Rhapsody Owner’s Roots Mix With North Shore’s Needs

Many new dinner items will have Mexican flare.

When Rhapsody Café owner Ramon Abarca wanted to enhance his dinner menu, he found his personal roots fit in with a Deerfield need. The Village does not have a Mexican restaurant and Abarca was born and raised in Mexico. He knew he wanted to expand his dinner menu—the eatery is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner—and was looking for the best way. Get local news in a daily email from Patch. Learn more here.  “Deerfield has a lot of Italian restaurants and no Mexican so why not go back to my roots,” Abarca said. “Of the 60 items on the menu, at least one half will be Mexican dishes.” The new items include filet mignon fajitas, a ranchero combo featuring a skirt steak and chili relleno with beans and rice, shrimp jambalaya with andouille …

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North Shore Foodie Finds

Homer's Ice Cream has Served North Shore for 78 Years

The Wilmette business offers a variety of homemade ice creams, frozen yogurts, sorbets and sherbets.

Homer’s Ice Cream in Wilmette has been a North Shore favorite since it first opened its doors in 1935. Since then, this family-owned business has undergone a series of changes — they began serving food in 1972, and now ship their products across the Chicagoland area and the country— but they’ve never stopped making their famous homemade ice cream. “Homer’s was started here in 1935 by my father [Gus Poulos],” said current owner Dean Poulos. “At that point, it was a little two-table ice cream parlor.” Even in the beginning, Homer’s was a fast hit, with Al Capone — who owned a lakefront house nearby — rumored to be a huge fan of the chocolate ice cream. Homer’s remains in its original location (although it has since been added on to). Most of…

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North Shore Foodie Finds

Glencoe's Play Cafe Offers Fun for Kids and Parents

Olly Olly Play Cafe is the perfect spot for a play date or to meet new friends.

Many people associate cafés with quiet afternoons, cups of coffee and a relaxing break with friends — but most people also don't cry when it's time to leave. That's not the case at Olly Olly Play Café in Glencoe, where kids can transform themselves into pirates, princess and everything in between while their parents relax. Olly Olly features a wide variety of toys and spaces for kids to play in — including an enormous castle, a pirateship to climb around in and a dress-up closet overflowing with countless costumes. There are also board games, books, a fully-stocked play kitchen to play with. Besides having plenty of room for the kids to explore, Olly Olly has an array of tables for parents to unwind, catch up with friends and enjoy a …

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North Shore Foodie Finds

Lake Forest Left Bank is Top Dog

The Left Bank's cheese dogs have been a North Shore staple for decades.

Not a lot has changed at Left Bank since it first opened its doors in 1966 - and the people of Lake Forest wouldn't have it any other way. At first glance, the limited menu, which includes hot dogs, "not-so-sloppy-joes" and tuna salad, doesn't seem to be particularly noteworthy - that is, until you take your first bite. "I've been coming here since I was seven years old," said Andy Bungert, a lifelong Lake Forest resident. "I came here all of the time in high school for lunch!" The cheese dogs in particular are a real local favorite. The recipe is simple - a hot dog and bun, with a dollop of cheese sauce on top. It's a simple yet perfect blend of flavors. The combination is the exact same as its been since Left Bank first began in the …

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Stevie Janowski

12:42 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Thanks Nitro, I actually retracted much of my statement, and credited their sloppy joe. Great comment Nitro!   more ›

North Shore Foodie Finds

Trax 8-Layer Cake Offers Chocolate Fix

Deerfield restaurant has one of the North Shore’s unique desserts.

Chocolate lovers seeking a unique dessert need look no further than Deerfield’s Trax Tavern & Grill for its eight-layer cake. The eight layer creation, which measures over a foot tall, is designed to serve three to four people but on occasion has satisfied one eater, according to Trax Manager Robbie Cohn. “We have a group that comes in here once a month and four of them order their own piece,” he said. At least two of them finish it in one setting. A piece costs $13. Trax first got the idea for the cake with chocolate icing between each layer and chips on the edge a few years ago when “big” was the rage, according to Cohn. “A lot of restaurants in Chicago were doing it,” Cohn said. “We were the first to do it out here (in the suburbs). We …

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