The North Shore's New Dining Darling...Motherlodes are baaaack!

Opening night -

Just finished having dinner at The Claim Company at Northbrook Court (it's on the site where The Palm was).

No reservations taken yet, nor is take-away done. For a relatively soft opening, on its first night, traffic was brisk. The guacamole nachos still need work. The salad bar logistics are being tweaked, i.e., need longer salad tongs with better gripping action. Concerned about traffic management as the space is rather awkward with two side (2nd floor) entrances - one outside the mall and another inside, but...

The Motherlode burger was spot-on!

The carrot cake - no nuts was remarkable! Love the menu throw-back!

Service was uneven. Excellent server yet woefully slow water service.

So nice to have you re-Claimed! Definitely will return!

Would love some restaurant and bakery recomendations near and in New Buffalo, Michigan please...heading there soon for a week. Thank you!

Hello! Looking for suggestions where to score some soft shell crabs.

Hello! Coming to NOLA in the next 10 days and curious where to find some delicious soft shell crab.

...looking to score some decent poutine beyond the usual suspect of NYC Fries...any suggestions?

Just returning from a week in Tokyo and a culinary highlight was the BBQ freshwater eel served over rice in the basement of "Hiltopia:" the restaurant and shopping arcade in the basement of the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku. There are a bunch of restaruant options down there, but the best is the one that specializes in BBQ eel, right across the way from the Indian restaurant. For good kobe beef shabu shabu, try the Prince Hotel Sakura Tower Tokyo restaurant near the Shinigawa Station.

When I use banana peppers aka pepperoncini, Tex-Mex is not the first cuisine that comes to mind. Italian is. Goat chesse would be a great option for fried, battered, and breaded banana peppers. Another option is to also stuff olives and then bread and fry them, too...awesome antipasti. Besiders goat cheese, I would use cream cheese, cheddar cheese, or mozzarella. For a dipping sauce, I would take stewed San Marzano tomatoes with salt, pepper, olive oil, diced onion and garlic and some capers. I have diced pepperoncini, sweet pickles (bread and butter), and green olives to make a relish, applying it to freshly sliced rotisserie chicken breast smeared with mayonnaise and mustard on crusty Italian bread - - fabu sandwich!

Stuffed and fried banana peppers sound yummy. I would serve with a zesty tomato sauce. Another idea is to make a bunch of banana pepper pizzas or slice and dice them along with olives and you know have a great relish for tuna salad.

Here's another nod to the Art of Pizza (stuffed) and for Barnaby's in Northbrook on Skokie Blvd. for thin crust. On the southside, get Palermo's 95th (95th St. and Cicero in Oak Lawn) for the regular crust with a sweet tomato sauce and on the westside, try Carm's on Wolf Road in Hillside for great thin crust.

The owner is from NYC. A bold move to open a pie joint in deep dish country, but great slices nevertheless!

NY Slices
1843 2nd St
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-6979

As a devout Chicago pizza lover with a keen appreciation for a pie from NYC, must say NY Slices in Highland Park is an EXCELLENT proxy for a NYC slice, complete with garlic knots and the paper plate. Does anyone concur?

...carved right off of the skewer...Any recommendations? Thank you!

For "old school" Italian, try Palermo's 95th. It's in Oak Lawn on 95th St. at Cicero. Great pizza (especially the regular crust) with its somewhat sweet sauce and decent Italian standards, too!

Time Out Chicago magazine just ran a front cover spread on the 55 best burgers in Chicago and regrettably missed my top pick: Charlie Beinlich's in Northbrook (Rt. 41, just south of Lake-Cook Rd). Without question, the benchmark burger!

Try Sunset Foods with locations in Highland Park, Northbrook, Lake Forest, and Libertyville

Going to Millie's Bistro soon...any "must try" recommendations?

Cannot go wrong with Costa's!

340 S. Halsted...there's also a suburban outpost in Oakbrood Terrace: 1 S. 130 Summit Ave., just off of Roosevelt Rd.

Was just in Toronto and have to agree with Ruth's Chris having a great steak, despite being a chain! A great cattle palace!

PERFECT! Thank you! (and yes, plan on hitting all in one swoop, i.e., a dine-around.)

Hi!

Want to do a "dine-around" hitting Mediterranean hotspots including markets and restaurants...particularly interested in tasting food from

Greece
Spain
Morocco
Italy
Southern France

Thank you!

Hi!

Love some help with hitting NYC's Mediterranean scene including markets, neighborhoods, and restaurants. Most interested in

Spain
Greece
Morocco
Italy
and Southern France

Thank you!

Help! Coming into the city on Christmas and curious what dinner options are available that are not necessarily x-mas-themed. Thank you!

Question: What is meant by "gourmet burger?" Is it the meat and the meat block (prime vs. choice, etc.), the size, the condiments, or the whole package?

YES!! I second The Art of Pizza for deep dish. Probably the best deep dish pie in the City!

Looking for the best table bread service in Chicago. Hugo's,Myron & Phil's, and Bistro 110 come to mind, but curious if there are others...

La Crepe, of course in Champions Gate! AWESOME sunday buffet.

Ouch! You cannot eat "the location!" Nothing worthwhile on the menu to order and eat?

Having lunch at Bistro 110 soon. Have not been there in quite some time...what's good?

"DW?" Your question to answering the acronymn is very funny! I, too, have never heard of "DW" except in the PBS cartoon "Arthur." By the way, what kind of animal is Arthur anyway?

Regarding the food and music fix, I say try Green Dolphin Street on Webster.

Nora's is also a good option and it's all organic, too!