Lettuce Entertain You Brings Ema to the North Shore

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has brought its hit Ema to the suburbs hoping the North Shore appreciates chef and partner CJ Jacobson’s menu that mixes California cool with Mediterranean. The concept debuted in River North in 2016 and Lettuce has spun that into a sibling concept called Aba, which begot locations in Fulton Market; Austin, Texas; and Miami.

The buildout in Glenview is impressive, a radical departure from what most associate with the suburbs, taking a page from notable suburban debuts like RH Oak Brook, which channels the energy from the original in Gold Coast. The new Ema features a skylight and a light and breezy design with a track record in other markets.

In Glenview, Jacobson hopes to win over the lunch crowd with more salads — the chef says for the first time he’s offering a chopped salad (with ​​arugula, romaine, cauliflower, caper, date, parmesan, olive, red pepper). A Caesar’s salad is made with a tahini-spiked dressing. The restaurant’s staple dips, including hummus with lamb ragu and a South Asian-street-influenced bhel hummus made with tamarind and mint chutney, are also available.

Jacobson mentions the restaurant’s origins, as LEYE co-founded Rich Melman wanted a Mediterranean restaurant. Jacobson doesn’t possess that family background, saying at first he only knew the cuisine through late-night kebob spots in LA. That’s one of the reasons Ema doesn’t focus on a particular region or country. Jacobson compares how Chinese and Italian cuisine proliferated in America, and how locals interpreted those foods using American ingredients. Jacobson feels foods from the Mediterranean haven’t had the chance to go through those filters, and that’s how he approaches Ema. For example, the lamb & beef kofta comes with a hoisin sauce, drawing from Chinese influences. Since Ema’s conception, Jacobson’s experience has endeared him to the culture and cuisine. He’s traveled to the region and he recounts spending time at a late-night Israeli club known for its hummus. After eight years of research, he says Ema has developed a point of view which is what’s made the brand successful.

Jacobson has worked with Lettuce since 2014, when he was one of the chefs at the company’s rotating Intro Chicago restaurant in Lincoln Park. He knows the company isn’t known for short menus. They’re big and feature many items to cater to the pickiest. Jacobson doesn’t necessarily agree with that philosophy and says he constantly worries that customers won’t branch out and try something new.

“Can we be good at all this stuff?” Jacobson asks rhetorically.

Lettuce Entertain You is Chicago’s largest restaurant group and the Melman family’s strategy of ensuring the customer is always right has been successful for 53 years. “I kind of get proved wrong time and time again,” Jacobson adds.

Jacobson ponders his future with Lettuce, saying that he’s due to pitch the Melmans on a new restaurant idea. While he ponders, he reflects on Ema and Aba.

“Anytime you spend this amount of time with a cuisine, it becomes a part of who you are,” he says.

Ema Glenview, 1320 Patriot Road in Glenview, lunch is 11:30 to 4 p.m., until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; dinner is 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thurday, until 10 p.m. on Friday; 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Hamachi on rice cracker with Fresno pepper.