While on an expedition to the country and inspired by Steve Z's ordering prowess (which I mimicked) I enjoyed my take out eggplant parm from Maria's, but couldn't help wishing for what I consider the definitive version in Chicago of that dish found @ Tufano's Vernon Park Tap.

Cathy2 told of a delicious sandwich at Maria's and here's another one to try -- Italian Beef. Very good (toasted?) bread. Terrific beef. Melted mozzarella. A side of very good juice. Very tasty hot giardinera.

I'm not a big fan of cheese on an IB, but this was a welcome addition. The beef -- sliced so thin that it had only one side -- was very tender and had great flavor. This became immediately understandable when I drank some of the juice they included in a cup on the side.

I don't know if this is a regular item or a special, today. If it is available when you go, give it a try. Too bad they don't serve fries.

Hi,

I stopped into today to buy some bread. I also ordered a braided bread shaped like a cross with an egg at the cross-section for less than $6. The examples at the store had colored sprinkles for a festive effect. I thought it was a bit much and ordered mine without.

They also had multi-egg breads in center piece and single servings for the Easter table. They are open for Sunday from 8 am to 1 pm for pickup and shopping.



Regards,

I was in Maria's today and they are moving at the end of the month to the not so old Hoagie Hut location. Seems they couldnt renew their lease. It should provide more space for tables for dining in.

-Will

Maria's move is complete. They are now located at 410 Sheridan, directly next door to Curry Hut.

The New Maria's


Though they only moved a short time ago, they are up and running and firing on all cylinders. Here are some shots of the interior
of the new space, which is quite nice and a step up from the cramped quarters of the former location (though it's still not a huge space.)

Maria's Interior




I picked up the last serving of eggplant parmesan to heat up for dinner last night, but as usual, I couldn't get out of there without Maria letting me sample a bunch of the stuff she had made special for Mother's Day. Among the more tasty pastry items was something she was calling an Iris, though I'm sure it had a more traditional Italian name. The iris looked like a Paczki from the outside, but it was much lighter and filled with a combination of ricotta cheese, chocolate and dried fruit, similar to what one would find in a cannolo, but somehow lighter. These were very good. I ended up buying the last five she had and shared them with a group of LTHers at Toons later in the day.

Maria and Mauricio holding a Tray of Iris and Stuffed Croissants


I like the new space, which is now even closer to Issac & Moishe's Deli; making this great one two punch even easier to come by. Now, you don't even have to move your car. Congratulations and best wishes to Maria in her now location! I think she will thrive there.

New Address:
Maria's Bakery
410 Sheridan
Highwood, IL 60040
847-266-0811

Hi,

Maria is no longer owner of Maria's Bakery. The change over began last May when Maria's Bakery moved to the new location. Maria continued to work there during this transition, though she is no longer there.

I haven't gone as often because oddly I found the old location more convenient when it came to parking. I hope those who likely visit more than myself will comment on their experience with the new regime.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Maria is no longer owner of Maria's Bakery. The change over began last May when Maria's Bakery moved to the new location. Maria continued to work there during this transition, though she is no longer there.

I haven't gone as often because oddly I found the old location more convenient when it came to parking. I hope those who likely visit more than myself will comment on their experience with the new regime.

Regards,

I've been there many times since the changeover. Mauricio seems to be adhering to the same standards as Maria. I've found no change in the baked goods, although the eggplant parmesan is now made with standard, dark skinned eggplants rather than the light purple ones Maria used. It hasn't effected the quality of the product as much as Maria would have led us to believe and, on the bright side, it's now always available.

My family and I went to the new location for the first time just about two months ago. We didn't know that Maria wasn't still there, but we felt like something was different. We only had pastries, cookies and coffee, but we left feeling like it wasn't as good as before. Perhaps it was just us, or just an off day.

Interestingly, there was a woman there who came in, took a lot of photos with a little point-and-shoot digital, and then left without ordering. I wondered if she was an LTH member, taking photos for a thread about the new location.

WF,

Left without ordering? Definitely not one of us and certainly not me.

Regards,

Having been a bit disappointed my last couple of visits under the new owner, I decided to give it one more try before checking out the new Bacio's. Today was much better. The service was much friendlier and attentive, though this may have been because it was fairly empty. 2 of us shared a prosciutto sub and an eggplant parm sub. Both were excellent, and up to the old standards. I also had a very good cannoli. Hopefully my poor experiences were just transition pains, and everything will remain up to snuff.

-Will

Hmm, guess I haven't been there for a while, I'm pretty sure Maria was there last time I went in.

I like the new space but don't find the ordering any better/easier...getting hot food just seems like a challenge, containers not handy, I'll try to get there again soon for comparison, but will miss Maria, she brought a lot to the place.

Hi,

At the new location, they have a steam table at lunch. When you ask how much something costs, they quote a price per pound. When they fill the tray or plate, they didn't weigh it and eyeball the weight. They may have changed their practices since, but early on this was a bit of a turn off for me.

Maybe they used a steam table in the old location, but you never saw it. I preferred thinking it was fresh from the kitchen.

Regards,

WillG wrote:Having been a bit disappointed my last couple of visits under the new owner, I decided to give it one more try before checking out the new Bacio's. Today was much better. The service was much friendlier and attentive, though this may have been because it was fairly empty. 2 of us shared a prosciutto sub and an eggplant parm sub. Both were excellent, and up to the old standards. I also had a very good cannoli. Hopefully my poor experiences were just transition pains, and everything will remain up to snuff.

-Will

Are you talking about Maria's or Bacio's? Did Bacio's reopen and if so, where is it?

Hi,

Bacio's is next to Sweet Pea in a location that was formerly a Quizno's. It's the southern most strip mall across from Fort Sheridan between Washington St and Old Elm Road. I saw Bacio's in December, though they said they had been open at least a month by then.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Bacio's is next to Sweet Pea in a location that was formerly a Quizno's. It's the southern most strip mall across from Fort Sheridan between Washington St and Old Elm Road. I saw Bacio's in December, though they said they had been open at least a month by then.

Regards,

I stopped in there once probably just after they opened. I was thouroughly unimpressed.

Hi,

Bacio's was a good Italian deli in the past. I wasn't overwhelmed today, though I plan to update the old thread later today.

One of my issues was the bread they used. It might be suitable for an Italian beef sandwich. I expect a crusty bread for an Italian sandwich. I told the owner I really liked their old system of each customer selecting their own bread from the bin. He acknowledged they could use a better bread.

Regards,

Picked up some vittles at Maria's today and suffered some major sticker shock. I got a small container of eggplant lasagna and a small container of meat lasagna, as well as 1 arancini. I thought that the lasagna used to be about $12 for a small container (which actually holds quite a bit), and the arancini was a couple of bucks, so I expected to pay around 26-30 bucks total. It actually came to $37.32. When I politely questioned it, I was told it was correct. I did not ask for a breakdown or pursue it further. I figure that there is a pretty good chance that either my memory is shot, or they made a mistake, but has anyone else noticed a major price increase there?

Thanks, Will

I know the small container of eggplant parmesan is $14. Last time I bought some, it seemed like it was higher than it used to be, but it could have been that I usually buy a bunch of other stuff at the same time, so never noticed the individual price.

Hi,

I bought some pizza bread, arancini and two pastries recently. I was startled when I paid $20.75. I expected to pay between $10 or a bit more.

The semi-cooked eggplant parmesan sometime ago was around $14-$15 a year ago or so. Last night I saw Italian eggplant at Jerry's Fruit and Vegetable priced around $1.50 a pound, as point of reference.

Will, was the eggplant and meat lasagnas off the steam table or semi-cooked with cheese curls ready to melt?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:The semi-cooked eggplant parmesan sometime ago was around $14-$15 a year ago or so. Last night I saw Italian eggplant at Jerry's Fruit and Vegetable priced around $1.50 a pound, as point of reference.

Will, was the eggplant and meat lasagnas off the steam table or semi-cooked with cheese curls ready to melt?

Regards,

I forgot to mention that my $14 (semi cooked) eggplant was purchased last week, so that's a pretty curent price.

WillG wrote:When I politely questioned it, I was told it was correct. I did not ask for a breakdown or pursue it further. I figure that there is a pretty good chance that either my memory is shot, or they made a mistake, but has anyone else noticed a major price increase there?

Hi,

I went through the same process myself, then was kicking myself for not asking prices as I was ordering. I will do that going into the future.

Regards,

I also forgot to mention that you can ask for what they call a serving of eggplant (and presumably lasagna). It comes in the same size pan you get for $14, but it's only filled up part way and costs $7.95. It's still enough food to feed two people, if you're looking for a light meal.

I asked for both cold if available, but they only had the meat on the steam table so I took that hot. The arancini was not sitting out like it usually is, so they had to get it from the back, which ended up taking about 10 minutes, not sure why. I havent tried anything yet, but my wife had both lasagnas last night and said they were good but rich (not surprisingly). My son had the arancini and said it was same as ever.

-Will

I just received the following email and attachment. This dinner looks pretty darned good . . .

email from Maria's Bakery wrote:The first of Chef Maurizio Fonda's dinner series is on its way! The new series entitled, "Dinners of the 20 Italian Regions," begins April 14th with exquisite dishes from the region of Veneto!

I'm pretty sure that I'm booked on 4/14 but if I weren't, I'd definitely check this one out.

=R=

Hi,

Call in advance of visiting, there is a "Closed for remodeling" sign on the door.

Regards,

HI,

According to my sister Laura, Maria's will be reopening under Gino, who once owned Two Guys from Italy at the same location. It is quite likely there will be name change.

I'll advise further once it reopens in a few weeks.

Regards,

Hi,

Maria's has reopened today under new ownership.

Regards,

Stopped by there today for a quick pastry fix. Ran into the sister of a certain infamous LTH'er. Shop was doing a brisk lunch business.

Grabbed a cinnamon roll and a chocolate doughnut. Tasted quite fresh and similar to when it was under previous ownership.

Found out that the new owners of Maria's are also the owners of Lauretta's Italian Bake Shop in Mundelein - http://laurettasbakeshop.info/

I am confused.
I was in there on Friday....everything looks the same: all the same favorites were there.
The young girl who helped me was calling the person who seemed to be in charge "Maria".
There was no name change on the door.
I can not believe this is new ownership...nothing is different.

jilter wrote:I am confused.
I was in there on Friday....everything looks the same: all the same favorites were there.
The young girl who helped me was calling the person who seemed to be in charge "Maria".
There was no name change on the door.
I can not believe this is new ownership...nothing is different.

Were you there during the last 20 months when it was under new ownership, that is the people who bought it from Maria? It was different.

I haven't been there since Maria returned a few weeks ago. I am looking forward to seeing her. Like many others, I have missed her and the vibe she brought to Maria's Bakery.

Regards,