The “un-shepherd’s pie” is topped with a gratin of butternut squash, parsnips and potatoes, rather than the traditional mashed potatoes.
The “un-shepherd’s pie” is topped with a gratin of butternut squash, parsnips and potatoes, rather than the traditional mashed potatoes.
I want Prairie Grass Café to be in my neighborhood. But I realize north suburbanites deserve to eat well, too, and will appreciate the talents of chef/partners Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris, who left the venerated downtown Chicago Ritz-Carlton to create this more casual gem in Northbrook.
All-star cast on both sides of the stove
While she was creating award-winning cuisine at the Ritz, Stegner was also one of the forces behind the speedy growth of Chicago’s Green City Market, and has been known to visit farms to check out their growing practices. At Prairie Grass Café, the menu features vegetables from more than a few rock stars of the farming world, including Shooting Star Farm, part of HomeGrown Wisconsin, Kinnickinnick Farm, which specializes in Italian-style greens, and Capriole goat cheese from Judy Schad. Investor Bill Kurtis, the TV celeb and producer, owns a ranch in his native Kansas that will provide grass-fed beef for the restaurant. Grass-fed beef often is considered a healthier alternative because cattle are meant to eat grass rather than corn, allowing ranchers to eliminate antibiotics often required for corn-fed cows.
Partner Rohit Nambiar, a veteran of the Four Seasons and Stegner’s husband, runs the front of the house and has created an impressive wine list, with many bottles in the $20 to $40 range, plus, just for fun, a Chateau Margeaux that runs the price of a small apartment in the city, and 14 selections by the glass.
For starters, the crab cake ($8.50) with corn relish and roasted sweet pepper sauce was so thick and delicious I wanted another one, and the baked feta cheese ($6) with spicy banana peppers and tomatoes was perfect for spreading on the crusty bread that kept appearing straight from an oven in the dining room.
A simple salad, marinated local beets ($5.50) with citrus, pear, hazelnuts and crumbled goat cheese, told me I was in the hands of people who know what they’re doing. Such a salad couldn’t be bad, but here it’s all about nuance — it’s easy to let pears get overripe and to overcook beets, but not here. The citrus added balance without being too tangy, and a sprig of chervil completed the symphony. Pretty good for five bucks.
Expect to feel challenged when choosing one of the 16 main courses. Carnivores will love the six beef selections, the most intriguing an “un-traditional” shepherd’s pie ($14.75), made with braised beef and Swiss chard rather than ground beef. Instead of a mashed potato topping, it’s crowned with a gratin of butternut squash, parsnip and potatoes. Vegetarians won’t be disappointed with two great options: a spinach phyllo strudel ($16) over a ragout, a sort of mushroom stew and artichoke confit, or a roasted vegetable lasagna ($16) with homemade ricotta.
I loved my whitefish with herb remoulade ($17), which came with a tomato bread salad, but had a hard time choosing it over the braised snapper ($24) in tomato-fennel broth over black rice. While the main courses were plenty, it’s hard to resist sides like braised greens, glazed carrots and a twice-baked potato with caramelized onions and gruyere (each $3).
For dessert (all $7), the apple pie, straight from Stegner’s mom, has one of the best flaky pie crusts I’ve ever tasted, melt-in-your-mouth light and filled with perfectly seasoned Michigan apples. I’d opt for the cinnamon cream over the vanilla ice cream, even though I’m typically an a la mode fan. A baked pear arrived surrounded by an almond cake, and two cheese options accented dried apricots, figs and dates.
The final word
The room oozes contemporary warmth, and features stunning oversized wood-veneer light fixtures, warm wood tables inlaid with brass and green-glass bread plates with prairie grass motif. The three double-sided plasma screens that separate the bar from the smoke-free dining room seem a little too contemporary at first glance, except that they feature pastoral scenes of Kurtis’ ranch in a rotating gallery of vibrant greens and midnight blues. Caramel-toned curtains that would make a lovely ball gown, can create semi-private seating for a small-group dinner.
My first visit to Prairie Grass Café was just a week after it opened, and the place was already packed. Even after the curiosity seekers move to the next hot spot, people who care about good food will keep Prairie Grass Café just as busy.
Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, 847-205-4433. 11 a.m.10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Janine MacLachlan is a freelance writer, cooking school owner and food enthusiast whose search for well-raised food is a passion. She is contributing editor to the Slow Food Guide to Chicago.