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hplandmark.com dining out
the highland park landmark | February 22, 2018 | 23
Elly’s Pancake House grows with customers over 20 years
Brittany Kapa
Contributing Editor
The breakfast quesadilla ($9.99) at Elly’s Pancake House includes scrambled eggs
with chorizo sausage, bacon, hot giardiniera, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
wrapped in a southwestern chili tortilla. Photos by Alyssa Groh/22nd Century Media
Ted Tsekouras has helped
at his family’s restaurant
since the sixth grade.
Now, at 29 years old, the
Glenbrook South graduate
is helping his father
run Elly’s Pancake House.
The restaurant has been in
business for 20 years, and
while some of the menu has
changed, the family’s loyalty
to its customers hasn’t.
“We have a lot of loyal
followers and luckily
we’ve increased business
in the last few years,” said
Tsekouras, manager and
co-owner of the establishment.
“Every year is better
than the last. We have some
of our old-timers, people
that used to see me when I
was 14 or 15 starting here.
“You grow alongside
your customers.”
The restaurant’s name,
Elly, is rooted in Greek mythology
and has a special
meaning for the Tsekouras
family.
“Elly was the daughter
of a Greek god,” Tsekouras
said. “If I can remember
correctly, basically she
jumped off the cliff and she
was saved by Poseidon.
She became famous that
way. The main reason (for
the name) is my dad is from
this place in Greece called
Distomo, which is close to
Delphi, and the myth happened
in the town of Delphi.”
Tsekouras has literally
grown with the restaurant.
He never imagined that
he would take over for
his father, Jim, but halfway
through college he
switched majors to the culinary
arts. The younger
Tsekouras can be found at
the restaurant almost daily,
alongside his father. Now,
years after the restaurant
first opened, the family still
has loyal customers coming
back for their favorite
dishes prepared in-house
with fresh ingredients.
“We see a lot of places
opening up and fortunately
we’re still doing well,”
Tsekouras said.
The vast menu includes
plenty of time-tested recipes.
However, once a year,
Tsekouras goes through
the menu and changes out
some things to give customers
more options.
“We try to give the best
quality food at a fair price,”
Tsekouras said. “Personally,
I try all of our competitors
in the area and I try to
beat everyone.”
According to Tsekouras,
changing out the menu can
often be a struggle, as there
aren’t many dishes that
don’t sell. Customers need
not worry about their favorites,
though. Dishes like
Elly’s meaty cheesy and
western omelets, clubs, and
skirt steak with eggs breakfast
skillet are all safe.
“In the next couple
months, we’re going to try
and bring in dishes that are
different from other places
but are still pretty good,”
Tsekouras said.
With rising food prices,
Tsekouras is always striving
to find a balance between
maintaining Elly’s
quality of food while still
pricing the food appropriately.
“There is nothing wrong
with (buying) stuff out, if
you get a good product, but
if you can make it homemade
and it’s better and
fresh, why not?” he said.
“We’ve put a lot of work
into these recipes.”
Tsekouras’ dad is slowly
easing toward retirement,
but loyal customers can often
see Jim on a daily basis.
“I love this community,”
Tsekouras said. “A lot of
my regulars are some of
the kids that I grew up with
in high school and the old
timers that are here around
the area. The community
has been very supportive
of us and I’m happy to be a
part of it.”
Year-round favorites
A group of 22nd Century
Media editors dined at Elly’s
Pancake House to get
the inside scoop on some of
the restaurant’s best dishes.
With such as vast menu,
there was something for everyone’s
plate — whether
they craved sweet or savory.
Elly’s Pancake House
1624 North Milwaukee
Ave., Glenview
(847) 635-9500
www.ellysglenview.com
6 a.m.-4 p.m. daily
The breakfast quesadilla
($9.99), for example, combined
traditional scrambled
eggs with chorizo sausage,
bacon, hot giardiniera,
cheddar and Monterey Jack
cheese wrapped in a southwestern
chili tortilla. The
quesadilla was a filling mix
of flavors and a different
option than your standard
breakfast.
For those looking for a
sweeter option, Tsekouras
treated us to Elly’s cherry
almond waffle ($9.99),
Love Potion French toast
($8.99) and banana bread
French toast ($8.99). All
three are served with homemade
maple syrup served
hot.
The cherry almond waffle
is an almond-flavored
waffle topped with black
cherries, in-house roasted
almonds, vanilla ice cream
and whipped cream. This
breakfast item could double
as dessert, if desired.
The banana bread French
toast features thick slices
The Love Potion French toast ($8.99) is stuffed with
sweet cheese cream cheese and topped with glazed
strawberries and chocolate chips.
The skirt steak skillet ($10.99) is served with a
marinated and seasoned skirt steak, two eggs made
any way, hash browns, and your choice of toast.
The banana bread French toast ($8.99) is topped with
bananas, glazed strawberries and roasted pecans.
of banana bread dipped
in egg batter. The dish is
topped with sliced bananas,
glazed strawberries (made
in-house of course) and
roasted pecans.
For those looking for
more savory options, Elly’s
offers a skirt steak skillet
($10.99) that is served with
a marinated and seasoned
skirt steak, two eggs made
any way, hash browns, and
your choice of toast.
Elly’s offers a widevariety
of lunch options,
as well. Its chicken pesto
panini ($9.99) is a good
option for panini-lovers
everywhere. The sandwich
combines chicken,
sun-dried tomatoes, onions,
mozzarella and pesto
mayonnaise into one toasted
delight on sourdough
bread.
No matter your taste, Elly’s
has an option for you.