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The Lake Forest Leader 040518
The Lake Forest Leader 040518
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LakeForestLeader.com DINING OUT<br />
the lake forest leader | April 5, 2018 | 23<br />
Greenwood offers<br />
accessible, natural food<br />
Xavier Ward<br />
Contributing Editor<br />
Josh Kaplan and Mark<br />
Newman grew up next<br />
door to each other in Highland<br />
Park, so there’s something<br />
serendipitous about<br />
their second restaurant<br />
opening two doors down<br />
from the first.<br />
Greenwood, Highwood’s<br />
newest restaurant, is nestled<br />
on the corner of Green<br />
Bay Road and Prairie Avenue.<br />
The unassuming facade<br />
gives way to a rustic<br />
minimalist interior and spacious,<br />
open dining area.<br />
Kaplan and Newman’s<br />
first restaurant, Ballaro, is<br />
on the same block at 214<br />
Green Bay Road, Highwood.<br />
“It was actually the<br />
perfect location, because<br />
Mark and I always wanted<br />
to expand, but being two<br />
doors away made it so<br />
much more feasible,” Kaplan<br />
said.<br />
Green Bay and Sheridan<br />
roads, divided by<br />
train tracks, are lined with<br />
popular restaurants. While<br />
an established restaurant<br />
and entertainment culture<br />
in Highwood guarantees<br />
foot traffic, standing out<br />
in Highwood is no small<br />
task.<br />
“You look at the elements<br />
— the simple elements<br />
— which [are] good<br />
food, good atmosphere,<br />
good service and value,<br />
and if you nail those, people<br />
will be loyal and they’ll<br />
come back,” Kaplan said.<br />
While the food stands<br />
for itself, Kaplan said, the<br />
design was something he<br />
felt brought a new attraction<br />
to the area. The interior’s<br />
soft, earthy colors<br />
and squared, minimalist<br />
woodwork sets the tone<br />
of the meal before guests<br />
have even ordered.<br />
“With the food, we actually<br />
went for familiarity,<br />
people will know this<br />
food, they’ll understand<br />
it,” Kaplan said.<br />
“People want their comfort,<br />
they want their familiarity,”<br />
said Newman,<br />
co-captain and executive<br />
chef. “They also want that<br />
touch of differentiation.”<br />
A lot of the inspiration<br />
for the food came from<br />
’50s and ’60s dining, Newman<br />
said.<br />
“You go back to the old<br />
stuff, and you make sure<br />
everything is made from<br />
scratch,” he said.<br />
Naturally, the restaurant<br />
offers a modern spin on<br />
most of the dishes.<br />
Sometimes basic is best.<br />
“Do the mussels the best<br />
that you can, do the hamburger<br />
the best that you<br />
can,” he said.<br />
According to Newman,<br />
the advantage of making<br />
everything from scratch is<br />
the control of ingredients.<br />
That makes accommodating<br />
dietary restrictions,<br />
such as gluten intolerance,<br />
much easier from a kitchen<br />
perspective.<br />
It’s the same story at<br />
Ballaro. All of the menu<br />
items, pasta included, are<br />
made in house.<br />
“The challenge is always<br />
sourcing the right<br />
ingredients,” he said.<br />
The Midwest offers its<br />
challenges, which means<br />
the food can’t always be<br />
directly farm to table, but<br />
by establishing relationships<br />
with distributors,<br />
vendors and producers<br />
throughout his culinary career,<br />
Newman said he can<br />
still offer the freshest food.<br />
Greenwood<br />
200 Green Bay Road,<br />
Highwood<br />
5-9 p.m. Monday-<br />
Thursday<br />
5-10 p.m. Friday-<br />
Saturday<br />
5-8:30 p.m. Sunday<br />
Greenwoodhw.com<br />
(847) 926-7319<br />
Ballaro and Kaplan<br />
spend most of their time at<br />
Greenwood to make sure<br />
it gets off to a proper start,<br />
but they still keep an eye<br />
on Ballaro.<br />
That said, they’ve promoted<br />
a few employees<br />
from within to manage<br />
both the front of house and<br />
the kitchen.<br />
“When you’ve been doing<br />
something for two and<br />
a half years, if you can’t<br />
step away from it and<br />
have it run efficiently, you<br />
haven’t done something<br />
right,” Newman said.<br />
Greenwood’s kitchen<br />
isn’t the only thing they<br />
hope will draw customers.<br />
Kaplan said its service<br />
and bar are equally as important.<br />
“You look around, you<br />
see a room full of smiling<br />
servers,” he said. “I think<br />
we have great service, we<br />
hire people with great personalities<br />
[who] are empathetic<br />
and care about the<br />
guests and the service and<br />
are truly engaged.”<br />
Additionally, Greenwood’s<br />
bartender, Russ<br />
Waters, is somewhat of<br />
a local celebrity, Kaplan<br />
said.<br />
Editors from 22nd Century<br />
media stopped by to<br />
sample the fair. Here’s<br />
what we found.<br />
The skillet cornbread<br />
($9) comes topped with<br />
Greenwood’s starter of mussels mariniere ($12) features a generous portion of<br />
mussels served in a sauce made with white wine, shallots, parsley and butter. Photos<br />
by Brittany Kapa/22nd Century Media<br />
A crispy skin incases a tender grilled brick chicken ($22) entree that is served with<br />
herbed potato wedges and green beans all covered in a flavorful chicken au jus<br />
sauce.<br />
a dollop of honey butter.<br />
The skillet is preheated in<br />
the oven before the batter<br />
is added, which Newman<br />
said helps achieve a symmetry<br />
of a crispy exterior<br />
and moist interior.<br />
The avocado toast ($12)<br />
is made with fresh avocado<br />
spread on a crusty<br />
white bread topped with a<br />
chili-lime and corn medley,<br />
sprinkled with queso<br />
fresco cheese.<br />
The mussels and mariniere<br />
($12) is a classic. The<br />
cooked mussels are tossed<br />
in the mariniere, a sauce<br />
made of white wine, shallots,<br />
parsley and butter.<br />
For the main course,<br />
Greenwood offers a hearty<br />
list of entrées, sandwiches<br />
and salads, as well as steak<br />
frites.<br />
The grilled brick chicken<br />
($22) includes two<br />
pieces of on-the-bone<br />
chicken, sitting atop a bed<br />
of herb-roasted potatoes<br />
and green beans.<br />
If you’re looking for a<br />
classic, the double cheeseburger<br />
($14) features two<br />
riddled patties topped high<br />
with American cheese,<br />
grilled onions, lettuce and<br />
tomato.<br />
And if you’d like something<br />
sweeter, you can try<br />
any of Greenwood’s desserts.<br />
The warm chocolate<br />
brownie ($8) is a classic<br />
brownie cooked and served<br />
in a ceramic bowl with a<br />
side of the house-made,<br />
soft-serve ice cream.<br />
The warm apple crisp<br />
($8) is a gluten free alternative,<br />
cooked and served<br />
in the same ceramic bowl,<br />
with a side of the soft<br />
serve, as well.