Knead Marketplace-- La Grange (any info?)

Does anyone have any information about Knead Marketplace in La Grange, IL? It's at 13 S. La Grange Rd but I don't know if it's a bakery/store/restaurant/all of these. I did a quick Google search and didn't come up with anything--surprising to me in this day/age! I think I heard that it is owned by the same people as Emilio's Sunflower Bistro.

Just thought I'd check in and see. I may try to get over there tomorrow but would love any info beforehand!

Thanks!

Knead Marketplace
13 South LaGrange Road
LaGrange, IL 60525

yup, this place is owned by the original owners of "maison" and now the current chefs at emilio's sunflower bistro (i believe they are no longer the owners after some issues with leasing of the space, hence emilio's presence). this had been their dream for awhile, to open a deli/bakery.

my good friends' parents go to emilio's weekly, and have been faithful supporters of chris & mary for years.

just last weekend, my friend had lunch with her p's, and brought some goodies back that we could share.

we sampled a veggie soup (lots of veggies, broth-based, but could've used some legumes of some sort, IMO); some chive-bacon-corn muffins (awesome), some cherry scones (not my usual bag, but very tasty), and a ham & cheese croissant (good, though a bit drier than i prefer & not a huge serving, though we did split it).

i had hoped she would've brought a menu down, but alas, nope. so i can't vouch for any of the actual sandwiches, other than my friend claiming everything was great. i think she had some sort of roast beef w/carmelized onions, which she loved.

they were there on the 1st weekend they place had been open. they are only open until 3 pm, and there was still a line out the door at 3 pm when they were finishing up their late lunch.

they've already brought in more coolers to stock more food & are somewhat overwhelmed by the response. after the 1st week, every day saw an exponential increase in traffic...to the point of people already in line at 6 am upon opening.

i guess la grange was sorely lacking in this type of place?

anyhow, hope this helps. the owners are great people, i've always enjoyed the meals at maison & now emilio's, so please go give a peek at Knead and report back!

miss ellen

Hi!

So I made it to Knead Marketplace before Christmas and am just now getting around to writing up a little something! I actually ended up going for a take-out lunch the day I wrote the original post in this thread. It is a small little place that I would characterize as primarily a cafe, but it is also billed as a bakery and deli. They did have some baked goods and deli meats/cheeses for sale, but I would say that the bulk of the business as of now is as a cafe. It seemed to be trying to be like a smaller, suburban version of Milk and Honey (Division/Winchester).

All of the tables were full when I was there at about 1pm--although there aren't many tables!! There was also a small lunch counter toward the back of the place, which was empty. There was a small line waiting to order. Service overall was very slow--both to order and when waiting for the food. Hopefully this will improve over time as it is a very new operation and is very different from their other ventures. My only other quibble is that they make the sandwiches in plain sight. I'm sure this is a positive for most people, but it makes me hesitant because I'm a little bit of a germophobe and find myself watching like a hawk to see everything they do and touch (such as cell phones!). For me, I'd rather just not know/see!

I had the "Stinkin' Rose Beef" and a cup of mushroom soup--it was actually mushroom brie soup I think. The sandwich was pretty good overall. The bread was great, but didn't seem to be the "garlic bread" that was listed--not sure if the garlic was just very mild or what happened. The roast beef was VERY rare--a little more rare than I prefer actually. The carmelized onions were nice and the Stilton was very good. The mesclun greens were fine but didn't really add much to the sandwich. I did not get the side of horseradish sauce that I requested (which I didn't notice until I was back at work) and did find the sandwich a little bit dry. The soup, however, was excellent and is what will bring me back! It was a little creamy but not thick at all and was very flavorful.

They had menus and business cards that listed www.kneadmarketplace.com as their website, but the website is not up and running yet.

Overall I'm glad to see this place in LaGrange and will return--especially for some other soups!

CC

Unfortunately I don't have a scanner, but thought I could at least pass along the main points of the menu:

The menu had "Breakfast and Pasteries", "Salads and Specialties", "Specialty Sandwiches (all with "cutsie" names), and a section with all your options to "Create Your Own Sandwiches and Salads".

Breakfast includes granola/fruit, oatmeal, ham and gruyere quiche, lox/bagel, smoked pork butt/fried egg/carmelized onion sandwich, scones, muffins, croissants, etc.

Salads and Specialities includes: salmon cheesecake, goat cheese, red onion, parsley and beluga lentil salad, Emilio's garlic potato salad, seasonal slaw, cobb salad, tuna nicoise, frezelle salad, stromboli du jour, soup du jour

Some of the Specialty Sandwiches: "Barbara's Last Request" (pan seared steak, poached egg, hollandaise, romaine, ciabatta), "Stinkin' Rose Beef" (roast beef, carmelized onion, stilton, mesclun on garlic bread), "The Inside Job" (Stuffed homemade meatball sandwich with bolognese), "Tied up in Knots" (ham, honey mustard, cheddar, red onion and tomato on pretzel roll). Other sandwiches are based around: roasted turkey (with stuffing, cranberry etc.), breaded steak, pastrami, cheese/mushroom, crab/shrimp salad, salmon/egg salad, bacon/cheddar, grilled veges, chicken liver, seared tuna, italian sausage and a Po' Boy with a little of everything.

Create Your Own Sandwiches: $6.50 for once choice of bread, one meat, two veggies, two sauces, and one cheese. Create Your Own Salad: $6.50 for one choice of greens, three veggies, one cheese, one dressing and one "extra" (bacon bits, almonds, croutons, raisins, dried cranberries).

I stopped by Knead Marketplace after reading about it on here on Wednesday afternoon of last week. I got there around 1:30 pm and they didn't seem to be that busy (there were more employees than customers, strangely enough), but I probably missed their lunch rush. I liked the large selection of sandwiches -- they definitely seem to have a nice assortment of quality products, and they cut the meat to order; at least, they did when I was there, so.

I similarly ended up ordering the Stinkin' Roast Beef. I'll have to concur with cupcake that the "garlic" baguette they use for this sandwich is extremely subtle in the garlic department. Still, the bread was decent -- fresh and crunchy, and I really liked the combination of the beef with the Stilton and onions. I would get that again. They also have a nice selection of bottled sodas, not your mainstream brands. I had a GUS (Grown-Up Soda) in concord grape, which was, true to the label's description, "not too sweet."

It's not super-cheap -- the sandwich & soda (with a teeny side of coleslaw) was just under $10, but considering that I went to Einstein Bros today and spent just over $11 on a less-satisfying lunch, I guess I shouldn't complain!! After eating the sandwich, I was still a little hungry, so I brought a piece of carrot cake back to the office, which was excellent -- nutty, spicy, and creamy. Just the way I like it.

All in all, it's nice to have a place like this to go to once in a while. I am a huge sandwich buff, so any place that gives me another option in that department is a winner.

I stopped in yesterday - thinking it was just a bakery. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice deli inside.

Like the posters before me, I also had the Stinking Rose Beef. (Popular item, it seems.) Unlike the posters before me, my sammy had a significant garlicy goodness and the beef cooked through but not dry.

The chicken noodle soup was delicious and those might have been homemade noodles in there.

Lastly, the raspberry bread pudding...
Ah, the raspberry bread pudding.
Let's just say, I'll be going back soon.