Chaihanna and other North suburb recomendations needed

First of all, this is my first post on LTH, so hello everyone! My brother is in the process of moving from central Michigan to the Buffalo Grove area, I am going to be helping him move in this weekend and am looking for some dining recommendations. We are going to be pretty busy moving this trip so we probably will not make it downtown, but we don't mind driving a little ways. We are both in our 20's and love trying new foods. From my searching Chaihanna definitely sounds like something we would like to try. It seems to have a pretty loyal following on this forum, can you guys (and gals) recommend some of there must try dishes? There is only going to be two of us, but we like to share and get a variety so we will probably get 1-2 apps, 1-2 salads and 2-3 main dishes. Neither of us have ever tried Uzbeki food so recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Secondly, can anyone think of any other worthy spots in the area? We are looking for breakfast, lunch and late night places, any input would be great! Anything that could be considered a "Chicago specialty" is an added bonus but we are open to anything. thanks!

If you like garlic, don't miss the Chicken Tabac (pressed under weights as it cooks). Also, the pickled watermelon is something you won't find at many other places.

Good eats in BG:
http://www.diorarestaurant.com/
http://www.indiahousebg.com/
If you like deep dish pizza - http://www.loumalnatis.com/Locations/Details.aspx?ID=2
Chicago-style hot dogs etc.- http://www.michaelsbuffalogrove.com/

It depends on how far your brother wants to drive, but within a 10 or 15 mile radius of Buffalo Grove, you can find just about any food form you can imagine -- not just in restaurants, but also in fabulous ethnic grocery stores.

For example, within 1 block of Chaihanna, you have two great Russian delis/grocers and America's Market, where you can get specialty items from all over the US.

In Wheeling, just east of BG on Dundee Rd (Chaihanna is at the corner of Dundee and Buffalo Grove Road, hence the focus on places on Dundee Rd), you've got Carniceria Jimenez, which is a large Hispanic grocery store with a nice café serving very good food, Krystyna's Grocery and Deli, which specializes in Eastern European foods and has a lot of ready-made carry out items, and, back to the restaurant category, on 83, just off Dundee, there's Pita Inn, an absolutely great place for cheap Middle Eastern food.

And west on Dundee, you have Le Titi de Paris, should he crave French food. http://www.letitideparis.com/ -- there is a thread on Le Titi, plus their website offers info on wine dinners, classes (even for kids, lunch bargains, and various other offerings of this nice French spot.

Once your brother knows the names of suburbs, he can search this site for recommendations, too, because there have been a lot of threads on where to shop and eat, either by suburb or by food category. Korean, Spanish Tapas, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Japanese, and a host of others are are within 1/2 an hour drive of any point in Buffalo Grove.

And tell him "welcome to the area" for us. We look forward to inviting him to the community (and welcome to you, as well, since this is your first post).

All of the recommendations given so far are well worth the visits. In addition, for some informal places, I would suggest Dengeos on Dundee Road just west of Buffalo Grove Road for gyros, Weiner Take All at the northeast corner of Deerfield Rd. and Weiland for hot dogs and Big Ed's BBQ in North Chicago (about 30 minutes north on I94) for great tips and spare ribs.

Dengeos
195 W. Dundee Rd.
Buffalo Grove, IL
(847) 520-0004

Weiner Take All
1117 Weiland Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL
(847) 634-2325

Big Ed's BBQ
2501 Martin Luther King Junior Drive
North Chicago, IL
(847) 578-1901

Good recommendations so far. I'll add a few...

On the "nicer" end, I'd recommend Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Avli Estiatorio in Winnetka and Inovasi in Lake Bluff.

On the cheaper end, I'd suggest Barnaby's Family Inn in Northbrook, Wilmette Chuck Wagon, Sarkis in (north) Evanston, Pita Inn in Skokie and Wheeling, Cho Jung in Glenview, Kabul House in Skokie, Golden Chopstick in Morton Grove and Pizano's Pizza in Glenview.

More later, I hope . . .

=R=

Prairie Grass Cafe
601 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062-2813
(847) 205-4433

Avli Estiatorio
566 Chestnut St
Winnetka, IL 60093-2228
(847) 446-9300

Inovasi
28 E Center Ave
Lake Bluff, IL 60044
(847) 295-1000

Barnaby's Family Inn
960 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062-4005
(847) 498-3900

Wilmette Chuck Wagon
1120 Central Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091-2650
(847) 256-0120

Sarkis
2632 Gross Point Rd
Evanston, IL 60201-4965
(847) 328-9703

Pita Inn
3910 Dempster St
Skokie, IL 60076-2236
(847) 677-0211
&
122 S Elmhurst Rd
Wheeling, IL 60090-4508
(847) 808-7733

Cho Jung
952 Harlem Ave
Glenview IL 60025-4275
(847) 724-1111

Kabul House
4949 Oakton St
Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 674-3830

Golden Chopstick
5707 Dempster St
Morton Grove, IL 60053-3041
(847) 470-0066

Pizano's Pizza
1808 Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL 60025-2112
(847) 486-1777

For a "nice" meal, Michael in Winnetka.

For steaks, Pete Miller's in Wheeling.

Also in Wheeling, if you're into wine, Cooper's Hawk serves pretty good American food. They have a wine-tasting room where you can try their wines (the winery is in Orland Park), and markups in the dining room are quite reasonable.

For breakfast/brunch, Walker Brothers in Lincolnshire to the northeast and Arlington Heights to the southwest. (Expect long lines on weekend mornings.)

Arlington Heights has several additional worthwhile places: Salsa 17 for creative Mexican (great moles), altThai for Thai, and Yanni's for Greek.

Wow, lots of choices, thanks for all the responses. Not going to set anything in stone, but as of right now I'm thinking Lou Malnati's followed by Firkin in Libertyville one night (we are both big craft beer lovers) and either Wiener Takes All or Michaels for lunch and Chaihanna for dinner the other day. Would either dog place stand out as better for a Chicago style hot dog?

Well, If we're taking him that far afield (I was trying to stay near BG), then I'll add a vote for Tapas Gitana in Northfield.

Great tapas in an attractive location.

http://tapasgitana.com/

310 Happ Road, Northfield, IL 60093
(847) 784-9300

nickwin wrote: Would either dog place stand out as better for a Chicago style hot dog?

IMO - Michael's

Dave148 wrote:

nickwin wrote: Would either dog place stand out as better for a Chicago style hot dog?

IMO - Michael's

Agreed.

=R=

There's also Superdawg in Wheeling just south of Dundee on Milwaukee Ave.

imsscott wrote:There's also Superdawg in Wheeling just south of Dundee on Milwaukee Ave.

Not quite the standard classic Chicago dog, but an interesting variation, if you've got the cash.

JoelF wrote:

imsscott wrote:There's also Superdawg in Wheeling just south of Dundee on Milwaukee Ave.

Not quite the standard classic Chicago dog, but an interesting variation, if you've got the cash.

I'd say it's not even the standard Superdawg experience. I've been there a few times and for whaever reason(s), foodwise, this location doesn't really measure up to the original.

=R=

Superdawg - Wheeling
333 South Milwaukee Ave
Wheeling, IL 60090-5020
(847) 459-1900