Highlands and Ravines

Remembering 44 Years of Highland Park Eats

The 44th anniversary of Stashs brings back memories of old dining favorites in Highland Park.

On Tuesday, Stashs celebrated its 44th birthday, and boastfully claimed to be the "oldest restaurant in Highland Park."  See more photos from the event on Patch's Facebook page. I'm not 100 percent sure if that is true - Country Kitchen has also been around a long time (as have a few of the fast food outlets) - but Stashs surely has one of the most colorful stories for any Highland Park institution. Certainly, Stashs has come a long way in 44 years. I still remember regular visits to the small storefront further south on Second Street - about where the truck dock for Port Clinton Square is today. The space was distinctive, with grease-covered walls, a few stools along the window, and a limited menu -- hot dogs, Polish sausage, hamburgers …

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Where To Take Your Valentine in Highland Park

Downtown restaurants make staying close to home all the more worth it.

Where are you taking your Valentine for dinner? If you haven't made a reservation yet, it's not too late to make one in Highland Park. Check out the dining deals available right in downtown. Real Urban Barbecue Highland Park's fastest-growing barbecue restaurant will transform into a romantic dinner setting on Valentine's Day beginning at 4 p.m. Come for the candlelit tables, stay for the filet mignon with veal demi glaze for $28 or the pan-seared salmon for $18. Real Urban Barbecue also now offers wine by full or half bottles and will have champagne available. 2nd Street Bistro Highland Park's newest bistro offers a four course Valentine's Day Tasting Menu for $52 per person. The farm to table, organic-focused restaurant has been making …

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Stashs Owner Opens BYOB Enoteca

Bring your own wine to Highland Park's newest Italian place.

Bobby Dubin is at it again. The Stashs owner recently turned part of his restaurant into a BYOB bistro. On Thursday, he's opening another restaurant in the same storefront: an Italian place called 2nd Street Enoteca. "I always had this great desire for Italian," Dubin said.  The longtime restaurateur owned Gusto Italiano in Glenview from 1985-95 and watched that restaurant grow from 14 tables to 57. Now his head chef from Gusto will join him at Enoteca. "It's not the typical southern Italian cuisine we all grew up with and loved," Dubin said. "The menu is eclectic. It's a combination of all the regions of Italy." Unlike 2nd Street Bistro, which prides itself on getting what it serves from local vendors, the Enoteca will bring in much of …

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Where to Celebrate New Year's Eve

Looking to stick around HP for NYE? Here's where to go.

Looking for fun ways to bring in the new year in Highland Park? Check out what downtown HP has to offer. 2nd Street Bistro hosts a New Year's Eve bash, complete with dancing, dinner and a DJ. The North Shore's only BYOB location invites guests to bring their own booze to a party that offers everything else. Check out the restaurant's Facebook page for more info. M Restaurant in Highland Park offers an exclusive New Year’s menu. The restaurant is also installing an ice bar for the occasion. In case the name doesn't say it all, that's a bar made entirely out of ice. It'll be installed in the restaurant's tent area and will stick around for as long as weather permits. Reservations required for the new year's menu. Norton's in Highland Park …

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Bob Levi

10:11 am on Friday, December 30, 2011

If you want to just go out New Year's eve and not spend a fortune on "special menus," the Nava family is offering their regular Mexican dishes at their usual prices for New Year's eve. La Casa de Isaac & Moishe on First St. in HP will be opened until 11 pm and the older La Casa de Isaac on Temple will stay opened past midnight. Have a safe evening and a good 2012.   more ›