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20 | March 7, 2019 | The highland park landmark dining out hplandmark.com Mario’s Comida Fresca makes long-term stop in Northbrook Food truck owner secures permanent place in Northbrook Court Erin Yarnall Editor When Mario Ortiz wanted to start operating a food truck for fun in 2013, he was told he had to be 100 percent in on it. So the longtime cook left his job as a manager at Schaumburg’s Big Bowl and together with his wife, Anita, started Mario’s Cart — a food truck specializing in Mexican cuisine staples. While Mario and Anita are still traveling around the Chicago area with their cart, they’ve recently put down more permanent roots in a sitdown restaurant, Mario’s Comida Fresca, located in Northbrook Court. But the mall location wasn’t anything new for Ortiz. The couple was part of a rotating group of food truck owners who would take over the spot for two weeks at a time. “They [invited] a lot of food trucks around last year,” Ortiz said. “I would come for two weeks and then another food truck would come for two weeks.” Ortiz said the transition to fully taking over the location wasn’t difficult because he was already accustomed to the spot and its customers. “Everybody started to know my food and other people here liked it,” Ortiz said. For fans of Mario’s Cart, there are only minor differences between the food truck and the restaurant, primarily the exclusion of Street tacos ($3) come with a choice of protein, cilantro and onions. The burrito ($9) comes with beans, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo and protein. two sandwiches, the Cubano and steak king, that they serve at the food truck from the restaurant menu. “Maybe I will try them, because they are so popular at the food truck,” Ortiz said of the sandwiches. While the couple has set down some roots in Northbrook, their plans to take their food on the road continue to grow. Ortiz said that he and his wife plan to buy another food truck — this one serving Italian ice. “My wife is 100 percent Italian; I am 100 percent Mexican,” Ortiz said. Their initial goal with the first Mario’s Cart was to pay homage to both of their ancestries, serving a combination of Italian and Mexican food, but in the end they decided to focus on Mexican cuisine. “It was not easy in the Mario’s Cart Northbrook Court 1515 Lake Cook Road, Northbrook (847) 899-4790 www.marioscart17.com 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday beginning, we tried Italian and Mexican mixed,” Ortiz said. “We tried a lot of items to see what people liked the most. With Italian items and Mexican items on the same menu, it’s a little crazy.” This time, Ortiz hopes he can highlight the Italian influence in his family. Last week, a group of 22nd Century Media editors stopped by Mario’s location in Northbrook Court to sample some of the restaurant’s dishes. The nachos ($10) are topped with lettuce, lime cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese, a choice of protein and jalapeños at Mario’s Cart in Northbrook Court. Photos by Megan Bernard/22nd Century Media The quesadillas ($8) have lettuce, lime cream, guacamole and cheese. We first tried the nachos — a large pile of tortilla chips topped with lettuce, a lime cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese and jalapeños. The nachos can be topped with a choice of a protein, with options including carnitas, chicken, chorizo, al pastor, skirt steak and shrimp. The restaurant’s tacos can be made three ways: a gringo loco taco, filled with lettuce, tomato, cheese and choice of protein; the spicy shrimp taco, filled with avocado salsa, lime cream and shrimp; and the street tacos, topped with cilantro, onion and a choice of protein, served on a soft corn tortilla. Quesadillas are served on a crispy tortilla, and filled with lettuce, lime cream, guacamole and cheese. Like most menu items at Mario’s, it can also be filled with a choice of protein. Mario’s also serves burritos, which like all of the other menu items are served with a choice of protein, rice, beans, lettuce and pico de gallo, wrapped in a flour tortilla. Corn in a cup is one of the many side dishes available at Mario’s Comida Fresca — the restaurant’s version of the traditional Mexican street food elote. The restaurant’s corn in a cup features grilled corn topped with mayonnaise, cheese and chili powder.
hplandmark.com life & Arts the highland park landmark | March 7, 2019 | 21 Local restaurants take part in Lake County Restaurant Week Erin Yarnall, Editor Lake County has an abundance of locallyowned restaurants with varying menus and cuisines, and residents are able to sample some of the restaurant’s choice items throughout Lake County Restaurant Week. In its fourth year, the Lake County Restaurant Week, which is organized by Visit Lake County, taking place March 1-10, has spread to more than 68 restaurants. Communities spanning the length and width of the county are represented — from Antioch to Highland Park — including Lake Forest’s Francesca’s Intimo Restaurant. The restaurant, which is one of 11 Francesca’s restaurants, opened in 2011 and has participated in Lake County Restaurant Week previously, according to general manager Lisa Joyner. Joyner said the restaurant has worked to craft a special menu for the week, which highlights a spectrum of the Italian cuisine the restaurant regularly serves up. “We’re offering a prefixed menu so you get a taste of the appetizer, the entree, a little dessert and also with a glass of wine comes paired with your dish,” Joyner said. “We’re getting into the wine pairing with food and how that’s intended to go.” Diners at Francesca’s Intimo Restaurant who order from the set menu are served the insalata invernale, a salad with arugula, radicchio, Belgian endive, apples, pears, blue cheese, walnuts and honey red wine vinaigrette as a starter. For a main course, they are given the option of the restaurant’s cappellicci formaggi, a fourcheese filled pasta with shallots and green onions in a vodka tomato creme sauce; pollo m briaco, a chicken dish with wild mushrooms in a brandy sauce with prosciutto; or quattro staggiono pizza, topped with prosciutto, artichoke, mushroom, olives and an egg. The Restaurant Week menu also includes a glass of wine per customer, and gives diners a choice of Vigne Pinot Grigio or De Palo Pinot Noir, and for dessert, diners can indulge on gelato. “We definitely not only want to give back to the community, but also invite new guests who may not have heard of us or been here with us, just to show them some different options we have and different meals they may not order traditionally, right off the menu,” Joyner said. Four Highland Park restaurants and two Highwood restaurants are also participating in the 10-day celebration of food. Highland Park’s Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, Bluegrass Restaurant, Ruby of Siam and Ravinia Brewing Company are all participating, as well as Highwood’s Disotto Restaurant and Slyce Coal Fired Pizza Company. “As a new restaurant in the area, we were approached by Visit Lake County to participate in their Libation Trail,” said Paul Bumbaco, the general manager of Ravinia Brewing Company. “[It was] obviously a great idea for us, putting us on the map a little bit.” Bumbaco said he hopes the Restaurant Week helps to promote the brewpub’s food, in addition to their beverages. “The food has really gotten a good response in the area,” Bumbaco said. “I think this can only help add to it, and bring more people that may not venture further south than normal.” The brewpub is creating a “Restaurant Week combo,” according to Bumbaco. For $18, diners will receive a burrito bite or chips, salsa and guacamole as an appetizer; a choice of two tacos; and dessert. Bumbaco said the brewpub has never participated in anything “to this extent,” saying Ravinia Brewing Company has previously had their food featured in local Highland Park festivals. “As far as the food, this is kind of the first venture into doing something like this,” Bumbaco said. visit us online at www.hplandmark.com READY FOR MAINTENANCE FREE LIVING YET? 847.702.7077 linda.schwartz@bairdwarner.com 2021 ST JOHNS #4A, HIGHLAND PARK | $549,900 2 bedroom/2.5 bath | 2100 Sq. Ft. | 2 garage spaces | Concierge services BAIRD & WARNER HIGHLAND PARK | 1920 SHERIDAN ROAD | 847.432.0500 | BAIRDWARNER.COM
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