Deere Park, now open in suburban Highwood, brings big city flair to the burbs | Eater Chicago
"Chef Todd Stein partnered with childhood friend and investor Josh Kaplan to rebrand Kaplan’s old Greenwood into an American brasserie in Highwood, giving Stein his first true ownership stake and a short 13-minute commute from Wilmette. After a 10-day closure to train staff and roll out a new menu, the kitchen — which retained about 20 Greenwood employees — launched dishes ranging from a smoky, thick burger topped with sharp New School American Cheese (no, it’s not cheddar) to seafood and steaks, plus a trio of vegetable plates that have unexpectedly become top sellers: carrots with a savory pumpkin-seed crunch, labneh, orange–vanilla syrup and cilantro; beets and burrata with watercress, basil, sherry vinaigrette and seeded honey; and crispy artichoke hearts with béarnaise aioli and lemon (a nod to Stein’s time prepping artichokes at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London). Without a pastry chef, desserts are still thoughtfully composed, including a lemon gelato pie. Aiming for a casual, come-as-you-are neighborhood vibe in the spirit of great Chicago rooms from the ’90s and ’00s such as Blackbird and MK, the spot was designed to be comfortable for anything from a bar burger and a glass of wine to an anniversary dinner; early service showed strong cohesion when the staff seamlessly shifted to handwritten tickets during a point-of-sale outage on opening night. The restaurant is now open at 200 Green Bay Road in Highwood." - Ashok Selvam
