Lester Schlan is the owner of Max and Benny's (http://www.maxandbennys.com/) and will have been in business for 25 years in December of 2010. Max and Benny's has been in the present location for 15 yrs and Lester has been in the restaurant business all of his life. He opened a coffee house and bakery right out of college. Lester Schlan, who is the owner of Max and Benny's in Northbrook, has built an unbelievable dining establishment that caters to all people from all different roads of life. The restuarant is not a Kosher establishment but offers Kosher ingredients but it's not for all of the dishes that are offered. Their Passover items such as their chocolate covered macaroons, matzo, brisket, chicken, a chocolate roulade with a raspberry sauce and other wonderful delights are like pulling up to the table at your grandmother's home during the holidays.
The deli is a one stop shopping for all of your needs at home for the refrigerator such as knishes, sandwiches, soups, cheesecakes, bagel dogs, kugels, mandel brot, rugalach, cheesecakes, deli meats and cheeses and their homemade cookies that can be customized. Presently, Max and Benny's is baking cookies for all of the different Chicago sports venues like the United Center, Wrigley Field, US Cellular field and the Chicago Black Hawks. Their mandel brot come in several different flavors including walnut and chocolate chip.
Any ingredient that is left over is always used for another dish or product. Nothing is wasted.
The platters that they offer are many and are listed on their catering menu that is the size of a dictionary and thesaurus.
Inspirations for menu come from his creativity and the ability to improve his operation. Lester has more than 100 people that work for him. They have lowered their prices in this economy for the customer. They buy the very best food from the very best sources. Max and Benny's is a deli, restaurant and offers dinner, parties, events and catering options that are absolutely a delight to anyone's palette. Everything is baked from scratch: Rolls, bagels, challah, cookies bread, cheesecakes and all of their delights. Everthing is done impeccably and with pefection. They cater to the business world, families, and get togethers such as bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, baptisms, first communions and birthday parties. No event is out of their ability to provide fresh quality food. They have a lot of different functions for people from all backgrounds and everyone is welcome. They are open for all people.
The parking is ample and they offer free wifi. Do have a full liquor license and serve alcohol.
On the day of my visit, they were having a networking seminar for those looking for a job opportunity so they're able to really accomodate alot of different events and functions
Lester is able to stay ahead of the customer and in these economic conditions because they haven’t dropped their quality of products and delivery and they have a good reputation. Tourism is their bread and butter and they have a wonderful following from the surrounding community.
Corned beef is their biggest seller and they also offer chicken matzo ball soup that comes with either veges or some type of pasta like kreplach, rice or another other carb.
They have received stellar grades from the health department and they are very watchful of all insects and pests. There are eight managers and they take care of everything. They watch the refrigerators because that can be dangerous if the temperature is incorrect or the door is left open. Raw items are placed on the bottom because raw food can’t drip on fresh food. Cleaning crews come in everynight and they spend a lot of money on cleaning to make sure that there are no health issues that arise. Honestly, you can eat off the floors in the dining room and in the kitchen.
Their Passover menu consists of the following: fried matzo, with salami or lox, sponge cake french toast, matzo meal pancakes, passover cheese blintzes, matzo pizza with with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella either in a new or old style, 1/2 of a free-rage chicken with tsimmes and potato kugel or a passover popover filled with Tuna.
I sampled Matzo Ball Soup, a creamy chicken tortilla soup with pieces of tortilla chips, fresh baked rolls that are made every day, ruben egg rolls with 1000 island dressing, a corned beef sandwich with a pickle and coleslaw, chopped liver, passover popovers with tuna fish, homemade honey cake french toast, a chocolate roulade with strawberry sauce and FRESH whip cream,a chocolate covered macaroon and a chocolate chip cheesecake that was absolutely decadent. All of these items are listed on their menu and were wonderful. They were tasty, had a wonderfull texture and were made with perfection and care.
Max and Benny's is an absolute jewel and are top notch. They are an unbelieavable assett to the dining scene on the North Shore.
Max and Benny's
6:30am-9:00pm seven days per week. Holiday hours may apply
461 Waukegan Road, Brookside Plaza
Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: 847-272-9490
Fax: 847-272-9588
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