LTH North Lunch June 23, 11:30 - Maria's Bakery

Lunch on Wednesday, June 23 at the new location of GNR Maria's Bakery, 410 Sheridan rd, in scenic downtown Highwood. Maria is going to put together a selection of sandwiches and hot dishes for our dining pleasure, perhaps followed by a few desserts. Maria's is a small spot, so we will be limited to 12 people. Not sure on price yet, but it should be $20 or less, all in.


Attending:

WillG + 2
Cathy1
Ronnie_Suburban
Helen
LHS
Boudreaulicious
Steve Z

Yup!

Hi,

Please add Helen to the list.

Can't wait!

Regards,

Hi,

Please count me in.

Thanks.

Me too!!

I'm in.

HI,

Pencil in a plus one who lives in Fort Sheridan who is in Europe presently. He has wanted to come to prior events.

Regards,

Please count me in, too.

Tasted the iris that Stevez brought to Toons once, and they were delicious. The bartender kept sneaking over for more.

The eggplant parmesan is what has me intrigued. One of my favorite dish in the world.

Not certain yet, but I'm hoping to make it.

petite_gourmande wrote:The eggplant parmesan is what has me intrigued. One of my favorite dish in the world.

I agree. The eggplant is far and away my favorite savory dish that Maria turns out. Do you think we can request that she has some heated up for us? It's normally an uncooked togo item.

HI,

KNock off +1, he won't be around.

The last time I was at Maria's, she had several trays of food heated to serve and eat. There were several lasagnas to choose from, though not all were presented. Will could suggest she have her eggplant parm available to help grease the wheels.

Regards,
Cathy

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

KNock off +1, he won't be around.

The last time I was at Maria's, she had several trays of food heated to serve and eat. There were several lasagnas to choose from, though not all were piresented. Will could suggest she have her eggplant parm available to help grease the wheels.

Regards,
Cathy

That would be nice. I like her lasagne well enough, but the eggplant is something special.

HI,

Earlier, eggplant parm was not always available. She initially made it only when the Italian eggplants she prefers were available. I agree with your earlier thought, it is best to ask for this dish in advance and hope it is available.

Since she opened the new place, there is food hot ready to eat instead of by special request or heat at home.

Regards,

Just a heads up to my fellow diners, I'm not an eggplant parm type of guy. So if I take a pass on it, please don't give me the evil eye. I'll try not have a hissy fit.

I was going to request the eggplant parm sandwich, but I will request the regular eggplant parm instead. For Dave's sake, maybe not both. the other thing I was going to request is the prosciutto crudo sandwich. If anyone has any other specifics, let me know, otherwise I will let Maria figure it out.

-Will

Please take copious notes.
I have been driving up ever since I discovered Maria, and I am always overwhelmed by the choices when there. I have been leaving with like 60.00 of food at a time <grin>.
Yesterday had the veggie lasagne (can't think of the name) which is layered with SPINACH not noodles....to die for!
Calzone were stellar (kids liked em too).
I love how when ordering cannoli, they are made fresh- right on the spot custom to your order!

No one compares to Maria!
She is the most pleasant, hospitable, prolific business owner I have ever encountered.
She could write a book on successful proprietorship.

I think that the veggie lasagna is called Timbale or something like that.

Is anyone else in? Katie, do you know for sure? I told Maria that i would give her a final number on Monday due to the seating issues.

Thanks, Will

I think I'd better say no. I had a job interview on Thursday, but until I get a job, I'd better eat in. Hope to make it next time.

Will - I sent you a PM, but I can't make it either.

Please post pics and stories for second-hand experience.

Many many apologies.

Hi,

I said yes to two projects at the same time. I will be sending my Mother aka Cathy1 in my place. She will make me very jealous later with her report.

Regards,

Hi,

My appointment was postponed due to lightening.

Since I cannot uninvite my Mother, we are coming together. I just called Maria's to check if the was ok. We will see you en masse in an hour.

Regards,

Please post photos of the eggplant parm!

With the crazy/annoying day I had today, lunch at Maria's with fellow LTHers was a much-needed respite. We got to try several items and if not for the fact that we were stuffed, they would have kept bringing stuff out for us . . .


Platter of Prosciutto Crudo Sandwiches



Sandwich, up close



Platter of assorted meats and cheeses
Not made in-house but thoughtfully chosen and assembled.



Caprese Salad
Not quite tomato season yet but the aromatic basil, creamy mozzarella and fruity olive oil made up for it.



Arancini, Croquettes and Calzones
Assorted fillings; all quite delectable.



Meat Lasagna



Eggplant Parmesan



Mini Canoli
Filled to order and very delicious.



Cheese Logs
One of my favorite pastries at Maria's.



Lemon Meringue Pie
Very flaky and tasty crust.



Iris
Ultra-rich ricotta filling.



Loaf of Rustic Bread
A beautiful, hollow-thumping loaf that demonstrates Maria's many talents: pastries, prepared foods and breads.



Our host, the ever-congenial Maria

I really enjoyed this lunch. The food was very good and the company surpassed it, of course. I was happy for the opportunity to try a few items I'd never tried before, too. I especially enjoyed the sandwich, the arancine and the calzones.

I have to say that the eggplant parmesan, which has always been transcendent when I've bought it to-go, wasn't quite at the level it usually is. I think this had to do with the fact that instead of heating it at home in an individual pan with one ready time, it was served to our larger group in the restaurant, which is not its normal service mode. It didn't translate so well. I'm guessing that the people in our party who took to-go orders of it home had the typical stellar results with it. Still, it was very good, as were the other items we were served. As close as Maria's is to my office, I really need to have lunch there more often.

Thanks, Will, for putting this together. It was very much appreciated.

=R=

Oh Man! I might have even nibbled at the eggplant parm. Stupid client.

Lovely lunch with great company! Highlites for me were the prosciutto crudo sandwiches, potato croquettes, meat lasagne and the crunchy pastry with the cheese filling. I'm still full just thinking about it!! Took a box of assorted Maria's cookies to a meeting afterwards and the guys kept stopping the meeting to get to the cookies--hilarious!

Will--hope your friend finds a buyer for his Crossroads tix!

Thanks for organizing. Hope to attend another LTH North lunch (at Avli???) soon!

ronnie_suburban wrote:I have to say that the eggplant parmesan, which has always been transcendent when I've bought it to-go, wasn't quite at the level it usually is. I think this had to do with the fact that instead of heating it at home in an individual pan with one ready time, it was served to our larger group in the restaurant, which is not its normal service mode. It didn't translate so well. I'm guessing that the people in our party who took to-go orders of it home had the typical stellar results with it.

I have to agree with you on that, Ronnie. This isn't the first time that served in-house eggplant parm has disappointed. Somehow it's not the same dish as what they sell in the to go containers. I think the two main differences are that the in house version is thinner by half and the cheese/sauce ratio is different than what you get in the to go container. Although Marie cautioned me that she didn't use her normal Sicilian eggplants for this batch, the container I took home and heated up for dinner was as good as ever and was a solid hit with the Chow Poodle. If anything, the normal "black" eggplant wasn't quite as toothsome as the Sicilian, but it was a small difference and not enough to ruin the stellar quality of the to go eggplant parm.

Other than that, I'll agree that it was a great lunch on every front, and the salad caprese had me wishing tomato season would get here quickly.