Category Archives: Illinois

Roka Akor

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**** (4 stars)

This place offers terrific ambiance, with a stylish, open plan that lets you view the 1900 degree robata grill from anywhere in the restaurant. There is also outside seating.

While several of the sashimi items we tried were excellent, the butterfish tataki was the event, comparable to the best sushi restaurants I’ve been to around the world. The other highlight here are the vegetables off the robata grill, which are all excellent. The Brussels sprouts and the mushrooms are particularly notable.

Roka Akor
4999 Old Orchard Ctr
Skokie, IL 60077
(630) 474-5039
http://www.yelp.com/biz/roka-akor-skokie

Avli Estiatorio

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**** (4 stars)

This authentic Greek restaurant is a sprawling collection of rooms and outdoor spaces located on the rear side of The Laundry complex. There is a very extensive list of Greek wines, plus all the Greek appetizers and entrees you’d expect. We particularly enjoyed the salads and the lamb burger.

Avli Estiatorio
566 Chestnut
Winnetka, IL 60093
(847) 446-9300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/avli-estiatorio-winnetka

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar

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***** (5 stars)

Wow, the breakfast menu here is incredible. Whether you want a scramble, hash, eggs, or something sweet, this is the place, as evidenced by the line to get in. Great ambiance and service. Note that you can swap the toast for a really nice serving of fruit.

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar
301 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 454-0748
http://www.yelp.com/biz/meli-cafe-and-juice-bar-chicago

Mago Grill & Cantina

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**** (4 stars)

Mago Grill offers a nice mix of authentic Mexican items plus Tex Mex standards. The highlight is their various Mole sauces. Most of the food here tends to be spicy, so if you’re sensitive, be sure to ask about heat levels.

The ceviche sample is a nice way to start. It offers shrimp, tilapia and bay scallops. All appeared to be cooked. The marinade were different for each, and all three were fairly spicy.

The tamales are also a good appetizer. The come with brown and green moles, both of which are tasty.

Of the tacos, our favorites were the shrimp and the pastor, although the snapper and pibil were also good. Although an order is two tacos at lunch and three at dinner, it’s quite a lot of food, because each comes with two corn tortillas, so you can divide them up to make them more manageable and end up with twice as many.

Margaritas are good, but if you don’t like spicy beware of the salted rim, which contains peppers!

The only item we were disappointed in was the veggie fajitas, which were a rather sodden lump. I’d avoid that, as it’s not authentic anyway.

Note that Mago is a great place to eat outside on a nice day.

Mago Grill & Cantina
115 W Campbell St
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 253-2222
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mago-grill-and-cantina-arlington-heights-2

SPACE

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***** (5 stars)

There’s a reason why SPACE is the artist’s favorite venue. Time and again they say how special it is, with a sounds studio for practice and recording, a lovely green room for before the show, amazing acoustics, and a caring staff. As spectators we derive a benefit from these same things, because the artists are always at the top of their game as a result.

I’ve seen at least a dozen shows here, and the sound has been great for every one. The cocktail table seating can get a bit crowded, but it’s nice to have table service and a place to put your drink.

You can also take a drink and a pizza in with you if you order one at the Union Pizza company out front, and they have a more extensive list of beers. Or have dinner first, and then go back for the show.

Great venue!

SPACE
1245 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 492-8860
http://www.yelp.com/biz/space-evanston-2

City Winery Chicago

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***** (5 stars)

I love everything about this environment. The bar is a great place to hang out before a show, and the show space has great acoustics. You can arrive an hour or two early and have a great meal of small plates. The flat breads and dips were good, but the “root beer” rubbed pork belly with savory french toast and maple-bourbon sauce was phenomenal. I’ve had pork belly in some of the world’s best restaurants, and this was the best ever: not too fatty, bursting with subtle flavors, and the perfect accompaniments. Their house made wines are respectable and interesting, and there are also lots of beers and other choices. Good service, too. An excellent venue for a show, probably my top choice in Chicago.

City Winery Chicago
1200 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9463
http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-winery-chicago-chicago

Symphony’s Cafe

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***** (5 stars)

From the outside Symphony’s looks like it might be a period diner, but in fact the interior is bright, modern, sleek and very appealing. So is the service, which is very friendly.

While a large section of the menu is breakfast, there are some great sandwiches and entrees here as well. I had the Chicken and Vegetables, which were stir fried to caramelized perfection. On a tip from another Yelper I ordered the accompanying salad with garlic dressing. Wow, was that fantastic! Fortunately I got it on the side, and while I used very little on the salad, I saved it and couldn’t resist dipping my chicken in it. Great combination. I’ll definitely be back to explore more of this menu.

Symphony’s Cafe
1945 Central St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 475-1200
http://www.yelp.com/biz/symphonys-cafe-evanston

Ahjoomah’s Apron

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**** (4 stars)

Very good service and food at this Korean restaurant that faces Chinatown. We started with the Seafood Pancake, which was quite large, an appetizer suitable for four or even six. For entrees we had the Dolsot Bibim Bop, which is served still cooking in a stone bowl, and the Kalbi, slices of beef with the rib bone attached, grilled with a sweet Korean barbecue sauce. Both were very good. Service was super attentive. I think everyone working in the place came by to check on us at least twice! A great choice for Asian food when near Chinatown.

Ahjoomah’s Apron
218 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 326-2800
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ahjoomahs-apron-chicago

Ravinia Festival

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*** (3 stars)

A wonderful concert venue with nice restaurants and great ambience both inside and out.

Unfortunately the audio upgrades made in 2013 have rendered the rock concert audio unlistenably loud. Even with earplugs, the sound in the pavilion is unbearable. Because the quiet numbers sound fine, it is quite clear that driving the subs to absurd levels is what has muddled everything up. This ruined all eight concert we attended during the summer, and in one, where our seats were in the front to the side we were driven from our seats.

In contrast, the classical concerts, which are largely unamplified, sound great.

Ravinia Festival
200 Ravinia Park Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 266-5000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ravinia-festival-highland-park

Dave’s Italian Kitchen

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**** (4 stars)

Dave’s may have the best wine list in Evanston. It’s certainly the best priced wine list. The selections are well thought out, good quality, and priced only a bit above retail. Weirdly, the best section of the list is Australian, where there are a number of old gems.

Food-wise, our results were good but not amazing. I really liked the Ceasar salad, and the bread was great. I was less enthusiastic about the house made pasta, which seemed heavy and overcooked. The small calzone was huge and tasty, although next time I’ll make sure to get one with ricotta cheese in it. We didn’t sample the pizza, but it looked very good.

The entrance is weird, with steps leading down to an industrial cubicle and no signs indicating where the restaurant is. But this makes it a delightful surprise to open the door onto a cheerful, bustling, and surprisingly large space.

Service was very friendly and attentive. We’ll definitely return for another crack at that wine list.

Dave’s Italian Kitchen
1635 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 864-6000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/daves-italian-kitchen-evanston