You know you have had a great meal when your mouth is still watering the next day every time you think back to the meal. This was the case for me after eating at Flemings on Saturday night. Flemings is a steakhouse and wine bar located in Lincolnshire.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted with free valet parking which is always a plus. We were able to sit down within a few minutes of arriving. Being a wine bar they have over 100 wines offered on their menu and they also had suggested wines to order based on the meal you were getting which is helpful since we aren’t wine savvy. They also have a drink menu with a lot of martini’s and other fun drinks. Luke ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and I decided to go with a Classic Margarita with salt.
The meal starts out with warm bread and a really good sun dried tomato butter spread. Flemings has a large menu, however, they also have what they call a “Trio” menu where you can pick a salad, a choice of three main courses, a side and a dessert for a very reasonable price. We both decided to go with this option. We also ordered their Sweet Chile Calamari appetizer which we both loved. We order calamari as an appetizer a lot at restaurants and this one was great because it had a unique taste and flavor.
For our “Trio” meals, we both chose the spinach salad as our starter. This was spinach, tomatoes, bacon, onion and cheese with balsamic dressing. It was delicious. I chose to get the scallops as my main course which was served over orzo pasta with a really good sauce. I had green beans with almonds as my side. I loved my meal. Luke went with the peppercorn crusted filet which came with a few small pieces of fried cheese and the mushrooms as a side. He really enjoyed the filet and I have to admit it was pretty amazing as well.
We both ended our meal with Banana Crème Brule. This came with a side of homemade whipped cream. All I can say is WOW. The dessert was wonderful. I love Crème Brule, however, I have never had it with bananas on top and it was delicious, especially with the whipped cream.
At the end of our meal, the waiter came to take our valet ticket so that when we left the restaurant our car was already waiting for us out front…how great is that!? Luke and I both noticed and commented on how great the service was. Everyone we encountered was very professional and truly made our dining experience better. Our waiter knew the menu well, was able to give us suggestions and brought us our food quickly (which I always like!). There were so many nice touches like the hostess putting the napkins on us, bringing out a cold fork to eat our salad with, etc. We really enjoyed ourselves and left feeling very full and satisfied!

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I live in the country, but I love the city, too. Sometimes I want the best of both worlds and decide to take a trip to Lake Forest’s Market Square. Like a great cup of tea, Market Square delivers a refreshing dose of laid-back urbanity, plus it’s easy to reach via train or car (just 30 miles north of Chicago).Market Square charms me because it takes visitors back in time without a spec of nostalgia or kitsch. It’s a slice of slow life in a fast lane world; the graceful buildings and long village green remind me to calm down, breathe and shop (of course). It’s as if a dollop of southern hospitality plunked itself down here in the Midwest and decided to stay awhile.Market Square was designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw in 1916 to create a defined city center. He certainly succeeded; beloved by Lake Foresters and copied by cities around the country, Market Square consistently draws shoppers, fine diners and commuters who disembark at the Metra train station across the street.I, along with many pedestrians, tend to linger in the grassy park. When the weather’s nice there’s no better place to sit and chat with a friend. Shady benches along the brick-lined walkways provide a sense of public privacy. Small shops line the longer north and south sides and many have been there for generations, such as Kiddle’s Sports and Helanders Stationers on the northwest corner.

My kids love to picnic on the lawn – if I can get them out of The Toy Station – so we grab snacks at Einstein Brothers Bagels to eat near the fountain. If I’m on my own, I usually slip into the Lake Forest Bookstore or grab a bite one block north at Foodstuffs.On the Square’s west side, a snappy J. Crew store now brightens the impressive anchor building (formerly Marshall Field’s and Macy’s). Avid shoppers also enjoy Three Sisters, Penny’s From Heaven, and The Lake Forest Shop. Moving to the southwest corner, you can sit outdoors to dine at the Bank Lane Bistro or Southgate Cafe (this building housed Lake Forest’s first fire department). The tiny Bank Lane leads to more taste bud treats. The Green Teaist helps visitors experience the joy of Japanese tea, and Sweets makes the finest toffee this side of London.If the day starts to get late and you’re going to stick around for drinks and dinner, do what the locals do and walk a block north of Market Square to The Lantern, a long-time kid-friendly favorite with on-tap specials and model trains running on tracks suspended from the ceiling. Visitors who plan ahead can spend the night nearby at the historic Deerpath Inn. Other accommodations include the Hilton Garden Inn and Residence Inn, both just west of the highway in rural Mettawa.

Fans of Market Square’s architectural style might also want to drive by Ragdale, Howard Van Doren Shaw’s 1897 Lake Forest summer home (now an extensive artists’ retreat).

To get a taste of Market Square in downtown Chicago, take a moment to step into the small church courtyard that’s just across the street from the Hancock Center. Those only peeking in from the sidewalk cannot imagine the peaceful environment experienced by visitors to the Shaw-designed “Children’s Fountain”. If this small taste of urban tranquility leaves you hungry for more, no worries. Just take a trip north to one of my favorite places, Lake Forest’s Market Square, and plan to stay awhile.

More resources: map and list of stores, history, a book about Howard Van Doren Shaw, and upcoming Lake Forest events.

- Linda Gardner Phillips

- Read more blogs about the state of Illinois at http://www.enjoyillinoisblog.com
- To learn more about Linda, check out her bio.

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As a child of the suburbs, I always thought of downtown Chicago as the place to be. Bursting with energy, activity and mystery, one could argue that Chi-town is the greatest city in the world. But drive thirty miles north and you’ll end up in my suburban hometown. For years it seemed as if my friends and I were always finding an excuse to complain, “There is nothing to do here!” That was until we discovered what I consider the precious gem of Chicago’s northern suburbs: Ravinia.

Ravinia is an outdoor concert venue located in Highland Park. It brings quite the variety of talent and offers something for everyone. This summer’s lineup included Carrie Underwood, Tony Bennett, John Legend, Elvis Costello, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Doobie Brothers and the Julliard String Quartet – just to name a few. Lawn seats range from $10 to $22 (which I always appreciate on my post-college budget); kids 10 and under are just $5.

Aside from its convenient location, fantastic performers, and low-priced admission, Ravinia’s best quality is its unique and beautiful outdoor atmosphere. The grounds are meticulously maintained, allowing upwards of 10,000 people to eat, drink and listen to music under canopied trees. Patrons can bring their own food and beverages, blankets, lawn chairs, and candles to simultaneously enjoy a concert and a picnic with friends, family or a date. I highly recommend finger foods, dips, chilled white wine, and of course, a lot of bug spray!

Even though I plan on moving to the city one day, I know I’ll return to the suburbs often to enjoy many summer nights at Ravinia.

- Claire Prendergast

*Claire is guest contributor on behalf of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism
- Read more blogs about the state of Illinois at http://www.enjoyillinoisblog.com

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Independence Grove is a huge forest preserve in off of Route 137 in Libertyville. It is the perfect spot to go to enjoy the outdoors. We go there often for walks because they have great trails with beautiful views. Today we went to meet up with some friends of ours and have a picnic. The kids also wanted to play at the huge park they have there. We could not have gotten a better day and clearly many people felt the same way because the place was packed with people enjoying a wonderful day.There are a lot of nice places for a picnic at Independence Grove. Lots of tables are set-up, there are cabanas at different spots with picnic tables and near the beach and playground there are tables set-up under huge umbrellas to provide shade. We chose to set-up under one of those huge umbrellas.After eating we headed over to the Children’s Grove (the playground) for some fun. This playground is one of our favorite’s because it is so big that it’s tough to get bored. They have a section for younger kids 1-4 years old and another area designed for 5 years and older. One of our favorite parts of the park are the huge red swings they have. It’s a big plastic seat with a bar that pulls down to strap the kids in. Today there was a line of kids waiting for their turn on these swings. We enjoyed ourselves at the park and explored all of the different areas they have including tunnels and a big rock wall the kids can climb up that leads to a slide - this was a big hit!After a couple hours of playing we decided to treat ourselves to snow cones at a stand that was set-up near the Children’s Grove and walk around a bit. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying themselves. There were people flying kites, riding bikes, rollerblading, jogging and using paddle boats. We also noticed a few people riding in these 4-person bike carts. The two people in back peddle while the people in front are along for the ride. We are planning on trying to rent one of these bikes the next time we are there.
The beach at Independence Grove is great too. It’s very pretty and is a great place to lay-out, swim, build sand castles, etc. Even though it wasn’t super hot today, there were still people swimming and laying out.
Spending the day at Independence Grove was a perfect way to top off a long weekend. Before we know it, the cold and snow will be here so we are trying to be outdoors as much as possible when we can! It was an inexpensive, yet entertaining day for the whole family that we can’t wait to do again.

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When we lived in the city, every year in early July we would walk over to the Taste of Chicago to try out some new food and walk around to see what all of the restaurants were offering. We would always leave feeling totally stuffed and satisfied. Since we moved to Gurnee several years ago, we haven’t been back to the Taste of Chicago and I have to say I’ve missed it!
This weekend we were able to relive it at the Taste of Highland Park. To be honest, up until the week prior, I had no idea Highland Park puts this on. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the great restaurants in Highland Park, however, we’ve only been able to try a few so I figured this would be a nice opportunity to check some of the others out.

The Taste of Highland Park takes place right downtown Highland Park on Central Avenue. They shut down several blocks and have tons of tables set-up so you can sit down and enjoy your food! There were 16 different restaurants with booths set-up. We went with a group of people and decided to try food from a bunch of different places so we had a nice variety. We tried sliders from Bluegrass, a California Roll from Sushi Kushi, a piece of deep dish pizza and brushetta from Lou Malnatti’s and perhaps my favorite was a steak sandwich from Norton’s. The meat was so tender and the sauce on it was delicious. We ended our meal with blizzards from Dairy Queen which happens to be located right in the square of downtown Highland Park where the festival was set-up.

At the same time there was also a huge Art Festival going on as well. We were able to see some amazing art, sculptures, etc. My favorite booth was one that had butterflies (not real, however, you would never know!) framed in shadow boxes and other designs. They were beautiful.
There was a kids area with some fun booths, with wheels to spin for prizes and neat give-aways. We ran into a guy who was making balloon creations. There was a long line but we waited in it and Reese got a butterfly made which she loved.

In the center of everything they had a stage set-up with live music and performances. When we were there was a performance put on by a youth theatre group. They did a great job. We enjoyed our afternoon at the Taste of Highland Park. We left feeling the same way we always did after the Taste of Chicago…totally stuffed and satisfied!

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