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northbrooktower.com DINING OUT
the northbrook tower | April 5, 2018 | 35
Back to basics
Greenwood offers
accessible, natural
food
Xavier Ward
Contributing Editor
Josh Kaplan and Mark
Newman grew up next
door to each other in Highland
Park, so there’s something
serendipitous about
their second restaurant
opening two doors down
from the first.
Greenwood, Highwood’s
newest restaurant,
is nestled on the corner of
Green Bay Road and Prairie
Avenue. The unassuming
facade gives way to a
rustic minimalist interior
and spacious, open dining
area.
Kaplan and Newman’s
first restaurant, Ballaro, is
on the same block at 214
Green Bay Road, Highwood.
“It was actually the
perfect location, because
Mark and I always wanted
to expand, but being two
doors away made it so
much more feasible,” Kaplan
said. Green Bay and
Sheridan roads, divided by
train tracks, are lined with
popular restaurants. While
an established restaurant
and entertainment culture
in Highwood guarantees
foot traffic, standing out
in Highwood is no small
task.
“You look at the elements
— the simple elements
— which [are] good
food, good atmosphere,
good service and value,
and if you nail those, people
will be loyal and they’ll
come back,” Kaplan said.
While the food stands
for itself, Kaplan said, the
design was something he
felt brought a new attraction
to the area. The interior’s
soft, earthy colors
and squared, minimalist
woodwork sets the tone
of the meal before guests
have even ordered.
“With the food, we actually
went for familiarity,
people will know this
food, they’ll understand
it,” Kaplan said.
“People want their comfort,
they want their familiarity,”
said Newman,
co-captain and executive
chef. “They also want that
touch of differentiation.”
A lot of the inspiration
for the food came from
’50s and ’60s dining, Newman
said.
“You go back to the old
stuff, and you make sure
everything is made from
scratch,” he said.
Naturally, the restaurant
offers a modern spin on
most of the dishes.
Sometimes basic is best.
“Do the mussels the best
that you can, do the hamburger
the best that you
can,” he said.
According to Newman,
the advantage of making
everything from scratch is
the control of ingredients.
That makes accommodating
dietary restrictions,
such as gluten intolerance,
much easier from a kitchen
perspective.
It’s the same story at
Ballaro. All of the menu
items, pasta included, are
made in house.
“The challenge is always
sourcing the right
ingredients,” he said.
The Midwest offers its
challenges, which means
the food can’t always be
directly farm to table, but
by establishing relationships
with distributors,
vendors and producers
throughout his culinary career,
Newman said he can
still offer the freshest food.
Ballaro and Kaplan
Greenwood
200 Green Bay Road,
Highwood
5-9 p.m. Monday-
Thursday
5-10 p.m. Friday-
Saturday
5-8:30 p.m.Sunday
Greenwoodhw.com
(847) 926-7319
Greenwood’s starter of mussels mariniere ($12) features a generous portion of
mussels served in a sauce made with white wine, shallots, parsley and butter. Photos
by Brittany Kapa/22nd Century Media
A crispy skin incases a tender grilled brick chicken ($22) entree that is served with
herbed potato wedges and green beans all covered in a flavorful chicken au jus
sauce.
spend most of their time at
Greenwood to make sure
it gets off to a proper start,
but they still keep an eye
on Ballaro.
That said, they’ve promoted
a few employees
from within to manage
both the front of house and
the kitchen.
“When you’ve been doing
something for two and
a half years, if you can’t
step away from it and
have it run efficiently, you
haven’t done something
right,” Newman said.
Greenwood’s kitchen
isn’t the only thing they
hope will draw customers.
Kaplan said its service
and bar are equally as important.
“You look around, you
see a room full of smiling
servers,” he said. “I think
we have great service, we
hire people with great personalities
[who] are empathetic
and care about the
guests and the service and
are truly engaged.”
Additionally, Greenwood’s
bartender, Russ
Waters, is somewhat of
a local celebrity, Kaplan
said.
Editors from 22nd Century
media stopped by to
sample the fair. Here’s
what we found.
The skillet cornbread
($9) comes topped with
a dollop of honey butter.
The skillet is preheated in
the oven before the batter
is added, which Newman
said helps achieve a symmetry
of a crispy exterior
and moist interior.
The avocado toast ($12)
is made with fresh avocado
spread on a crusty
white bread topped with a
chili-lime and corn medley,
sprinkled with queso
fresco cheese.
The mussels and mariniere
($12) is a classic. The
cooked mussels are tossed
in the mariniere, a sauce
made of white wine, shallots,
parsley and butter.
For the main course,
Greenwood offers a hearty
list of entrées, sandwiches
and salads, as well as steak
frites.
The grilled brick chicken
($22) includes two
pieces of on-the-bone
chicken, sitting atop a bed
of herb-roasted potatoes
and green beans.
If you’re looking for a
classic, the double cheeseburger
($14) features two
riddled patties topped high
with American cheese,
grilled onions, lettuce and
tomato.
And if you’d like something
sweeter, you can try
any of Greenwood’s desserts.
The warm chocolate
brownie ($8) is a classic
brownie cooked and served
in a ceramic bowl with a
side of the house-made,
soft-serve ice cream.
The warm apple crisp
($8) is a gluten free alternative,
cooked and served
in the same ceramic bowl,
with a side of the soft
serve, as well.