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glencoeanchor.com Dining out the glencoe anchor | April 19, 2018 | 33 Giving a garage ‘new life’ Winnetka’s Mino’s serves authentic Italian in legendary location Jacqueline Glosniak Contributing Editor From 1961 to 2016, Hubbard Woods Motors was a neighborhood institution where Bob Berger turned a simple gas station and repair shop into a local landmark which thrived from exclusively servicing Volvos since the 1970s. But when Berger decided to close up shop, the vacancy left at 985 Green Bay Road left many wondering what could possibly move in that could match or surpass the legacy left behind from the auto shop. That’s where Glencoe residents Eric and Audrey Fosse, and business partner, Glenn Deutsch, stepped in, taking the garage and turning it into Mino’s, an upscale Italian restaurant. According to Eric Fosse, what really attracted the group to the space was the authentic aesthetic of the building and the business district location. “We are big fans of industrial, linear spaces, of which there are not many of in the suburbs, so when one comes available, we’re sort of opportunistic,” he said. “We always feel there’s more room for more restaurants, more choices, and we thought this space in particular would make a perfect restaurant.” Topped with a large land opportunity to expand outdoors, the proximity to Hubbard Woods Park and accessibility to the Metra line, the Fosses felt they struck gold. For the look of their new restaurant, an important feat was making sure the eatery had a fun industrial and urban feel, transporting diners to a space more urban and less like a generic suburban strip mall. Mino’s features concrete floors, high, refinished wood beams and exposed pipes, staying true to the building’s character. “I can’t tell you how many people come in and say, ‘I had my Volvo serviced here for 25 years,’” Audrey Fosse said. “There’s a long history in the community and we didn’t want to just eradicate that. We wanted to give it a new life.” Audrey Fosse said the other important matter for their new restaurant was bringing world-class Italian dining to the area — a feeling they wanted to evoke from their travels to Italy and love for both the delicious food and strong community bonds they found in Italy. “We wanted it to be a neighborhood trattoria, like as if you live in Rome [where] everybody has the corner [restaurant], some place that you can go often that’s just welcoming to families and friends and different generations,” she said. Mino’s is not the first time the Fosses have brought authentic Italian cuisine to Chicagoland. Eric Fosse and his brother-in-law (Audrey’s brother), Matthew Weinstein, started HomeMade Pizza Co. in 1997, bringing ready-to-bake pizzas with fresh ingredients to 25 stores across Chicago. After selling the restaurant in 2010, the company ended up shutting down in 2014. Upon deciding on an Italian menu, the Fosses chose the restaurant’s name in honor of Audrey’s cousin in Italy, Carmine, whom the Fosses lovingly say is a fun character. Next up was finding the right chef for the authentic cuisine they were looking for. Enter John Korycki, who started working at a pizza shop in high school and started his career at Chicago’s award-winning Spiaggia. Following Italian travels studying and teaching courses on cuisine, Korycki brings a menu that is rooted in classic Italian cooking from throughout the country. “Since I’m 100 percent Polish, I don’t have a specific area of Italy that tugs on my heart, that this is the way it should be done,” he said. “I’m wide open to take everything from Trentino to Sicily and Sardinia to Friuli and take it in as my own. Some things you don’t screw around with, and other things, you play with.” Korycki has a knack for fish and seafood, which is greatly highlighted on the menu. For an antipasti, the cappesante ($14) features seared sea scallops, mushrooms and Parmigiano- Reggiano in a brown butter, truffled balsamic vinaigrette. The cioppino ($34) is a fish and seafood stew from a variety of different shrimp, mussels and scallops tossed in white wine, garlic, tomato broth and olive oil and garnished with two long strips of grilled bread. The restuarant’s halibut with fregula ($32) is one of the features now that halibut is in season. The fish is a seared Alaskan halibut with a little touch of wine, basil and micro basil, and comes with peas and asparagus in a very light vegetable broth with fregula, a small type of Mino’s Italian Restaurant + Bar 985 Green Bay Road, Winnetka (847) 386-6053 minositalian.com 5-10 p.m. Tuesday- Thursday 5-11 p.m. Friday- Saturday 5-9 p.m. Sunday Closed Monday rounded pasta originating in Sardinia. Dessert panna cotta ($8) is a chilled, vanilla cream mold dessert with roasted plums, candied hazelnuts and a dressing of 10-yearold balsamic. In addition, Mino’s has an extensive wine list, with 80 percent of the wines featured being Italian wines. Six months into operation, the Fosses say Mino’s has been welcomed by the community. “I think what’s been gratifying for all of us is seeing that it has struck a chord with the community as far as the multigenerational aspect of it,” Audrey Fosse said. With summer on the horizon, the Fosses plan on starting an organic herb and vegetable garden, incorporating an outdoor fire pit, outdoor seating and even a bocce league, using the bocce courts at the park next door. And, one of their biggest fans is someone who is most familiar with the grounds — Bob Berger, who comes to Mino’s at least once a week. NO DRUGS. NO SURGERY. NO PAIN. OVER 93% SUCCESS RATE Get connected to the most innovative pain treatment. Give your knees the cushioning and relief they need. FDA Approved treatment. Covered by Medicare and most insurances. Glenview, Highland Park, Vernon Hills, Bloomingdale & Hinsdale The halibut with fregula ($32) at Mino’s in Winnetka features seared Alaskan halibut with a touch of wine, basil and micro basil, and comes with peas and asparagus in a very light vegetable broth with fregula pasta. ME<strong>GA</strong>N BERNARD/22ND CENTURY MEDIA APPROVED 847.243.6744
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