FESTIVE FEASTING AT THE BLACK RAM

Heavy, strap hinged wooden doors close behind you as you enter the Black Ram, shutting out Oakton street’s traffic noises. Meanwhile, a wave of laughter and holiday cheer erupts from the dining rooms within. In northwest-suburban Des Plaines, its party season at this 35-year-old restaurant, packed with Chicago-area families who claim this supper club as their own. Many of them troop here several times a year to celebrate the holidays, special events, or simply enjoy a meal out together.

“My mother always says if we eat out for the holidays, it’s got to be at the Black Ram,” Tom Klain says with a chuckle. “I’ll drive in rush hour traffic to get here, that’s how good it is." “This is the place families like to gather,” agrees Nick Liapes. Nick owns the restaurant with his nephew, John Liapes. Every one of Nick’s customers are his friends-even the first time visitors!

During the holiday season, guests crowd the six dining rooms, toasting good times and tucking in starched napkins, anticipating Chef Louis Karavites’ Greek influenced dishes.

Chef Louis picked up his first frying pan in Athens at the age of 14. But he learned to cook mainly by observation. A French chef taught him how to make sauces.

DELICIOUS DECORATIONS
The Library, with it’s deeply carved oak panels, stained-glass ceiling and framed English etchings, sparkles with candle lamps, wreaths and other Christmas finery. Red ribbons drape the main dining room. A wall of windows and forest-green paisley carpeting create a festive feeling in the Garden Room. All of the dining rooms fill up fast at this time of year.

The classic menu features the kind of stick-to-your ribs fare that many Des Plaines residents crave. But Louis’ flair for wine sauces, savory side dishes and artful appetizers elevates ordinary fish, steak and chops to special-occasion cuisine.

A stuffed phyllo appetizer, packed with spinach and feta cheese and served with a dill-infused champagne sauce, shows off Louis’ talent. “Feta and champagne are perfect together, but it’s the taste of dill that makes them sing,” the chef says.

The kitchen keeps busy with orders for the specialty: juicy Athenian lamb chops, broiled and seasoned with lemon and oregano. “Greeks know lamb,” says a smiling Louis, who always picks out the lamb himself.

TURF AND SURF
Sizzling steaks arrive at your table smothered in a creamy sauce or a tongue-tingling merlot glaze. Serious meat eaters rave about the veal porterhouse in shitake mushroom sauce. Fish lovers find the daily selection of six fresh catches, which includes pike, whitefish, salmon and tuna, almost overwhelming.

A soup of the day or fresh garden salad accompanies dinner, along with a baked or twice baked potato, or a side dish of steaming mashed potatoes flecked with garlic.

Dessert fanciers won’t want to miss the flourless chocolate cake that comes right from the restaurant’s own ovens. The apple tart arrives topped with cinnamon ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. (Black Ram serves Homer’s ice cream, made in near by Wilmette.)

“One thing about Christmas,” Louis says with a laugh, “people always seem to have more room for desserts!”

“With hearty food and friendly atmosphere, this venerable restaurant in Des Plaines seems almost like home. There’s no better time for a visit than during the holidays"
(Review by Out & About Chicago")


     Please select one of our five private rooms. Call 847.824.1227 to book a special event today!