Evanston Lunch Group - Libertad - Fri., Nov. 11, 12:30 pm

Libertad promises "a culinary adventure onto the Latin American landscape ... inspired by the great Argentinian, Brazilian, and Mexican restaurants." Reviews have been favorable since the restaurant's opening in late August.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=32737&hilit=libertad
The Evanston Lunch Group will rumba, tango, and chacha its way westward to Skokie on Friday, November 11 (yes! 11/11/11) at 12:30 pm to check out the new lunch menu. ¡Vámonos, muchachos (y muchachas)!

Libertad
7931 Lincoln
Skokie
847/674-8100
http://www.libertad7931.com

I'll be there. Will you be rumbaing, tangoing, or chachaing?

I'll do my best to be there and will confirm either way as the date gets closer.

Thanks,

=R=

I'm planning to attend. Too bad we couldn't do 11:11 a.m., or at least the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month -- since I know we all will be observing Veterans (Armistice) Day.

I'll be there.

I was looking at the website today, and it seemed as if the dinner dishes were more ambitious than the lunch dishes. Perhaps we can ask the chef if we might have some of those dinner dishes:

These are some that appealed to me, but there are plenty of others as well. I am not suggesting that they could make all of these for lunch or that others share my taste:

Camarones hum-pomegranate-ancho chile glazed shrimp, sugar snap peas,
peruvian potato, frisee

Veneras scallops, black rice, green beans, yuzo-habanero-butter sauce

Calabasita mini pumpkin, wild mushroom risotto, chile de árbol, truffle oil

Cordero lamb, guajillo pepper, agave and avocado leaves, arepa,
mint-cucumber-jalapeño yogurt

As soon as I get a break from work next week, I was planning to ask the chef if some of items on the dinner menu could be made available for our lunch on the 11th. So I'm glad to have your input, GAF, on what you would like to see (and eat!). If others want to chime in, the menu is available at:
http://www.libertad7931.com

I'll update you on what I find out before the 11th. Of course, it might be more persuasive if I have a better idea of how many people will be dining. So if you're lurking with thoughts of attending, please post as soon as convenient. Thanks!

I'll attend.

tarte tatin wrote:I'm glad to have your input, GAF, on what you would like to see (and eat!). If others want to chime in, the menu is available at:
http://www.libertad7931.com

I had the same concern as Gary. The lunch menu seems extremely limited, whereas the dinner menu is much more varied. In addition to the items Gary mentioned, I'd also be interested in:

Pastel de Cangrejo - jumbo lump crab cake, jalapeño-cucumber-avocado relish, jalapeño aioli

Mussels - leeks, potatoes, house-made chorizo, coconut-saffron broth

I'm in as one person.

tarte tatin wrote:So if you're lurking with thoughts of attending, please post as soon as convenient. Thanks!

I would like to attend, unless the group is attaining unmanageable size, in which case I'll understand completely.

By my count, we are eight:

NR706
Ronnie Suburban
EvA
GAF
milz50 (welcome!)
nsxtasy
riddlemay
tarte tatin

I just spoke to the restaurant, and the size of the group does not appear to be a problem at all. We can even add a few more, if anyone else is interested.

Re the menu, I was told that if they are not busy at lunch next Friday, they would be happy to accommodate orders from the dinner menu. No need to order ahead. However, the kitchen is small, and if they have their hands full with lunch orders, they would ask that we stick to the lunch menu.

If you still have room for one more, I'd like to go too.

Bruthsmirnoff wrote:If you still have room for one more, I'd like to go too.

Yes, certainly! Anyone else?
I plan to call Libertad on Thursday to confirm our reservation and see if I can get any more info on ordering from the dinner menu.

Our updated list:
NR706
Ronnie Suburban
EvA
GAF
milz50 (welcome!)
nsxtasy
riddlemay
tarte tatin
Bruthsmirnoff

We will gladly join you,
Robert and Catherine

Arggh. Regretfully, I have to take my name off the list for Friday. Hope to catch y'all next time.

We have a reservation for 10 under "LTH" for Friday 11/11 at 12:30 pm.

NR706
Ronnie Suburban
EvA
GAF
milz50
nsxtasy
tarte tatin
Bruthsmirnoff
Robert and Catherine

Looking forward to seeing everyone there! (Sorry you can't make it, riddlemay.)

tarte tatin wrote:Looking forward to seeing everyone there! (Sorry you can't make it, riddlemay.)

Thanks, tt. I look forward to the reports.

A work friend might want to join us. Is there room for one more? If not, no big deal.

=R=

It was nice to see everyone again, and to share some great food at Libertad.

After lunch, I walked over to Sweety Pies, which I had never been to before. Sweety Pies is a bakery and cafe which formerly occupied the space where Libertad was, but moved a block and a half north to 8042 Lincoln. They had a lot of different kinds of baked goods - cookies, bars, cakes, etc. I bought several different things.

Now, I should note for the record that I am NOT a fan of the cupcake craze; as far as I'm concerned, cupcakes are something that you can easily make at home, and are great for six-year-olds. I always thought of them as consisting of bland cake topped with overly sweet, bland icing. Then I had one at Sweety Pies, and I now see them in a whole different light. I've always loved a really good buttercream cake frosting. I'm talking about genuine buttercream, the good stuff that needs refrigerating, not the crap you find on supermarket cakes. And Sweety Pies tops their cupcakes with a terrific genuine buttercream, fluffy and rich but not overly sweet or overly greasy, as good a buttercream as you'll find anywhere. (You can even see a few flecks of vanilla bean in the vanilla buttercream.) They put the buttercream on the cupcakes while you wait, so it's fresh. So yeah, I'm now a big fan of Sweety Pies, and for anyone who enjoys good pastries (especially good buttercream), it's worth checking out. They have photos of their cupcakes here.

I was thoroughly impressed with Libertad, and I await Ronnie's and Tom's photos to relive the lunch. The staff permitted us to order off of the dinner menu, which seemed (although we did not try the lunch dishes) more sophisticated. They serve a wonderfully spicy crab cake, a delightful, fall pumpkin, mushroom risotto, a coconut-inflected plate of mussels. Almost everything was excellent. I am so pleased to learn about a first-rate Latin restaurant in Skokie.

GAF wrote:The staff permitted us to order off of the dinner menu, which seemed... more sophisticated....

Did you have to use that word?

I suppose that I have been hanging out with Steve too often.

But this is not the sort of restaurant that has five sauces that they spoon out of a can. Perhaps it is not Topolobampo (it's not), but it is a serious restaurant with a knowledgeable chef.

It was a very nice lunch yesterday. Thanks, to everyone who helped set it up and to all who attended.

I posted some pics and brief (for now) thoughts on the main Libertad thread.

=R=

Does anyone remember what day we agreed to meet in December. I want to save that time.

GAF wrote:Does anyone remember what day we agreed to meet in December. I want to save that time.

Gary--I'm not sure we picked a specific date, but I'm fairly certain we were talking about the week of 12/5. Sorry not to be more helpful....