WC_022218

34 | February 22, 2018 | The winnetka Current dining out
winnetkacurrent.com
Elly’s Pancake House grows with customers over 20 years
Brittany Kapa
Contributing Sports Editor
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.
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The Love Potion French toast ($8.99) is stuffed with
sweet cheese cream cheese and topped with glazed
strawberries and chocolate chips.
“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 home-
Elly’s Pancake House
1624 North Milwaukee
Ave., Glenview
(847) 635-9500
ellysglenview.com
6 a.m.-4 p.m. daily
made 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.”
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
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.
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.
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 of banana
bread dipped in egg batter
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, sundried
tomatoes, onions,
mozzarella and pesto mayonnaise
into one toasted delight
on sourdough bread.
No matter your taste, Elly’s
has an option for you.