Evanston Lunch Group™ @ Jilly's Bistro, Wed Feb 20 12:30 pm

It was about a year ago that the Evanston Lunch Club™ visited Z Breakfast Club, née Creperie Saint Germain.

It was an awkward lunch … menu items not available, and only a single, overworked, overstressed waitperson was working the room. It turned out that Pascal Berthoumieux had just sold the restaurant to the owners of Jilly’s Café, further north in Evanston, on Green Bay Road just north of Central Street. It was in the midst of the transition at the time.

Since then, Z Breakfast Club has been renamed Jilly’s Bistro. It still maintains its French flair, but it’s now open for lunch and dinner most days. Jilly's has an excellent reputation for its versions of French classics.

So, the Evanston Lunch Group™ will give it another chance, since it’s been under control of the Jilly’s group for almost a year.

That will be Wednesday, February 20, 12:30 pm

Here’s the menu.

Let us know if you’re coming, so we can call the restaurant and inform them of a potetial invasion ahead of time. As usual, all are welcome, even if you’ve never been to an LTH event before.

Jilly’s Bistro
1512 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 869-7636

As long as the market hasn't crashed by then, I'm in. Might as well spend it before it's gone. Looks like the potential to be pricey if that was all the daytime menu, with entrees ate $25-35 and appetizers at $10-20.

--Carey

diversedancer wrote:Looks like the potential to be pricey if that was all the daytime menu, with entrees ate $25-35 and appetizers at $10-20.

The website menu is a bit confusing. The first page says that it's the "brunch and lunch menu" and shows apps/salads, the second page says "brunch" and shows omelets and benedicts, the third page (without a meal mentioned) is for sandwiches, crepes, and desserts, and the fourth and fifth pages don't mention a meal but appear to be dinner selections (apps, soups/salads, entrees).

I'd bet money that, at a minimum, the first and third pages will be available at a weekday lunch meal. The apps and salads are $5-15, the sandwiches and savory crepes $12-15.

French fans may also find it interesting that they refer to the main dinner items as "entrees". In France, this is the word for appetizers - a closer translation is starters - and they call main dishes "plats principaux", a literal translation. Earlier this week I ate at French bistro Le Bouchon, which used the traditional French terms "entrees" for apps and "les plats" for mains.

I'm in.

I’ll attend.

Small group? I only counted five. Glad I double checked, or I would have gone to Jilly's cafe....

diversedancer wrote:I only counted five.

I don't think I'm going to make it, so I count four...

nsxtasy,
Any suggestions for next month or April?

GAF wrote:nsxtasy,
Any suggestions for next month or April?

I can't think of any place that's new and/or that we haven't yet been to, sorry.

Hi,

DiverseDancer just advised Jilly's is closed.

Regards,
Cathy

Cathy2 wrote:DiverseDancer just advised Jilly's is closed.

Just wondering whether they're closed for the day due to weather, or closed permanently. Anyone know?

nsxtasy wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:DiverseDancer just advised Jilly's is closed.

Just wondering whether they're closed for the day due to weather, or closed permanently. Anyone know?

I called and was told that they were, in fact, open for lunch today from 11:30 - 2:00. They re-open for dinner service at 5:00 pm.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I called and was told that they were, in fact, open for lunch today from 11:30 - 2:00. They re-open for dinner service at 5:00 pm.

I'm guessing you got Jilly's Café, not Jilly's Bistro. The Bistro was closed, with an official-looking notice saying that the restaurant is closed and food can't legally be served there as of now — not even a "Closed for Renovations" sign. Sounds like Jilly's Bistro won't be re-opening any time soon.

nr706 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I called and was told that they were, in fact, open for lunch today from 11:30 - 2:00. They re-open for dinner service at 5:00 pm.

I'm guessing you got Jilly's Café, not Jilly's Bistro. The Bistro was closed, with an official-looking notice saying that the restaurant is closed and food can't legally be served there as of now — not even a "Closed for Renovations" sign. Sounds like Jilly's Bistro won't be re-opening any time soon.

You're probably right. Ugh, what a mess!

=R=

A mess for Jilly's, but not for us. We had a very nice lunch at Trattoria Demi. We LTHer's (and ELGers) are very flexible.

the ELG punted and went to Trattoria Demi, food pix here viewtopic.php?f=14&t=42882&p=540718#p540718

I called Jilly's Cafe and was told that Jilly's Bistro had been sold and the new owner might open a new restaurant with a different name and menu. See post on openings and closings.

nsxtasy wrote:

GAF wrote:nsxtasy,
Any suggestions for next month or April?

I can't think of any place that's new and/or that we haven't yet been to, sorry.

I haven't been to this place, but given that it is breakfast-lunch only, it is a good fit for the ELG:
Frida's Breakfast & Lunch
618 Church St (the block east of Orrington, storefront between Viet Nom Nom and alley separating Whole Foods)
(847)859-6342
Couldn't find any website (Google's suggestion is not a site, yet), but here is their Yelp page which has a link to a menu which does offer plenty of breakfast and lunch options. http://www.yelp.com/biz/fridas-breakfast-and-lunch-evanston-2

bweiny wrote:618 Church St (the block east of Orrington, storefront between Viet Nom Nom and alley separating Whole Foods)

Speaking of which - maybe we should consider Viet Nom Nom? I don't think we've been there yet. Do they have dining space, or are they carry-out only?

Suggestions
redz beliezian, Paulina just off howard, Chicago
Tapas Barcelona, Chicago Ave, evanston

I feel like there must be plenty of decent places that we've never been to together. Just for example, thinking of the Thai places in Evanston (some of which have been around for a long time), there are Nakorn (which we've been to), Cozy Noodle on Davis, Dozika and Siam Pasta on Dempster, Pinto on Central, Siam Splendor on Emerson, and Siam Paragon on Main. They're all open for lunch, and I bet we haven't been to more than half of those seven. I'm not specifically trying to push Thai cuisine, but my point is, I bet we could go through the same process for other types of food as well, and find other places we're familiar with but haven't been to as a group.

I believe that we selected a Vietnamese place in Chicago, near Lincolnwood that nr706 will soon post on. Wednesday March 13. More to come.

But these suggestions give us backup.

Cozy Noodles may have been the very first place we went to back in 2005. So we should keep it in mind for our final lunch (if we ever disband)! What goes around comes around.

GAF wrote:I believe that we selected a Vietnamese place in Lincolnwood that nr706 will soon post on. Wednesday March 13. More to come.

Sounds good!

another backup is Dowize Bistro (Thai)

...and, in Skokie, Beyond Thai on Church, Ruby of Siam on Skokie Blvd, and Tub Tim Thai on Oakton.

I've been to nine of those eleven. All were decent, none were dreadful, and none so compelling for me to recommend it above the others. (I miss Thai Sookdee!)

Another thought is JeonJu on Dempster for Goat Stew. Not very far from Evanston.

Also, on McCormick, just around the corner from Hoang Long is Pho 5 Lua which has very good Pho's and Bun Bo Hue. A new Vietnamese restaurant and "deli" looks to be going in right behind Pho 5 Lua.


Bacolod Chicken Haus is also right down the street.

bw77 wrote:Another thought is JeonJu on Dempster for Goat Stew. Not very far from Evanston.

A great suggestion but they've been there (on 2/15/2012) and done that.

In any case, please remember that they are closed on Wednesdays.

=R=

nsxtasy wrote:Just for example, thinking of the Thai places in Evanston (some of which have been around for a long time), there are Nakorn (which we've been to), Cozy Noodle on Davis, Dozika and Siam Pasta on Dempster, Pinto on Central, Siam Splendor on Emerson, and Siam Paragon on Main. They're all open for lunch, and I bet we haven't been to more than half of those seven. ...
...and, in Skokie, Beyond Thai on Church, Ruby of Siam on Skokie Blvd, and Tub Tim Thai on Oakton.

I've been to nine of those eleven. All were decent, none were dreadful, and none so compelling for me to recommend it above the others. (I miss Thai Sookdee!)

I know you weren't trying to lay out an exhaustive list, but I noticed Thai Ibox (Skokie Blvd at Old Glenview in Wilmette <1 mile from Evanston border) wasn't listed. The search results w/in LTH may have been misleading, but I didn't see anything on it, let alone an ELG thread.

It might be a matter of luck, but based on the dishes I order there (tod mun, moo ping, tom yum noodle soup, tom kha, inbox kee mao, wonton soup, red curry, pad prik king), it is superior to the places you listed that I've been to - Splendour, Cozy, Pasta, Pinto, Beyond & Tub Tim. Whether the group or individually, hopefully it is enjoyed by others as much as me.

bweiny wrote:I noticed Thai Inbox (Skokie Blvd at Old Glenview in Wilmette <1 mile from Evanston border) wasn't listed.

I deliberately omitted it because they are carryout only, which doesn't usually work for our Evanston Lunch Group™, for which we almost always dine in.

Join us at Hoanh Long on March 13th, and maybe your suggestion for lunch will be the choice for April. We welcome everyone.

We only do carryout for the annual Tarte Tatin picnic. Third edition this August!

nsxtasy wrote:

bweiny wrote:I noticed Thai Inbox (Skokie Blvd at Old Glenview in Wilmette <1 mile from Evanston border) wasn't listed.

I deliberately omitted it because they are carryout only, which doesn't usually work for our Evanston Lunch Group™, for which we almost always dine in.

They have plenty of dine-in seating. Probably a capacity of 25-30, at least. I would not suggest a carry-out only place.