Legendary Venue Strikes A Chord With Foodies & Music Lovers!

There's an incredibly exciting venue that's creating a buzz throughout the North Shore and beyond.

210 LIVE in Highwood draws clientele the way the Pied Piper drew children. Combining great live entertainment in conjunction with a versatile, delectable menu, an extensive, top-flight drink menu, underscored by great service and Voila! You have 210 LIVE.

210 LIVE skimps on nothing: Their management team, led by Raine Tomchek is second to none and their #1 priority is seeing to it that customers are treated to a first-class experience.

The team at 210 LIVE ensure that their clientele enjoy a satisfying meal and tasty drinks, however, that's not the only appetite that's being tantalized. 210 LIVE is drawing Chicagoland's best live acts as evidenced two weekends ago, when my group and specifically came to see "Chicken Bone," the fully orchestrated Funk, Soul & R & B group, replete with full horn section!

"Chicken Bone" was near flawless and put on an energized, high-voltage concert, designed to thrill several generations and Wow them, they did. Supported by 210 LIVE's outstanding acoustics, Ned & the gang featured several decades of great dance music. The camaraderie of the group soaked into the audience who could not get enough of "Chicken Bone." In fact, their performance was so electrifying, by the end of the concert (That's correct, concert, not bar gig), their faithful audience demanded an encore. Needless to say, "Chicken Bone" did not disappoint, bringing the crowd to a stupendous roar throughout the final two songs! I also had the good fortune of sitting in on lead vocals and performing "Vehicle" by Chicago's own "Ides Of March," with the band, featuring their outstanding horn section.

210 LIVE has gone through incarnations and unlike other "White Elephants" who never succeed, regardless of ownership, 210 LIVE could not have timed their success better.

During their inaugural days as Mary Jane Lanes, in the 1940's, they were Highwood's first bowling alley, subsequently renamed Highwood Lanes, owned by the same family for close to 6 decades. In the 70's, the property was purchased by a club/music promoter who renamed the venue Minstrel's Alley and what followed are the stories that contributed to the legend when Rock N' Roll Icon's Styx, Cheap Trick (Hall of Fame), The Ramones & our own Jump N' The Saddle Band (Curly Shuffle), graced the stage.

In 2015, 210 LIVE (originally known as 210 Restaurant & Live Music Lounge), was born out of the storied walls, along with a healthy, kick-ass menu that's rave-worthy, tasty and fun to indulge in. The ultimate one-stop restaurant and concert attraction, 210 LIVE's food is so good, that customer's recognize 210 LIVE as a triple-threat: Great food, delicious drinks & monster entertainment!

My group indulged in the Israeli Platter, featuring: Fresh Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Local cucumber (Yum!), tomatoes with parsley and homemade pita bread-mouthwateringly delicious. My cohorts and I ordered two of the grilled chicken sandwiches, however, trust me: these were no ordinary grilled sandwiches. In addition to the Chipotle Mayo on scrumptious brioche bread, between the circular pickles, homemade coleslaw and topped off with 210 LIVE's house-made BBQ Chips, it ended up being one of those rare meals that you wish didn't end. Sooooo good!

Our starter was the outstanding Cheese Plate featuring: Le Gruyere & Bellwether Farms San Andreas Cheeses, with Tribeca Multi-Grain bread (Coupled with the fig preserves)? Orgasmic. Everything-spiced crackers, Frillman Farms local honey, grapes & the aforementioned fig preserves. Hungry yet? Notice a theme here?

With a nod to local grower's, Owner's Judy Shatkin and Steve Goldstein have created a world-class experience, combining this outstanding menu with top-shelf live local acts. No mystery as to why their loyal following is growing by the bushelful while 210 LIVE's reputation continue's to draw folks from all over the North Shore and then some.