too, different from most other Indian food in the city.
And there are the other usual Keralan vegetarian dishes
prepared fairly often IIRC - Avial, Thoran etc. They have
also recently been offering a Buffalo dish, but I havent
tried it yet.

The menu, as noted above, is extensive - near a dozen
appetizers (includnig cutlets, parippuvada etc), appams,
idlis, malabar parathas, duck and fish mouly, curries etc.
They also sometimes offer some "north Indian dishes"
(which Ive felt no desire to try yet

c8w

I tried Malabar Catering today, and enjoyed it a lot. The store is basically for their catering business, but they do sell take-out. Apparently they have more dishes available on the weekend (Friday and Saturday) than during the week, but I was able to order a very flavorful fish curry (with some heat; they warned me about how spicy it was, but the heat was nicely balanced) and avial (vegetable stew). They serve idli and other South Indian (Kerala) dishes on weekends. I was puzzled at a south Indian restaurant that served both Beef Fry and Pork Fry, but the owners are Christian. I gather that there is a quite significant Christian community in Kerala (and a Jewish one in Cochin, as well). I assume that Muslim Indians would not wish to order from a restaurant that serves pork, and Hindu Indians would not eat from a restaurant that serves beef, so hopefully there is a strong Kerala Christian community in Glenview because they don't seem to have much outreach to non-Indian diners.

Royal Malabar Catering
911 B Greenwood Road
Glenview
847-998-5634

I tried Malabar Catering today, and enjoyed it a lot. The store is basically for their catering business, but they do sell take-out. Apparently they have more dishes available on the weekend (Friday and Saturday) than during the week, but I was able to order a very flavorful fish curry (with some heat; they warned me about how spicy it was, but the heat was nicely balanced) and avial (vegetable stew).

Glad you enjoyed it - Ive liked whatever Ive tried too, so far. What I probably
like best is that they *dont* cut down on the heat - some of their dishes
are nicely spicy. But, as is common with most Keralan dishes, they are
all nicely balanced in terms of spice - the Beef Fry has onions and pieces of
ginger, for example, among other spices, its a very good dish indeed. And,
Kerala being a coastal state, theyd be expected to do fish quite well (and
they do).

They serve idli and other South Indian (Kerala) dishes on weekends. I was puzzled at a south Indian restaurant that served both Beef Fry and Pork Fry, but the owners are Christian. I gather that there is a quite significant Christian community in Kerala (and a Jewish one in Cochin, as well).

Very much so - a full 20% of Kerala's population is Christian, a larger
proportion than any other state in India, probably (well, outside of Goa,
that is). And while Kerala is a "small state" with only 3% of India's
population.. that still worked out to 32 million people in 2001 (Which
would make Kerala's Christian population 6.4 million.. ie approximately
as many people as the country of Israel!)

The Jewish population isnt very big anymore.. it probably never was
*big* in those terms anyway, not in comparable numbers, but it was a
very significant group. Especially given its age - Jewish presence in
Kerala, by all accounts, dates back to before 500 BC! And there were
2 or 3 different "waves" of Jewish emigration to Kerala - another major
one took place in 1492 (emigration from Spain after the reconquista
and the fall of Granada). If anyone here is a Salman Rushdie fan...
his wonderful book "The Moor's Last Sigh" makes much use of this,
of the Jewish and Catholic presence in Kerala, and of food and spices
in general (the "hero" of his novel is the half-Catholic, half-Jewish Bombay
Boy, whose parents were in the spice trade in Kerala, and named
him Moraes, nickname "The Moor", from whence the title comes.
Anyway. Waay off-topic

Beef Fry and Pork Fry are both fairly popular Keralan dishes, as are
their fish items - it would be quite natural to see them on a Keralan
menu Id guess (especially a Christian Keralan restaurant). Kerala
was also the first communist state in India, way back in the 1950s..
some would tell you that religious-dietary-restrictions are (slightly)
less strictly observed among a small proportion of people in Kerala
too, maybe.(For example, Tamil Nadu with its capital of Madras is
a neighbour state - there is probably stricter observance of dietary
restrictions there, it is a quite strongly vegetarian state, as reflected
in Chicago by Udipi and Dasaprakash restaurants).

I assume that Muslim Indians would not wish to order from a restaurant that serves pork, and Hindu Indians would not eat from a restaurant that serves beef, so hopefully there is a strong Kerala Christian community in Glenview because they don't seem to have much outreach to non-Indian diners.

This is probably (but not entirely) true - there is some small percentage
which would patronize the restaurant anyway, but just not eat the
"non-kosher" item .. I know at least a couple

It is true, however, IMHO, that the clientele for Malabar is probably very strongly
(and almost entirely) Kerala-Christian. However Glenview is probably a
very good location for them - their previous incarnation was in the city, and
most Keralan-Christians in Chicagoland, from anecdotal evidence, have
IMHO moved to the burbs now. Glenview itself actually has long had a
predominantly Keralan grocery store (that served a few dishes on
weekends)... this is on Milwaukee Avenue, just south of Glenview
Road (ie maybe a half mile from where Malabar is currently located),
a place named "Kairali Foods".

Ive never seen any actual statistical numbers... but from anecdotal
evidence the Glenview/Niles area may be one of the more densely
populated Kerala-Indian conclaves in the city. The Isaac Jogues
Catholic Church on Golf Road, for example (a scant mile or so from
Malabar's location), has a quite massive Kerala-Christian contingent
regularly attending. Hopefully there will be enough to enable
Malabar Catering to survive and thrive, for Id hate to lose their
food!

c8w

DitkaFan wrote:Also-We hit up the free cookies at ABT first, thanks for the tip.

We went TV shopping Sunday. I didn't know about the cookies until Mr. Pie told me about them. I was assuming they were Maurice Lennell or something. Nope...they were freshly baked chocolate chip. Since it was in a kitchen setting and I could see them being baked, I thought maybe they made their own dough, although I could taste a little hint of freezer to them. So I asked.

"No, we get the dough from a fac—I mean bakery called Poppie's Cookies." It was still pretty tasty; all warm and melty with nice crispy edges.