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glenviewlantern.com dining out
the glenview lantern | February 8, 2018 | 29
Winnetka’s Cafe Aroma brings Persian, Parisian flair
Jacqueline Glosniak
Contributing Editor
Winnetka is considered
by many to be a picturesque
village, with its
winding roads, quaint
business districts, ornately
landscaped homes and serene
parks and beaches.
For Mitra Ryndak, all of
those reasons were enough
to entice the restaurateur to
open her own Europeaninfluenced
cafe in town.
After all, Winnetka made
the most sense, since the
village reminded her of
one of her favorite cities in
the world — Paris.
“I looked around a lot
of places but the charm
of this city just grabbed
me,” Ryndak, a Glencoe
resident, said on her decision
to open her restaurant,
Cafe Aroma, in Winnetka
in 2005.
At Cafe Aroma, everything
from the menu and
decor to the way Ryndak
treats her customers draws
from her experiences living
abroad and experiencing
two distinctly unique
cultures.
Originally from Tehran,
Iran, Ryndak left her native
country for the United
States in 1979, following
the Iranian Revolution. In
later years, Ryndak followed
her husband out to
Paris for a job transfer.
While in Paris, Ryndak
fell in love with the cuisine,
even taking private
culinary courses for a couple
of months while living
there.
Eventually, the overall
feel of France was something
she greatly missed
upon returning to America.
After 16 years spent
owning a Glenview travel
agency, Ryndak — a selfdescribed
lifelong entrepreneur
— felt the time
was right to open her very
own restaurant; something
The roasted vegetable sandwich ($11.50) has a
foundation of hummus topped with zucchini, red
peppers, scallions, mushrooms, organic tomato and
feta cheese. Served on a pita by request.
that would include touches
of her global influences.
Cafe Aroma is a true
blend of both Ryndak’s interests
and cultural experiences.
“The menu is a combination
of Persian cuisine
influences, with natural
herbs like mint, basil, tarragon
and pomegranate,
and French pastries and
the way things are cooked
in France,” Ryndak said.
When asked what inspired
her to focus on
breakfast and lunch, the
answer was simple.
“I’m an early riser and
I think breakfast is one of
the most important parts of
beginning your day,” she
said.
At Cafe Aroma, the
breakfast menu includes
everything from lox and
bagels and six types of
omelets, to pancakes,
oatmeal, European-style
crepes and French toast.
For lunch, diners can
pick between soups and
quiches, vegetable and
chicken salads and 10 different
types of sandwiches.
Additionally, two Persian
chicken items — fesenjan,
or chicken cooked
in pomegranate sauce, and
chicken kabobs — are
available for those willing
Cafe Aroma
749 Elm Street,
Winnetka
(847) 881-2601
cafearomawinnetka.
com
7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-
Friday
8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-
Sunday
to expand their palates to
cuisines dear to Ryndak’s
heart.
Because Ryndak is critical
of the taste of food, she
said the menu is a direct
extension of her preferences.
Cafe Aroma uses
cage-free, non-GMO and
organic products, and if
there’s something she
tastes and doesn’t like, she
won’t sell it.
A world of flavor
When our group of 22nd
Century Media editors
stopped into Cafe Aroma,
we sampled some best
sellers from both menus.
For breakfast, we started
with French toast ($9),
made with brioche and
dusted with powdered sugar
and served with a side
of fruit and maple syrup.
Next was lox on an everything
bagel ($9), served
Cafe Aroma’s Waldorf chicken salad ($14) is made with cage-free chicken, apples,
walnuts, grapes, dried cranberries and celery, plated on a bed of lettuce. Photos by
Xavier Ward/22nd Century Media
with a traditional brined
salmon, cream cheese, lettuce,
tomatoes, capers and
red onion.
For lunch, we sampled
the roasted vegetable
sandwich ($11.50), which
included a layer of hummus
piled high with zucchini,
red peppers, scallions,
mushrooms, organic
tomato and feta cheese on
wheat pita. Finally, the
Waldorf chicken salad
($14) included cage-free
chicken, apples, walnuts,
grapes, dried cranberries
and celery atop a large bed
of lettuce.
Since every plate came
out perfectly presentable,
we asked Ryndak what
makes colorful presentation
important to her.
“Art runs in my family
and decorating a plate is
very appealing to me,” she
said. “When a plate comes
out and it’s done correctly,
it’s the presentation that’s
your heart.”
As for the decor, to
evoke feelings of warmth
mixed with foreign flair,
Ryndak painted the walls
maroon and mustard colors,
adorned each corner
The lox and bagel ($9) is a traditional brined salmon,
cream cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, capers and red onion
served on an everything bagel.
with unique works of European
and Middle Eastern-influenced
art and light
fixtures, and hung simple
yet elegant red drapes
framed the floor-to-ceiling
windows.
“It makes me really happy,”
Ryndak said about the
restaurant’s theme.
Aside from the aesthetic
warmth Ryndak brings,
it’s the warmth in personality
and genuine approach
towards each individual
customer she credits to her
success in Winnetka.
“Once somebody walks
through here, they are coming
to my house and I have
to be warm and welcoming
and make them feel at
home,” she said. “It’s not
always about money, it’s
about quality and what you
create to satisfy. They have
become a part of what I’ve
built here.”
And, while Cafe Aroma
does not have a dinner
menu, Ryndak said she
will be featuring a special
Valentine’s Day dinner
menu for guests on
Wednesday, Feb. 14, with
first seatings from 5-7 p.m.
and second seatings from
7-9 p.m. For $36, diners
will enjoy a three-course
meal from a variety of new
menu options served up
specially for the holiday.