Charcoal Oven, re-scheduled, 1/21 7pm

There's been some discussion of Charcoal Oven on the board lately, so let's a group together and see what we think. I'm proposing Friday, November 16, at 7 p.m.

This time-warp of a restaurant has a facade that's virtually unchanged since I was a kid, passing it as my mother drove me from our home in Glenview to the dentist in Evanston. I'm hoping I won't be seeing the dentist after driving past this time.

I've only been there once, about 10 years ago, but I remember it seemed to have lots of regulars, and the food was throwback to the days of semi-fine dining in the 1950s.

Charcoal Oven
4400 Golf Rd (a few blocks east of Old Orchard)
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 675-8062

Well, I suppose I have to go, if only to give my heartfelt apologies to the waitress...

Definitely in for 1, will have to wait and see if my +2 will come, too.

nr706 wrote:There's been some discussion of Charcoal Oven on the board lately

Having been immensely entertained by MHays' account of her dinner at Charcoal Oven (see above thread), I cannot pass up this opportunity to see the waitress formerly known as Frau Blucher for myself. I too have been driving past this place for many years (I'd say 30+) without stopping, but now my curiosity is definitely piqued--so sign me up!

So far we've had references to The Godfather, Young Frankenstein, and now perhaps Rocky Horror Picture Show ("Let's do the time warp again....") Should prove to be an interesting evening.... Thanks, Tom!

I've gone from doubtful to probable. The Mrs. cannot attend, so it's just me.

I will also be -2, just me - but I'll be there! - we will have to wait and see what effect the atmosphere has on Sparky...

It looks like we'll have a small - but very exclusive - group at Charcoal Oven this Friday:

nr706
MHayes
Tarte Tatin
ChgoMike

There's room for a few more to become part of this select group; let us know, preferably by Thursday.

With regret I must back out, folks. Sorry - I've got to be home with the kids on Friday.

- Mike

Due to several peoples' scheduling problems, we'll set a new date when more people can make it.

Watch for the new date (after Thanksgiving, for sure).

Now that we're past the holidays, if anyone up for this unique, old-school restaurant on Monday evening, January 21 at 7 pm? I'm imagining there won't be many others there -which could be a good or a bad thing.

(And, yes, I did confirm that they're open on Mondays.)

I'll be there.

Also in! (just me)

If we could +2, please. We always drive by between Evanston and Old Orchard and keep meaing to stop in, but...

Seems a good time to visit.

Another +2. I'll be bringing my first non-Thai wife.

Just realized this is day after tomorrow, so took it upon myself to bump the thread just in case others are equally foggy about their calendars...

Unless I am a frozen popsicle by Monday, I will be there!

The count for Monday night:

Chgo Mike and non-Thai wife
"Tim" (2)
Mhays
GAF
tarte tatin
nr706

So that's eight of us - any additions or subtractions, let me know. I'll firm this up with Charcoal Oven during the day Monday.

So sorry to bail on you guys at the last minute - duty calls. Sometimes only Mommy will do...

Mhays wrote:So sorry to bail on you guys at the last minute - duty calls. Sometimes only Mommy will do...

We missed you, but we swear we'll aim better next time.

SO...-how was dinner?
I was wishing I could go, but it would have meant driving from Niles to Buffalo Grove to Deerfield and back to Skokie (in the snow)
and either bring my children (the demon seeds they are twins)
or leaving them home alone to burn down the house

My wife and I had a great time! We were surprised by the coziness of the restaurant and the hospitality of our hosts. It's a family run business with Mom and Dad running the show and older children working on various nights. It's been there forever and we were entertained by great stories from our hostess and her daughter about the history of the establishment and the adjoining neighborhoods.

For us, the standouts of the meal were a well-poured gin-and-tonic, homemade salad dressings that were incredibly thick with chunky blue cheese and pudding-like consistencies, tasty lentil soup, outstanding thinly sliced potato chips, and properly cooked fresh asparagus (in January!).

Among our main dishes were greek chicken, salmon, skate wing, rack of lamb, pork chops, and calf liver. We thought all of the meat was overcooked, but it was also tasty in spite of this. Well-seasoned when appropriate, crispy skin when called available.

On the ride home my wife and I were chatting about the proper way to order meat in such an establishment. At the first visit to a restaurant one often asks the chef to prepare the dish as they deem appropriate. And this is how we generally placed our order this evening. Yet we felt the meat was a bit overdone. Then my wife pointed out that the chef was used to serving his regular diners - those who have constantly returned to this Skokie neighborhood restaurant for the past 58 years. We figured the normal demographic is not comprised of daring eaters - they want meat well-done because it's a carry-over from days of frightening undercooked meat. It all makes sense, actually.

We'll definitely return with friends and family. And when we do we'll be a little more forceful with our requests for medium-rare meat.

Oh, and even in January, we each left with a bag of tomatoes.

I'm afraid the overcooked meat (not by too much, but noticeable) was my fault. We were asked how would you like the meat cooked, and I responded (as I always do) however the chef wishes. (My feeling being that I should place myself in the chef's hands). However this is, at least for Charcoal Oven, may not be the best response, given that most of the clientele probably prefers "medium."

The seasonings were excellent as were the potatoes and salad dressings and my Manhattan, and the meats were well-prepared and probably perfectly cooked for many of their regulars.

The Charcoal Oven opened in 1949, and it used to be a roadhouse where NU students went to drink (outside of dry Evanston) - the area used to be called ironically "West Campus." Not glamorous, Charcoal Oven is very friendly and quite charming.

I agree with Mike - it was a great time. It's a small place, with a lot of history, going back to the late 1940s, when it was a beer and burger place that thrived with many of the surrounding suburbs being dry. It's a little more upscale now - something of a cross between a 1950s-era Continental restaurant and a Wisconsin Supper Club, with vague Greek overtones.

LAZ wrote:The courtly owner, Phil Georgousses, opened the place in 1949 and I have little doubt he's been there nearly every day since, except Sundays, when they're closed.

Not quite true any more. Pat, Phil's wife, said that since Phil's in his mid-80s, she doesn't let him leave the house on cold, snowy nights like last night. But Pat and her daughter were vivacious, regaling us with many stories of the place's history.

We started with drinks. Both Mike and Gary commented on the quality of their cocktails - Gary even got his Manhattan in the "special glass." Forgot to get a picture of it.

We then got the menus. Pat explained that they were all handwritten by Phil, but not everything was available, since they'd had a busy Friday and Saturday night. But they were also able to find a few things that weren't on the menu.

The menu is very protein-centric, although all entreés came with a basic lettuce and tomato salad, accompanied by some very good, house-made dressings ("We have a woman who comes in here - she's been making our dressings for 30 years," Pat explained.) A nice lentil soup was also included, as were very rich “Grandma’s Rolls,” (Mike said the chunky blue cheese dressing would go very well on one of the rolls), and simply, but well prepared asparagus (Mike said the chunky blue cheese dressing would go very well on the asparagus).

I also agree the meats were a bit overcooked, but otherwise well-prepared. The seafood, on the other hand, was cooked perfectly, at least to my tastes.

As mentioned, in addition to the lettuce and tomato salads, we had a lentil soup that was perfect for a cold, snowy night.


The protein-centric entrees (note that each huge portion is considered a single serving):

Grilled calf liver with sautéed onions (photo courtesy GAF):

Greek Chicken – perfectly crisp, seasoned skin, unfortunately the meat was a bit dry (photo courtesy GAF):

Huge, meaty Pork Chops:

A rack of lamb (oh, if there’d only been a bit of pinkness in the meat’s interior):

The ribs were of the boiled/baked style with caramelized sauce, but not fall-off-the-bone:

Nicely broiled salmon:

Sautéed Skate was also perfectly done, with light breadcrumb topping:

Another side was the house-specialty potatoes – essentially thick-cut potato chips, hard fried and delicious:

Three desserts were included - apple pie (didn’t ask if it was house-made; it may well have been). While usually served with ice cream, apparently they ran out after a busy Friday and Saturday. The chocolate cake was rich and dense, accompanied by whipped cream and the little remaining ice cream they had. And the rice pudding was a classic version, dusted with plenty of cinnamon.

And, as we were leaving, everyone got a bag of Charcoal Oven’s trademark take-home ripe tomatoes. (I believe Mike said the chunky blue cheese dressing would go very well on the tomatoes.)


Overall, a small family-run place that hasn’t changed in ages, and is largely undiscovered outside of its neighborhood regulars. I’m not sure I’ll become a regular, but it’s definitely worth a trip for its atmosphere and the friendliness of the Georgousses family.

One more thing - I was also impressed by the large festive banner between the main room and the front room. "Happy 50th Anniversary, Phil," it proclaimed - celebrating the restaurant's 50 years in business. Except, that was eight years ago. "We get a lot of people in here for birthdays or anniversaries, so we've kept the sign up. We just paste over parts of it when someone comes in for a special occasion."

So, Mike - what did you think of the blue cheese dressing?

I'm really regretting bailing on you guys now...especially after seeing that chicken!

I think they should serve an upside down, deconstructed salad. Just a plate of the blue cheese "dressing" with a few lettuce leaves on top.

As was explained to me at dinner, it's surprising they've stayed in business for 58 years without my advice. However, I'll mail them this additional nugget at no charge.

Mhays wrote:I'm really regretting bailing on you guys now...especially after seeing that chicken!

And especially since tarte tatin had to perform as the understudy for the Mhays role of the person taking home all the leftovers.

Oh that skate looks awesome- I LOVE skate, and you don't see it offered very often.
I buy it whenever I see it in in the fish counter at Whole-ly expensive foods, or Sunset (which is where I seem to find the best fish)

nr706 wrote:

Mhays wrote:I'm really regretting bailing on you guys now...especially after seeing that chicken!

And especially since tarte tatin had to perform as the understudy for the Mhays role of the person taking home all the leftovers.

nr706 wrote:And especially since tarte tatin had to perform as the understudy for the Mhays role of the person taking home all the leftovers.

Oh, OK! As if I weren't already embarrassed enough by my action, you have to let 4,977 LTH users read about it!!! Let me clarify that, thanks to the hearty appetites of my fellow diners, ALL of the leftovers fit in one very small styrofoam container--no "staggering bag of leftovers" as pictured after the lunch at Omaggio. So, MHays, your starring role is safe--no "All About Eve" here!

That said, it was a great evening! As we've all agreed, the meat was a little overdone for our tastes, but the Greek chicken I tried (both at the restaurant AND THE PIECE I TOOK HOME) was not dry--maybe the fact that both were dark meat made the difference. ChgoMike had a close contender as a fan of the blue cheese dressing and--although he didn't specifically mention it--the rice pudding (with NO raisins).... Mrs. Georgousses could not have been more charming--I was just sorry that Mr. G was not there....

MHays wrote:The bar area on the opposite side is separated from the main room by mirrored paneling and dark wainscoting - in my mind, all that was missing was a band and a parquet dance floor....

One thing I'd forgotten to mention that made the ambience - our evening was punctuated by a series of brown-outs, where the lights, briefly, would become even more dim and then suddenly come back. I don't know if that's a permanent feature...

MHays--you were on target with your feeling about the dance floor--Mrs. G said there was once one there.... and maybe a ghostly band plays on.... As the lights flickered and dimmed, then brightened (as they do every night, I guess), we were told that the place may be haunted.....

...no doubt by all the chickens who gave up their lives to the cause...

Tarte tatin worte:

As the lights flickered and dimmed, then brightened

Perhaps the lights were flickering as those juicy chickens were electrocuted.