Heading to a Memorial Day barbecue this weekend and looking to bring something more creative than buns or brats? Try some really tasty beer. After finishing an interview last week at Inovasi, I stumbled into Lake Bluff Brewery for the first time. Patch has written about these guys before, but I actually didn't know the place existed until reading about it as the final destination of an awesome day-long bike ride in the Chicago Reader.  It was around 5 p.m. on Friday when I walked in and the place was packed, but not too busy that the friendly bartender couldn't find time to let me sample a …

Northbrook's only food truck, the Roadside Kitchen, sits at the corner of Dundee Road and Skokie Boulevard Tuesday through Thursday, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It's also the only place you can still find an original-recipe Lucky Cake, the small, moist chocolate and vanilla cakes that were popular in the 50s and 60s. The food truck is owned and operated by Joe and Louise Rycraft, who say they've held Northbrook's only food truck license since November of last year.  "We decided not to do traveling [service] like all the other food trucks do because we wanted to find regulars," Louise said. "…

Smoked salmon, cream cheese and potato pancakes are traditional delicatessen fare but Bobby’s Deerfield has crafted the three ingredients into a popular appetizer at its upscale American bistro with an Italian influence. Earlier: Bobby’s Deerfield Plans Sumptuous Menu Bobby’s first turns the smoked salmon into a Pastrami before putting it over a layer of cream cheese which sits atop a potato pancake. It was part of a special tasting for Patch before the eatery opened in October and has been a popular dish since day one. “We like smoked salmon, potato pancakes and cream cheese and tried to …

The concept of chicken and waffles was born in jazz-era Harlem, when musicians coming out of a late night set couldn’t decide between breakfast or dinner, according to Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles manager Darnell Johnson.  The combination of sweet waffles with maple syrup and salty, flaky fried chicken hit the spot and has become a traditional, if unusual, combination at several restaurants around the country.  “It’s a great combination,” says Johnson. “It’s a fun food in the evenings, in the mornings—all day.”   Johnson and his wife opened the Evanston location of Chicago’s Home of …

Sweet Dreams Organic Bakery at 1107 Waukegan Rd. in Glenview has been offering North Shore foodies with some of the most diverse and reliable organic meals for the last eight years. Whether patrons want a cup of coffee and pastry to start the day, or a quiche for lunch, the place has something for just about every craving.  And now, at long last, the cafe has rounded out their menu even more, offering organic beer and wine for the first time.  "This is a big deal for us, we just feel like we're expanding," said executive chef, Martha Sutton. "You can actually come in here and know everything …

I walked into Leonard's Bakery at 2776 Dundee Rd. in Northbrook and immediately witnessed a man telling the owner his "chocolate donuts are the best." He was an older man, probably one who's had a lot of donuts in his time.  Perhaps the man was just being polite, but it didn't seem that way. Leonard's owner, Marc Becker, said that particular customer is from New York and knows a thing or two about donuts.  Becker opened the bakery on Aug. 13, 1987, named it after his father and runs it like a family business. Marc's sister, Bonnie, works by his side. His wife, Judy, first inspired him to open…

When Rhapsody Café owner Ramon Abarca wanted to enhance his dinner menu, he found his personal roots fit in with a Deerfield need. The Village does not have a Mexican restaurant and Abarca was born and raised in Mexico. He knew he wanted to expand his dinner menu—the eatery is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner—and was looking for the best way. Get local news in a daily email from Patch. Learn more here.  “Deerfield has a lot of Italian restaurants and no Mexican so why not go back to my roots,” Abarca said. “Of the 60 items on the menu, at least one half will be Mexican dishes.” The new …

Homer’s Ice Cream in Wilmette has been a North Shore favorite since it first opened its doors in 1935. Since then, this family-owned business has undergone a series of changes — they began serving food in 1972, and now ship their products across the Chicagoland area and the country— but they’ve never stopped making their famous homemade ice cream. “Homer’s was started here in 1935 by my father [Gus Poulos],” said current owner Dean Poulos. “At that point, it was a little two-table ice cream parlor.” Even in the beginning, Homer’s was a fast hit, with Al Capone — who owned a lakefront house …

Leonidas Chocolate Cafe opened in downtown Northbrook in December, bringing fine European chocolate, Metropolis coffee and handmade crepes to the corner of Meadow and Shermer roads. Owner Marie Douailly grew up in France, eating traditional Leonidas chocolates since she was a girl. She said her family used to visit nearby Belgium to get the beloved, 100-year-old sweets. It's the third Leonidas Douailly has opened, but the first to serve crepes. One opened in Wilmette eight years ago, followed by another in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. The crepes are made from scratch with fresh fruits, …

Many people associate cafés with quiet afternoons, cups of coffee and a relaxing break with friends — but most people also don't cry when it's time to leave. That's not the case at Olly Olly Play Café in Glencoe, where kids can transform themselves into pirates, princess and everything in between while their parents relax. Olly Olly features a wide variety of toys and spaces for kids to play in — including an enormous castle, a pirateship to climb around in and a dress-up closet overflowing with countless costumes. There are also board games, books, a fully-stocked play kitchen to play with. …

The Blue Cat Cafe, which recently opened in downtown Highland Park, serves up more than just coffee. In addition to pour-over Intelligentsia, the cafe overs flat bread pizzas made in-house for $6.99. Served on thick bread, the pizzas comes with the options of fresh vegetable toppings and different kinds of cheeses. Each ingredient is $.50 extra, but simplicity is key: you only need a few to make for a flavorful dish. I was there with a co-worker working on a few stories, and we split a pizza with mozzarella, Parmesan, tomatoes and mushrooms. It was definitely enough for two people to share, …

Patch trekked to Creperie Saint Germain in Evanston for this week's North Shore Foodie Find. That's because diners say the buckwheat-flour crepes at this Evanston bistro have a certain “je ne sais quoi”—that is, they actually taste French.  While most American creperies use wheat flour for sweet and savory recipes, Crêperie Saint-Germain, 1512 Sherman Ave., makes its savory crepes with the traditional French buckwheat flour, according to owner Pascal Berthoumieux.  “Although we will prepare any of our savory recipes with a wheat flour crêpe upon request, I encourage them to at least try the …

At the heart of downtown Glenview is a very big sandwich. No, it's more like a sandwich within a sandwich. Or a sandwich within two sandwiches. Either way, the Ultimate BLT at Glenview House is not your lunch box PB&J, that's for sure.  On one side, you have a grilled cheese sandwich. On the other side, another grilled cheese sandwich. Plus a half-pound of bacon, lettuce, tomato and homemade mayonnaise in the middle. Locals call it the anti-resolution sandwich, and legend has it that the restaurant will add an egg to the mix if you toss in an extra dollar. You might want to tackle this one …

Patch likes to poll its readers and others to learn opinion around town and that is how we arrived at Wild Fish’s Deerfield Roll as this week’s North Shore Foodie Find. The handmade Sushi roll is created with spicy mini lobster, black rice, white rice, super white tuna, cucumber and avocado before it is wrapped in a soybean sheet and topped with wasabi mayo. All the ingredients are there but each roll looks a little different displaying the elaborate work required to create Sushi. “It depends on the chef,” owner James Oh said of the final product. “We have (edible) soy bean paper on the …

Over the sounds of drilling, moving wood and shuffling feet, John des Rosiers is explaining what's next for his Highland Park restaurant. The owner of Inovasi in Lake Bluff and Moderno in Renaissance Place in downtown Highland Park decided recently to close Moderno, an upscale Italian restaurant, and reopen it as a more approachable, family-friendly spot serving American cuisine. "We built a really good restaurant with Moderno, and we were really proud of it," Rosiers said, "but it wasn't the right thing for Highland Park." Moderno, the modern Italian restaurant that opened in Renaissance …

Shortly after Patch covered El Mexican's late-November opening, commenters wrote about their experiences trying the small restaurant's food.  J.P. wrote she would come back because of El's steak tacos. Kathryn Eisen called it the best food she has ever had. You heard it here first, folks.  I had a few meals at the storefront restaurant at 2528 Waukegan Rd. in Glenview over several visits after the opening. I tried the vegetarian burrito, caprese salad, beef and pork empanadas. I have also added the restaurant to Foursquare, which basically means I plan to go back often.  The first dish I …

Flaky is not a great word for people, but when it comes to croissants, it’s a must. And that’s exactly how the croissants at Winnetka’s Café Fleurette are.  Located in the Metra Station at 754 Elm St., Winnetka, the tiny bakery often sells out of the chocolate croissants by 7:30 a.m.  “It’s wonderful and exciting to stop in here and be able to pick up wonderful baked goods,” Winnetka Village President Jessica Tucker told Patch during the café’s grand opening in August. “When we were looking at bids from businesses we chose Café Fleurette because of its delicious, delicious menu. It’s …

Not a lot has changed at Left Bank since it first opened its doors in 1966 - and the people of Lake Forest wouldn't have it any other way. At first glance, the limited menu, which includes hot dogs, "not-so-sloppy-joes" and tuna salad, doesn't seem to be particularly noteworthy - that is, until you take your first bite. "I've been coming here since I was seven years old," said Andy Bungert, a lifelong Lake Forest resident. "I came here all of the time in high school for lunch!" The cheese dogs in particular are a real local favorite. The recipe is simple - a hot dog and bun, with a dollop of …

Take a handful of Cincinnati-style chili, tuck it into a fat wad of homemade cornbread dough, deep-fry the cornbread-chili ball and serve it with cheese sauce. That’s how you make a Chili Bomb.  Offered on the “secret menu” at Wiener and Still Champion in Evanston, the Chili Bombs are just one example of owner and chef Gus Paschalis’ unusual and gut-busting inventions. He’s also known for making deep-fried gravy, country-fried bacon and a hamburger that’s stuffed with chili and cheese before being dunked in the deep-fryer. Is there anything Paschalis wouldn’t put in boiling oil? “There’s not …

There are two menus at Little Louie's at 1342 Shermer Rd. in Northbrook — one with standard burgers and hot dogs and everything else you would expect from a fast food joint. The other menu is less typical, offering items called McLovin, Ace Ventura and La Bubba Rosa.  The weird wall of sandwiches at Little Louie's has about 20 different items inspired by flavors, movies and whatever else might be on owner Peter Weiss's mind at the time.  "Everything that up there is good and it sells," Weiss said. "Some people come in and just order off the wall."  The 45-year-old business hasn't always …