Everyone knows Ravinia Music Festival. People come from all over the Chicagoland area buy cheap Ravinia tickets and sit on the lawn or under the pavilion and hear whatever musician or group thereof is playing on a particular evening. A vacation to Chicago, and especially to the North suburbs, might not be considered complete without a visit to this festival in Ravinia in Highland Park, IL.

But the best-kept secret of Ravinia (the place, not the festival) in Highland Park, IL has nothing to do with the music. In fact, it’s a restaurant.

I’m something of a food buff and, as such, somewhat particular when it comes to food, specifically to steak. As a rule, I don’t order skirt steak. Most places make it too tough, and by the time you tear off a bite to chew, your jaws are too exhausted to actually perform the required task. Like I said, I just don’t do skirt steak. With one notable exception (which I’ll get to shortly).

So last night I sat down with my brother to watch the White Sox play the Texas Rangers, and we found ourselves faced with a familiar dilemma—we’re hungry for two things: food and baseball (specifically White Sox baseball). What to do?

Luckily, we make our home in Ravinia in Highland Park, IL. Only a two-minute drive from our house is, as I’ve said, the best-kept secret of the area, namely, Ravinia BBQ and Grill.

We walked inside, as we do at the very least twice a week, and sat down in the bar area for a delicious meal accompanied by the best baseball eyes can view. And remember that notable exception to the skirt steak rule? That’s the skirt steak sandwich at Ravinia BBQ and Grill, a juicy and tender piece of meat on a toasted bun, a mouth-watering concoction that disappears all too quickly.

If you go to Ravinia BBQ and Grill (and I highly recommend you do—they have karaoke night on Thursdays) don’t miss out on the freshly prepared soups, either. They’re simply incredible.

For those of you who don’t live in the area of Ravinia in Highland Park, IL, Ravinia BBQ and Grill is a walk of just a minute or two from the Ravinia (NOT Ravinia Park) Metra station.

As for the baseball game, the White Sox won, 8-3. I suppose you could watch another game there (and if you frequent the area of Ravinia in Highland Park, IL, you probably root for another Chicago-based team), and the atmosphere is friendly, as is the service. Don’t miss out.

By Andrew Lee Schneider

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