Friday, January 4, 2013
John des Rosiers took a break from overseeing the transformation of Highland Park's Moderno into the American-styled Royce to explain what he envisions for the restaurant.
Over the sounds of drilling, moving wood and shuffling feet, John des Rosiers is explaining what's next for his Highland Park restaurant. The owner of Inovasi in Lake Bluff and Moderno in Renaissance Place in downtown Highland Park decided recently to close Moderno, an upscale Italian restaurant, and reopen it as a more approachable, family-friendly spot serving American cuisine. "We built a really good restaurant with Moderno, and we were really proud of it," Rosiers said, "but it wasn't the right thing for Highland Park." Moderno, the modern Italian restaurant that opened in Renaissance Place in April, closed on Dec. 22. It will reopen Jan. 10 as Royce, a chef-driven casual restaurant, with a reasonably priced menu that will include …
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Lake Bluff restaurant offers extremely creative dishes made with local ingredients.
Inovasi means Innovation in Indonesian, and adapting and changing the menu has been important to owner and executive chef John des Rosiers since the restaurant opened three years ago. “We're always changing to make ourselves better,” des Rosiers said. Those changes came rapid fire last month, with Inovasi beginning lunch service July 23. The restaurant had offered lunch when it first opened, but stopped in August, 2011, because it was too costly and didn’t allow enough time to train their staff. But when Noodle Bar closed, des Rosiers saw demand build. “There's no place in town to get lunch anymore,” he said. The menu is totally different from the dinner selections, offering sandwiches, salads, soups and small entrees meant to get diners …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Here's the inside scoop on Highland Park's newest Italian restaurant. Our advice: Go there with an open mind.
Four months ago, I wondered aloud whether Highland Park was ready for Moderno. Today, we begin to find out, as Chef John des Rosiers and his crew officially open their doors at 1850 Second Street. Want Highland Park news in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to Patch's newsletter. Des Rosiers boasts that Moderno is part of a "revolution" in North Shore restaurants, one he is personally leading. The word "revolution" even appears in neon, backwards, on the south wall of the new restaurant as well as the staff uniforms. His goal is to raise expectations among area diners, where -- if they leave themselves in the hands of the chefs -- our expectations of a nice meal out will be transformed and elevated to expect fresh, flavorful and …
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Moderno will bring authentic Italian food to old Rosebud location.
It's a busy time for foodies in Highland Park, and it's about to get even busier. After 2011 saw new restaurants like M, Benjamin and 2nd Street Bistro open their doors, as well as new gelato and cupcake places, the city is about to get another new restaurant in a familiar spot (and from a familiar face). Chicago Eater reports that John des Rosiers, the owner of Lake Bluff's Inovasi restaurant, will open a modern Italian restaurant at the old Rosebud in Renaissance Place in May. "We are going to change restaurants in the suburbs forever," des Rosiers said about his new restaurant, "Even if I have to build every single place myself." Highland and Ravines columnist Ed Brill will bring Patch readers an inside look at what des Rosiers has …
PAM
10:16 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
I was there tonight and it was very disappointing. When we ordered we asked 3 times that the fish be cooked well done. It was not. It came raw. It may have been frozen. I don't know. And shouldn't they ask you if you want the bone removed? I will never be back. more ›