Northfield?

I am headed out to sign a lease on a new apartment. I'm excited about it as it's great, 3BR cac, sunroom, private rooftop deck, in unit hookups for washer and dryer, and across the street from the forest preserve and bike trail!

The fact I will be living above a great butcher shop had nothing to do with my decision to rent

It's in Northfield right at the Edens Expy. exit and I'm thinking cheap eats are going to be few and far between. Any suggestions? I remember Seuls' having a decent burger but I think I will be relegated to picking food up on my way back in from the city. Well that and cooking at home on my (included) gas grill

You are close enough to Charlie Beinlich's, Hackneys and Meier's Tavern to fulfill ay burger needs you may have.

Congratulations, Northfield is a nice location. You can take that bike trail up to Superdawg or down to the Botanical Gardens, and with a little detour over to Ravinia.
I'll second the above choices as well as Barnabys, Praire Grass, and A Milano.

Congrats on the move! I envy your proximity to Reagan's Meats. I'm on the fly right now, so I'll be back with a few more ideas and info for the places I'm listing now, later on.

Akai Hana on Lake Avenue in Wimette turns out very good Japanese and their sushi is fresh and consistent.

Definitely love Barnaby's unique, corn meal-assisted, ultra-thin crust pies. Seul's has great chili and daily soups, decent sandwiches (turkey club), very good buffalo wings and respectable salads.

Just south of Seul's is 3-Tarts Bakery which would be considered outstanding -- for breads and pastries -- in just about any venue. Tasty, unique sandwiches and home-made soups are available at lunch.

Across the street from there is Tapas Gitana which used to be Meson Sabika. They turn out excellent tapas, paella and other Spanish fare. It's surpringly good, relative to its location but it would stack up with just about any place...NOT cheap, though.

Opart Thai, which is one of my faves, has a carry-out location on Skokie Blvd, about 1 mile south of Lake Avenue.

A Milano has been closed for a few months.

Again, back with more later.

=R=

And I thought you were going to become a major devotee of Trattoria D.O.C.....

heh, I looked at the DOC menu and while it looks good, I dont think I can afford to become a regular. I can still visit the old 'hood!

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll be trying them.

Sorry to hear about A Milano's closing. I thought it was pretty good with a couple of real winners on the menu.
I've been going to Seuls for thirty years and have had at most, a few bites of pizza. Maybe it's time to step out and try a meal there. At least I won't need a designated driver to get home.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Just south of Seul's is 3-Tarts Bakery which would be considered outstanding -- for breads and pastries -- in just about any venue. Tasty, unique sandwiches and home-made soups are available at lunch.

I'm a big fan of Three Tarts, even though it can be frustratingly crowded with ladies-who-lunch when you just want to get in and out for some food to go. Don't miss the financier-inspired almond coffee cake. (although this place is big with the Winnetka crowd, I don't mean financier in the investment-banking sense, but rather the French-pastry sense.) Another plus is a small but interesting selection of cheese in the refrigerator case. I recall seeing Epoisses there on several occasions. Their crumbly cinnamon bread is quite good and toasts up suprisingly well.

DBigg wrote:I've been going to Seuls for thirty years and have had at most, a few bites of pizza. Maybe it's time to step out and try a meal there. At least I won't need a designated driver to get home.

One thing that is essential to know about Northfield is that its police force is among the most vigilant anywhere. The station is located just steps from Seul's. Rumor has it that they have quite a profitable business going collecting fines on speeders in that stretch of Willow immediately east of Seul's and across into Winnetka. There may be some truth to the rumor. An aquaintance of mine was nabbed there for speeding (5 miles over the limit-- at least, that is what she claimed) and ended up in traffic court, (where the cop actually appeared). She apparently polled the other people there, and they had all been cited for speeding in that stretch I mentioned. Just a thought. . .

Josephine wrote:One thing that is essential to know about Northfield is that its police force is among the most vigilant anywhere. The station is located just steps from Seul's. Rumor has it that they have quite a profitable business going collecting fines on speeders in that stretch of Willow immediately east of Seul's and across into Winnetka. There may be some truth to the rumor. An aquaintance of mine was nabbed there for speeding (5 miles over the limit-- at least, that is what she claimed) and ended up in traffic court, (where the cop actually appeared). She apparently polled the other people there, and they had all been cited for speeding in that stretch I mentioned. Just a thought. . .

Yes, I can testify that this is in fact true. I received a speeding ticket in that stretch of Willow in the summer of 1999. The speed limit was not clearly posted heading west as it is on heading east. The cop supposedly clocked me at 48 in a 35. Lucky for me, the cop did not show up in court though! I paid the $35 fine and was put on probation for 3 mos.

Welcome to the neighborhood. I live about five minutes away. Here are a few other thoughts:
1. Being right near the highway, you will find that you can get to Dempster Ave. in just a few minutes. Going east, you'll hit Kaufman's, Chiams, Basha, Pita Inn and Larsa's not more than 10 or 15 minutes from you place. People also overlook the store next to the Pita Inn where you can get the same fresh pitas, hummous and baba ganoush for quite a bit less. Going west you hit Pequods, Burt's and several Korean places I've not tried.
2. On Lake Ave, just east of the Edens (in addition to Akai Hanna), there is a Japanese Grocery and Sea Ranch japanese sea food. Both are good, and the fish market has very inexpensive and good take out sushi.
3. You've got a Trader Joe's not too far away on Waukeegan north of Dundee. For ethic shopping, also try Garden Fresh on Skokie Blvd north of Dundee. It's not quite as good as the Marketplace on Oakton (which also isnt' too far) but it's much inproved and has quite an ethnic selection for the North Shore.
4. There definitely is a speeding trap on Willow. I got caught soon after moving in.

Enjoy,
Jonah

You are also right next-door to Northbrook, where I and Mrs. JiLS lived for a couple of years. In Northbrook, you can dine at Kamehachi and Francesca's Northbrook outlets. Georgie V's is a decent diner breakfast option that's highly kid-friendly, and Once Upon a Grill is a pretty decent deli option; their chicken soup is pretty good.

Kamehachi
1320 Shermer Rd
Northbrook
847-562-0064
http://www.kamehachi.com

Francesca's North
1145 N Church
Northbrook
847-559-0260

Georgie V's
1137-39 Church St.
Northbrook
847-753-9638

Once Upon A Grill
2758 Dundee Rd.
Northbrook
847-562-1411

Details, per my earlier post:

Akai Hana
3223 Lake Ave
Glenview, IL 60035
(847) 251-0384

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

3-Tarts Bakery
301 Happ Road
Northfield, IL 60093
(847) 446-5444

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

Opart Thai
143 Skokie Blvd.
Wilmette, 60091
(847) 853-9898

=R=