Charcoal Oven in Skokie
Charcoal Oven in Skokie
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Charcoal Oven in Skokie
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Post #1 - January 5th, 2005, 11:55 amAnyone ever been to Charcoal Oven? It's a tiny joint on Golf Rd. just east of Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. From the outside it looks like a 1950s supper club with outfit influences. I also appears to be lacking many customers usually. Anyone?
Charcoal Oven
4400 Golf Road
Skokie, IL
847-675-8062
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Post #2 - January 5th, 2005, 11:57 amI've been wondering the same thing, after driving by this spot hundreds of times. Never looks very busy, which has kept me from trying it.I exist in Chicago, but I live in New Orleans.
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Post #3 - January 5th, 2005, 1:02 pmI haven't been there in probably 12 years, and that was for a departmental lunch.
Food was very good, the hosts were extremely gracious, offering home-grown tomatoes and raspberries to departing guests, which someone else told me they did regularly (although unlikely to happen this time of year).
But it has been a long, long time.
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Post #4 - January 5th, 2005, 1:14 pmMy experience is of about the same vintage, perhaps ten years ago. Good food, delightful service. Can't remember the specifics about the food after this much time, sorry.
At dinner our going away gift was a loaf of bread straight out of the oven.-- fed
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Post #5 - January 5th, 2005, 2:08 pmI remember driving by as a kid, on the trip from Glenview to the dentist in Evanston. Finally tried it about 8 years ago. Vaguely recollected impressions: food was good, better than I expected, with a slight Italian bent; service was excellent, the host gave us a bag of his homegrown peppers in multiple colors; maybe a little overpriced; and if someone were to tell me it was connected with the outfit (whatever that might be) I wouldn't be surprised.
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Post #6 - January 5th, 2005, 2:37 pmnr706 wrote:Vaguely recollected impressions: food was good, better than I expected, with a slight Italian bent; service was excellent, the host gave us a bag of his homegrown peppers in multiple colors; maybe a little overpriced; and if someone were to tell me it was connected with the outfit (whatever that might be) I wouldn't be surprised.
That's a pretty crappy thing to suggest even vaguely about people without any real basis.
What's makes you think they're connected, their generosity or their excellent service?
[Edited in response to ChicagoMike's legitmate complaint appearing herebelow.]Last edited by Antonius on January 5th, 2005, 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
- aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
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Na sir is na seachain an cath.
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Post #7 - January 5th, 2005, 2:49 pmAntonius wrote:ChgoMike wrote:Anyone ever been to Charcoal Oven?... From the outside it looks like a 1950s supper club with outfit influences.nr706 wrote:Vaguely recollected impressions: food was good, better than I expected, with a slight Italian bent; service was excellent, the host gave us a bag of his homegrown peppers in multiple colors; maybe a little overpriced; and if someone were to tell me it was connected with the outfit (whatever that might be) I wouldn't be surprised.
That's a pretty crappy thing to suggest even vaguely about people without any real basis.
What's makes you think they're connected, their generosity or their excellent service?
I wasn't saying there was a connection; you're right, I have no basis to make that assertion. But I do distinctly remember getting a different vibe there than I've gotten anywhere else; it felt a little bit like crashing a private party - maybe the place was filled with regulars that night and I wasn't one of them. I meant no slight to the Charcoal Oven, or to any outfit anywhere (with the possible exception of that red outfit my SO got at Nordstrom's down the block in Old Orchard).
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Post #8 - January 5th, 2005, 3:17 pmAnd that's a pretty crappy thing to suggest that one made a crappy suggestion when infact no such crappy suggestion was made. Personally, I was describing its outside appearance and conjured up an effective image. Allegations were clearly not attached.
As for the inside of the place and its occupants, who knows? That's why I asked the question.
Yours, crappily...
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Post #9 - January 5th, 2005, 3:37 pmnr706:
It's a reasonable observation to say a place gave you a weird feeling but I think it goes too far to suggest criminal connexions without basis. I've certainly gone into many places that have a weird insider-vibe, where you know you don't belong without anyone saying or doing anything in particular to make that clear. Whether any of those places had something sinister going on, I do not know, but I have always tended to assume just that I was intruding in a space that was only formally or theoretically a public space.
I'll be posting a detailed write-up of a business that has struck a lot of folks as being weird in that way and will hopefully demonstrate that the weird vibe is really quite understandable if one knows the broader context.
AntoniusAlle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
- aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
________
Na sir is na seachain an cath.
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Post #10 - January 5th, 2005, 3:38 pmChgoMike... please see edited post above.
This post will self destruct in 20 seconds (or so)...
AAlle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
- aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
________
Na sir is na seachain an cath.
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Post #11 - January 5th, 2005, 3:54 pmAntonius wrote:nr706:
It's a reasonable observation to say a place gave you a weird feeling but I think it goes too far to suggest criminal connexions without basis.
I don't think anyone has actually suggested "connections" exist, and I believe you're the first one to use the word "criminal" in this thread. But I look forward to your next post - although I've never expressed it before, I've learned a lot from your previous posts - I'd say they're typically meaty, but I'm afraid I'd be skirting around the edges of a bad pun if I were to say that.
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Post #12 - January 5th, 2005, 4:37 pmChgoMike wrote:Anyone ever been to Charcoal Oven? It's a tiny joint on Golf Rd. just east of Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. From the outside it looks like a 1950s supper club with outfit influences. I also appears to be lacking many customers usually. Anyone?
I havent, but a friend+wife have - they were hungry and saw it, and stopped
in. Said it was "old fashioned", I suppose that means supper-club-type. And
they said that there were quite a few people there when they stopped in,
but they didnt think they saw a single person under about 70 years of age
(theyre in their early 30s themselves), and figured it was basically a
hang-out for regulars whove probably all been going there for a while.
Again, this is all second-hand - so blame them if youve been there and
disagree
c8w
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Post #13 - January 5th, 2005, 4:47 pmSince this thread needs a little lightening and levity, reading c8w's description reminded me of a post about Myron and Phil's in nearby Lincolnwood:
Gwiv April 23, 2003 wrote:The Mayor of Chicago Chowhound, Vital Information, and I have discussed this at length, but I thought I should clarify just a bit, Da Mayor's [edited] makes Thursday nights at M & P sound a bit untoward. [smile]
Thursday night at Myron and Phil's is unofficial pick-up night at the bar, but not just any pick-up night, it's older Jewish guy with a bad rug pick-up night. {smile} 10-12 years ago I had a friend who fit the M and P Thursday night profile to a tee, late 60's, widower, drove a caddy, owned a house in Skokie (with no kids or grandkids still living there). He was a Myron and Phil's god, that man had more moves than John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, the women of M & P flocked around him as soon as he walked in the door. It was really something.
I had the pleasure of going to M & P with him on Thursday night a few times, not often though as it was not, and won't be for quite a while, my age group and I still have all of my own hair, but this was not simply a case of my friend being personable, which he was, but there were at least 12-15 Guys With Bad Rugs at M & P the few times I went to lend moral support to my friend on Thursday's, not that he needed support.
I am not sure if Thursday night at M & P is still meet and greet night or if there are still women there yearning to meet GWBR, but I will say that I was quite surprised at the number of pretty good looking, younger than you'd expect, women who just 'happened' to be be at M & P's bar with a girlfriend or three on Thursday nights.
Maybe a Thursday night M & P outing is in order, not just for the cultural anthropology aspect either, they do, as Jeff said, have damn good chopped liver and excellent bread. I should note that I have not been to M & P on a Thursday for years, for all I know Thursdays is now Bubbie's showing pictures of their grandkids in the bar night, not Guy's with Bad Rug pick-up night. Come to think of it, every night is grandparent's showing pictures of their grandkids night at M & P. {smile}
Enjoy,
Gary
Myron and Phil's
3900 W. Devon Ave.
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-677-6663Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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Post #14 - January 5th, 2005, 5:18 pmI've eaten at the Charcoal Oven 2 or 3 times the past couple years and had an excellent meal each time. A dinner includes their warm garlic rolls, an appetizer (very tasty pastichio each time I went) standard green salad with fantastic creamy garlic dressing, and thin sliced fried potatoes. I always get the Dover Sole sauteed in garlic and olive oil and haven't been disappointed.
My companions have tried the steaks, lamb chops and scampi and no one has complained. The price is a little steep although to me the quality was close to the cost.
It is dark and hasn't been updated in quite a while but as mentioned above the owner is a real character and the bag of tomatoes we received were really good. He says he grows them on his farm downstate. There's never more than 3-4 tables occupied when I've been there so a quiet dining experience can be had.
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Post #15 - January 6th, 2005, 6:53 pmLast fall, before a performance at Northlight Theater at Center for Performing Arts, decided to try Charcoal Oven, which I had been curious about for years. Absolutely ghastly experience. Place was dark, not well populated. Hostess/only waitperson must have had prison guard work in her background. Got menus, looked them over. Decided to avoid what appeared to be overpriced (especially given the setting) specials. Informed by unpleasant hostess/server that almost every dish other than specials were not available. Finished our glasses of wine and quickly exited. There were several incoming guests (probably turned away by nearby Daily Grill because of special one man show by Frank Gorshin as the late George Burns, also at the Center at the time); really wanted to warn them to turn back while the turning was good. Went from this awful place to an almost equally unsatisfactory experince at Edwardo's. Simply not enough decent places to eat in that area.
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Post #16 - January 7th, 2005, 10:19 amI don't have any connection to the Charcoal Oven nor will I ever likely eat there. But, Beth, I don't see how you can deem a place "ghastly" when you didn't even give it a chance by ordering anything there.
Perhaps your tolerance for the previously mentioned dated interior is less than that of others. However, if I judged a restaurant by the age of its interior (or by the smoking habits of its patrons and employees) I would never have even bothered to try a jewel like Sabatino's. That would have been my loss.
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Post #17 - January 7th, 2005, 10:31 amSomehow I think Charcoal Oven was the perfect place for people who had just been to see Frank Gorshin as George Burns.Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
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Post #18 - January 7th, 2005, 10:43 amChuckle
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Post #19 - January 7th, 2005, 11:11 amAbsolutely ghastly experience. Simply not enough decent places to eat in that area.
The Cheesecake Factory
374 Old Orchard Center, Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 329-8077
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Post #20 - January 7th, 2005, 11:30 amPita Inn
3910 Dempster
Skokie, IL
847-677-0211
Barnum & Bagel
4700 Dempster
Skokie, IL
847-676-4466
Larsa's
3600 Block of Dempster
Skokie, IL
Poochie's
3700 Block of Dempster
Skokie, ILSteve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #21 - January 7th, 2005, 11:51 amEJ's Place
10027 Skokie Blvd.
847-933-9800
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Post #22 - January 7th, 2005, 12:06 pmCannot speak from personal experience but perhaps someone else can.
Opart Thai
143 Skokie Blvd.
Wilmette
847-853-9898
Is on the West side of the street
Is EJ's what was previously Great Godfrey Daniels?Last edited by hattyn on January 7th, 2005, 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #23 - January 7th, 2005, 1:01 pmLet's not forget about Hub's for great Gyros ("You like-a da juice? Da juice is good, no?")
Hub's
3727 Dempster St.
(847) 673-9409
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Post #24 - January 7th, 2005, 1:38 pmhattyn wrote:Cannot speak from personal experience but perhaps someone else can.
Opart Thai
143 Skokie Blvd.
Wilmette
847-853-9898
Is on the West side of the street
Is EJ's what was previously Great Godfrey Daniels?
It that Opart a sibling of the Opart Thai House on Western near Lincoln Square?
And, yes, EJ's was Great Godfrey Daniels. I've never been very impressed with it, though - not particularly creative menu and a bit overpriced. But I do like Don's Fishmarket, about a block south of that theater on Skokie Blvd. Also, in the strip mall across the street from the theater is a reasonably good Ruby of Siam ... and it's BYOB.
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Post #25 - January 7th, 2005, 2:43 pmnr706 wrote:hattyn wrote:Is EJ's what was previously Great Godfrey Daniels?
And, yes, EJ's was Great Godfrey Daniels. I've never been very impressed with it, though - not particularly creative menu and a bit overpriced. But I do like Don's Fishmarket, about a block south of that theater on Skokie Blvd. Also, in the strip mall across the street from the theater is a reasonably good Ruby of Siam ... and it's BYOB.
I would call EJ's a good, overpriced steakhouse. Definitely not destination-worthy, but when I'm in the Old Orchard area, it's in my top 3 dinner choices. I believe it was started by a member of the Gene & Georgetti clan (son? nephew?). It has a woodsy hunting-lodge feel to it, and they serve a lot of steaks and home fries ala G&G.
I am not a fan of G&G, primarily because of price and service experience, but the service at EJ's has always been top-notch and the only time I've walked out disappointed was when I didn't order a steak.
Best,
EC
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Post #26 - January 7th, 2005, 3:36 pmDengeo's (best gyros and barbecue chicken)
3301 Main St.
Skokie, IL
(847) 677-7911
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Post #27 - January 7th, 2005, 3:40 pmThey are definitely getting "downtown" prices at E.J.'s. I have tried both the pork chops and the skirt steak entrees and have enjoyed both, but there is something terribly wrong with skirt steak being a $25 entree. Service has always been excellent---They have a very professional waitstaff.
My favorite incarnation of that building was when it was "Chances R" back in the 70's
(E.J. in fact, is E.J. Lenzi--a G+G grandson.)
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Post #28 - January 7th, 2005, 5:19 pm... and before that, wasn't it a Ground Round?
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Post #29 - January 28th, 2005, 4:03 amI was last at Charcoal Oven about two years ago, but I'd be very surprised if it's changed at all. The menu is simple and old-fashioned, but very well prepared: prime steaks, fresh seafood and Greek specialties. Dinners include a complimentary square of patitsio; a fresh salad; hot, house-made rolls; vegetables and crisp Saratoga chips. The desserts are house-made as well, and patrons are usually sent home with a bag of tomatoes "from a Greek farmer."
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.
Charcoal Oven
4400 Golf Road, Skokie
847/ 675-8062
I would not recommend E.J.'s Place, where the service I've experienced has been egregious -- typical: the waiter ignored us for 20 minutes, and the walked off in the middle of taking our order and didn't come back for 15 minutes! -- and the food is only adequate. The Wilmette Opart is a hole-in-the-wall with blander and pricier food than in Lincoln Square.
Other places within walking distance of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts include Don's Fish Market in the Comfort Inn (I have not been there since the hotel changed chains and don't know if the restaurant has changed, but it used to be good); Ruby of Siam in Fashion Square (quite good); IHOP; and a variety of eateries inOld Orchard.
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Post #30 - June 2nd, 2006, 3:51 pmfirst of all, i have eaten all over (its my business) and i find ej's to be one of the best restaurants i have ever eaten at, w/ the best service, period- i always feel welcome there no matter what.
but if you aren't convinced his website: www.ejsplaceskokie.com is definitely worth looking at, it gives you an idea of the adequately high prices but has amazing pictures of the food. when you put your mouse over the small picture next to a menu item it pops up larger. its the sort of attention to detail that ej is known for and makes his food exceptional.
he uses the best quality ingredients and i know through my cooking experience.
also, his dad's place erie cafe downtown is killer if you like the supper club atmosphere.
