Longitud 315 - Highwood

AlexG wrote:A new spot in Highwood next to Isaac and Moishe's Deli in the former Cooling Station ice cream location on Waukegan Ave. called Longitud 315. Sign in the window promises a new fusion of South American cuisine.

315 Waukegan Ave.,
Highwood, IL 60040
847-926-7495

http://www.longitud315.com

Hours:
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4:30pm to 10:00pm.
Saturdays from 10:00am to 10:00pm
Sundays from 8:30am to 8:00pm (Brunch from 8:30am to 3:00pm)

Longitud 315 is a refreshing new addition to the North Shore. Cuisine-wise I would say it was similar to, though a bit more upscale, to Las Tablas and La Fonda (on Broadway). When first seated you are presented with a giant basket of crispy, not at all greasy, thin cut plantains. The plantains are meant to be dipped into the accompanying chimichurri sauce. In addition to the plantains the chef brought out a small portion of arepas...gratis...nice touch !!! For an appetizer, we split a small portion of crab cakes. Although delicious, portion size could be a bit bigger. Entrees more than made up for the size of the appetizer. My wife and I split a Churassco platter (skirt steak, chicken & sausage) and a shredded pork that had been braised in banana leaves (although not listed as such, essentially Cochinita pibil). Both entrees were substantial and very well prepared. I am not sure if Longitud 315 fits the demographic of it's location but I am hoping they do well. For now, they are BYOB and are also offering a promotion via their Yelp listing. I'd love to see this place succeed. It would save me the drive into Chicago in my never ending search for diverse food.

I am posting this in the "openings" section, but think that a separate thread should be started under the restaurant's name.

Longitud 315
315 Waukegan Ave.
Highwood, IL 60040
847-926-7495

http://www.longitud315.com

Jerry D wrote:I am posting this in the "openings" section, but think that a separate thread should be started under the restaurant's name.

We went ahead and split your post off to begin a new thread.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

We ate there Saturday night. Loved the plantain chips and areas. I had the Delmar Sampler which was 3 types of ceviche. Someone had the pulled pork and someone else had a vegetarian dish with squash. Everything was fresh and delicious. The waitstaff and owner were very attentive without hovering. No corkage fee at this BYOB. We sent a few minutes chatting with Chef Tony who credits hs grandmother with his recipes. A must try.

Can someone here comment on the stems there? Heading over there in a week or so with another coupe, and we will be bringing some decent wines. Just wondering if we should be bringing stems, too.

mattshafferHP wrote:Can someone here comment on the stems there?

Stems = glassware ?

Yes, sorry. Some BYO places have atrocious wine glasses, which is no problem, as in those cases I will happily bring my own. I am simply planning ahead rather than finding out at my first visit and then bringing going forward.

Anyone been recently? Planning on going Saturday night.

AlexG--

Had a very enjoyable lunch here recently. Thoroughly enjoyed the arepas, humitas, empanadas and diablitos (everything we ordered). Very pleasant place and very helpful staff. Definitely will return to explore the rest of the menu.

Enjoy! Enjoy!

Thanks for the intel, Jim. Looking forward to dinner there.

Had dinner there tonight, my first time - MrsEdB60035's 2nd, our daughter's first. The space is low-key, but nicely done in such a way you don't remember the ice cream shop that was there before. A little surprised by the price tags on some of the art on the walls, and that the bench of our table basically had you use one of the prints as a back rest... but ok. The low tables are larger than normal, maybe to accommodate the sharing-sized plates that come with frequency.

As others report, dinner starts with plantain chips ("gluten-free!") and chimichurri, excellent stuff. We had arepas, empenadas, ceviche, and the summer vegetable napoleon. I wished the ceviche was cut in slightly larger segments of fish, and I could do without the bell peppers that seem de rigeur in that dish (we had the mahi mahi with mango one), but the arepas were excellent and the empenadas generously-sized and with a nice accompanying sauce. Our little one devoured two chicken empenadas. The vegetable plate was nicely presented, with all the veggies grilled well, not a ton of flavor but just a nice refreshing plate of squash/portabellos/eggplant/zucchini/green tomato with a couple of grilled bread slices and some baby potatoes. The wine list is reasonable and geographically appropriate to the cuisine, with a lot of malbecs in the reds. Corkage if you BYO is $15.

Not about to make the place a weekly destination, the food is a little heavy for that, but am very happy to see some real South American food on a plate in the 600xx suburbs.

Just had lunch there with a friend from South America who dines at this place regularly and had recommended it. Excellent meal, with a lot of intense flavors and interesting foods.

I notice up thread that someone said it was BYO -- but my friend said their liquor license was recently approved, so you might ask about whether they still encourage bringing in wine. (I just noticed the $15 corkage fee mentioned in the previous post, which suggests that they are hoping you'll buy their wine.)

The fried plantain strips and garlicky chimichurri sauce that are automatically brought to the table were fun and tasty. I had only recently learned that keeping the skins on when one fries plantain strips makes them curl, so I enjoyed seeing that in person.

They have redone the menu, and my friend was disappointed to see humitas was gone. However, the sampler plate of four different empanadas had her declaring that this was heaven (to which I readily agreed). The four varieties of empanada are Colombian (shredded beef and potato), Brazilian (ground beef, olives, cream cheese), Argentinian (shredded chicken), and Venezuelan (manchego, red pepper, and choclo). All four were different visually, as well as for filling, with a couple of different wrappers and varied decorations, so that it was easy to identify which was which, even before biting into them. You can order these by four (one of each type) or 8 (depending on whether it's an appetiser/small plate or main).

We were going the small-plate route, to try a variety of dishes. The hongos capados were yummy -- baby bella mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and green onions. With these (and a few other items) you can order 2, 4, or 6. Arepas Doña Ynes were nice -- white corn and cheese cakes topped with marinated shredded pork, avocado, and red pepper cream sauce. Only minor complaint is that the topping overwhelmed the arepa.

Finally, we ordered 6 of the grilled mussels. These are the largest mussels I've ever seen (my friend said they're from New Zealand). They are grilled over green apple wood. (I later saw the brick oven and grill in the kitchen -- easily visible if one makes a trip to the restroom -- and the maitre d' noted my interest and said it was a custom-built, wood-burning oven/grill.) My friend thought the mussels were a bit overcooked, but I don't normally care that much for mussels, and I loved these. So who knows whether they're perfect or ruined. I loved them -- huge, fat, smokey from the wood-burning grill, squeeze of lime. What's not to like?

People were eager to please, service was good -- and the place was empty. (That said, the notice that they are now open for lunch has simply been written by hand into the margin of the posted hours sign, and it's not particularly obvious.) Hope they get busier. I want some more of those empanadas!