Knead Marketplace

I’m sorry to report that Knead has closed recently. All the windows are covered and there’s a new burger joint scheduled to take over the space. This is as of November 2010

Mostly I whine about dining in the suburbs because they don’t quite have all the amenities to which I’m accustomed in the city. However, I have been surprised as of late, and Knead was my latest suburban delight! First off, props to Knead for bringing a little BYOB love to the ‘burbs. Oh, and they did it right, with a bottle cooler for our bubbly. I did open our bottle, mostly because one of our servers was a youngun’, I’m pretty sure. (No worries, I love to show off my skillz!)
The inside is small, but very darling and café-​like. My dinner date and I chose to sit outside to soak up the last few moments of lovely weather. We were on a leisurely girl date, you see. We want to chat, drink our bubbles, share plates and take our time.
We started with the Alsatian Onion Tart which was a heavenly wedge of sweet onions, goat cheese and crust. YUM. Served along with a perfectly dressed side salad, it was marvelous. Plate cleaned.
We then ordered the Café Deluxe skirt steak with blue cheese butter. Amazing, but we did have to request more blue cheese. Served with beer battered (OMG) onion rings and asparagus, that plate was cleaned as well. Also shared was the «Which came first?» which naturally was a plate with grilled chicken and a poached egg. The johnny cake was amazing, as was the spinach and maple sage butter. Yet another yum.
Because we are GIRLS and like sweets, we shared two, the fruit and the chocolate. The fruit was a shiraz-​poached pear with honey… an interesting dessert, and quite perfect for fall. The chocolate was a chocolate torte with crushed pretzels on top floating in a bourbon butter sauce. Seriously amazing.
Service was the only slight misstep and I say slight because both the gals waiting on us were absolute sweethearts. The restaurant wasn’t very busy, so it’s as if we had two servers who would ask us the same question over and over again. I’m not faulting them. I suppose that is better than being ignored, right? So I’m not penalizing them. I think that just means that more La Grangians need to check this place out for dinner! BYOB and fantastic food? Get here. STAT.
Right off the La Grange Metra station, this could even be a nice spot for city folks to check out. Two seriously full thumbs up. Well done, Knead.

Did you know that Knead Marketplace transitions from cute coffeeshop by day to stylish bistro at night? On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, you can experience Knead’s ‘Café Dinners’. Expect to see creative menu choices with ingredients from local producers. The menu changes often, but one item in particular is a mainstay for a reason: the Knead steakburger. I ordered the #1 which is comprised of 8 ounces of grass-​fed beef, mustard, demi horseradish and Mt. Tam Cheese. Seriously, one of the best, make-​your-​bun-​wet juicy burgers I’ve had in some time! Worth the splurge, I assure. My dining companions also raved about their fish selections. To try, next time!
The service is friendly, efficient and unassuming… and, don’t be surprised if the owner (chef?) stops by your table with a personal warm welcome. It’s the small touches like this that will keep me coming back. Well, along with this delicious tidbit: Knead is BYO so uncork away!

Mmmmm sandwiches. Top 3 favorite food groups. I digress… I really enjoyed my light lunch at Knead. It was my first time and I was pleasantly surprised! I had the shrimp salad and crab meat sandwich (called the Bay Dream) on a yummy roll and it was great. I’ll be back for more gourmet sammies in the future, for sure! Oh and pastries. Must try one next time. Yum…

Another fantastic visit to Knead.
I had the delicious pastrami on rye with horseradish mayo. My lunch pals also enjoyed their sammies. On the way out my husband insisted we try a pastry since they were «staring at» him the entire time he was eating his lunch. I had the fruit danish and he had the cheese danish. It was very good and I especially enjoyed the coffee. It reminded me of some of the great coffeeshops downtown.
Can’t wait to go back and try more goodies.

Stuck in traffic for over an hour due to the 5^th season we call «construction season». If it wasn’t for the fabulous friends/​Yelpers I was meeting for dinner, I would have turned around and gone home in a heartbeat.
Thanks goodness I didn’t! Because now, I’m an official member of Knead Marketplace’s clean (blue) plate club! Knead serves a special café dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday only. It’s a small space, but very cute. Friendly waitstaff and excellent food – it’s definitely part of what puts La Grange on the map for great food finds.
I opted for the «Seafood» Café Dinner which was scallop and shrimp quiche, tarragon roasted potatoes and spicy hollendaise sauce. The quiche was fluffy and had nice sized pieces of scallop and shrimp. So flavorful and well-​made. The potatoes were very good – I loved how the pieces were crisp-​roasted on the outside and very soft on the inside. The Hollendaise sauce was really yummy and definitely home-​made, not from a jar or mix.
The owner that came out to greet us and took time to talk to all the customers dining there that night. Even though we were all nicely satisfied with our meals, everything the waitstaff would bring out to the other tables turned our heads and oohs and ahhs ensued. I checked out the menu board that listed their different breakfast and lunch options – all sounded so delicious as well. Future visits to Knead are definitely on my dining list.

Went to Knead for lunch today and was pleasantly surprised. Instead of going to Panera, check out this gem. They have a great variety to choose from. The dinner menu looks pretty good and its BYOB which is always pretty radical.

Alright friends, if you go to Knead I will personally guarantee you a 5 star time. And if for whatever reason you go and feel that you didn’t have a 5 star time, you can just consider yourself excommunicato with this señora. Because unfans of Knead, are unfriends of mine. prepare for your facebook friend count to drop by one.
As of today, May 10^th, Twenty-​Ten (sounds so futuristic this way), I have found my favorite suburban spot. In fact, it might just be my fave spot regardless of geographic location– scratch that, I meant universal sector (again, more future-​tabulous).
It was hard to choose from their vast menu, but for me it came down to the freshly sliced apples, gruyère cheese, frisee salad, red onion, the best dijon you could ever imagine, and some fresh as can be bread AKA the Cheese Monger Sandwich. It was probably one of the most delicious things to have ever slipped past (okay, shoved into) my lips. As a person who’s lactose intolerant, I can tell you that it was worth every bit of the inevitable stomach ache I will surely get in the next few hours. The BF got the Zen Tuna which consists of seared rare tuna, wasabi-​ginger mayo, mesclun, cucumber, and tomatoes on multigrain slices. He wasn’t that hungry going in, but managed to scarf the whole thing down in no time flat. In fact, it was the first time in our 6 years of dating where he actually finished all his food, and finished it before me, no less. It was one for the record books, my friends. We also indulged with a couple of phenomenal chai tea lattes and some chocolate fudge-​y squares to round out the meal. Let me tell you, it was all to die for.
The owners were so very gracious, not to mention super sexy. They were winding the shop down for the day, as they close at 4 most evenings, and gave us a big loaf of bread to take home since they get their bread fresh everyday and couldn’t use it any longer. What we also got was a dinner menu to go as they are now open for dinner on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6−10… oh, and they’re BYOB, but don’t tell anyone else. I don’t need any problems arising involving me having to wait for a table.
I’ll likely be here every night, so say hi if you see me and get ready to enjoy a 5 star type of meal.

There are pros and cons to Knead Marketplace. I will list them for you in an easy-​to-​read table below…
Pros:
–tasty sandwiches with unique flavor flair
–fairly large list of tasty menu items to choose from
–friendly staff
–cozy atmosphere
–BYOB
Cons:
–The old fashioned ice cream parlor chairs are not comfortable for a long lap-​top/​lunch session
–Kinda hard to park on La Grange Rd, but it wouldn’t keep me from going there
–the cupcakes are a little on the dry side
–No free wi-​fi, which I feel is a coffee shop standard as much as cream and sugar
–The sandwiches come with a half shot glass sized container of coleslaw. I’m paying $ 9 for my sandwich, I at least want a double shot of coleslaw.
Summary and Side Notes: Give it a try! The sandwiches are very good. Just make sure to ask for an extra side if you’re hungry. They do serve «café dinners», but the place is just too small for a party of more than 4 people.

We noticed this place as we were driving down La Grange Rd trying to figure out where to eat.
A cute little shop with great sandwiches. They serve breakfast, and I think some dinners (BYOB). We were here for lunch and both tried the egg salad — hubby tried the egg salad with salmon — and was very tasty (and seemed to be celery-​free — yay!) Small cozy tables line the restaurant but we chose to sit at the counter and watch the employees decorate gingerbread men for the xmas walk. Friendly staff, good looking menu and food — we’ll be back for sure!

While getting a manicure next door I realized that I was famished. Lucky for me, Knead Marketplace was nearby. Trying to decide on a sandwich, I was a bit overwhelmed. I said «I just want a salami sandwich» and the woman @ the register whipped out a «make your own sandwich» list and asked me what I wanted. Awesome. A few minutes later I had salami on rye w/​cucumbers, onions, and lettuce all wrapped up. The rye was fresh, the salami was a-​plenty, and the lettuce was shredded (a nice surprise).
If I’m ever in the area again, I’ll definitely give their sandwiches/​soups/​salads a try.

I frequent this place often though I mainly order out, so I can’t comment on the quality of the service. In terms of menu and quality of the food, Knead has a nicely varied menu, and the quality of the food is very good. It’s mainly a lunch place, serving sandwiches with funky names such as «The Devil LIkes Cheese» and salads though it also has coffee and breakfast items on the menu. Some of my favorite items that I’ve tried with comments:
«Pistol on Whiskey»: I love how the pastrami is warmed (pan-​fried) before putting it on Rye bread.
«A Better Cheddar»: a grilled cheese with bacon on challah bread… mmm
«La Grange Po Boy»: nice mix of Italian deli meats with giardinara
«Tuna Nicoise»: I love this seared Tuna salad though sometimes it over-​dressed
Price wise, it is on the pricier side though not outrageously expensive. Overall, I feel like the quality of the food is worth the price. There is also a limited deli and pastries selection — we love the garlic potato salad though it is not always in the deli case.

Very creative named sandwiches. Fun and tasty. I’ve had the smoked salmon sandwich, the inside-​out cheese sandwich and some soups. Overall, above average. My husband has loved everything he has gotten from here. The only disappointing thing is the small paper cup of «coleslawy» they serve on the side. REALLY!!! Please get rid of that. Number one, it is not good. Number two, the presentation is very unattractive. Serve with a pickle or some spicy beans/​veggies.

This is a cool, underrated little place in downtown La Grange (aka countryside/​mistaken for Aurora/​Joliet), IL. Joliet Road in La Grange is almost it’s own misnomer to a degree.
Knead is a cool place. It’s another indie style shop or restaurant, something unique to the area and more along the lines of a privately owned shop you might expect in Evanston or something. Lots of creative art on the walls, a bit overpriced sandwiches/​etc, but overall well made and of good quality. The sandwich (the «Zen Tuna») uses real slices of ahi, along with the nice horseradish mix that goes with it. That alone tends to justify the reasoning for higher expenses. My date’s sandwich — the «Veggie Vitality» was equally awesome and damn good for a veggie sandwich on foccia with olives.
Meanwhile, they have these pretty tasty enormous cookies for like less than 2 dollars. You know, the kind everyone loves but if we had every day we’d be diabetics? Well that’s why I eat them. I’m not a diabetic, and I don’t eat them often, and as a guy I have no issue with foods going straight to my ass, although not to be confused with the south park episode about eating in that fashion.
So go, check it out, they have cool and unique drinks and sandwiches with cool names. Plus, next door you have margaritas at the restaurant. Pretty good combo! If we had sandwiches AND margaritas, then we’d be talking.

This bakery&Café was my quick stop on my way out of La Grange. They had a lot of yummy sounding sandwitches, pastries, deli meats, frozen pasta and coffee. I opted for a pastry and some pasta for later.
the fruit tart w/​raspberry filling… Delightful and flakey, everything I wanted in a pastry.
the frozen ravioli w/​sausage tomato filling I made two days later… Savory and tender skinned, an easy to make gourmet frozen meal for two.
Service on a slow friday morning… Terrible. I almost walked out. I waited so long to give them my money. I’d understand if I they had to put tougether a sandwich or a coffee made to order, but it was just a pastry from the display case and a bag from the freezer. The girl was taking a phone order, no one from the back came up to help her, there wasn’t a line, I was standing at the counter with the money out waiting to hand it to her for at least 5 minutes.
If Knead were faster I’d totally stop there again to pick up one of their tasty sounding sandwiches, or pastries. La Grange is a nice stop on the way to the outlets, there are a lot of other neat little places to try out.

I Knead these sandwiches.
Bacon with delicous.
The food is wonderful. Also, the location along LaGrange Rd. is cool, right down the street from interesting shops.
At some point, I want to come back and buy some meat.
That blew me away. They have a mini butcher shop.

I have kind of a super crush on this place.
All of the sandwiches have clever names that make me smile and then make me want to eat them. Like one that is called Somebody’s (sorry I can’t remember the actual name) Last Request, a steak sandwich with hollandaise sauce and a poached egg. The every have a cute and catchy one for their chicken liver sandwich, which really made me want the chicken liver sandwich, even though I can guarantee you that I DO NOT actually want a chicken liver sandwich, although I think it’s cool that they have a chicken liver sandwich in their regular rotation.
The day I ate here was the last day of my medically imposed bland diet and the woman here crafted me the most amazing bland sandwich that has every existed — roasted turkey, fresh mozzarella, avocado and a teeny tiny dab of garlic mayo on a pretzel roll. Damn girl! If this is bland, then sign me up! Actually no, I was getting pretty sick of that bland diet shit, but it was still a damn good sandwich.
They need to fix how they store the cupcakes — they are decent, but refrigerated, so they come off a bit cold and dry. The croissants filled with maple breakfast sausages and provolone more than make up for those transgressions though. They also have a small meat market that had some beautiful looking pork chops that got my man all aroused.

I love this place! I had a great smoked chicken salad on croissant Very unique and tasty. The croissant was amazing. Also had the slaw of the day which was apple curry — FANTASTIC! For dessert, the Boston Crème Pie cupcake was so yummy with good custard inside and dark chocolate on top.
I wish we had a place like this in Wheaton!

I’d like to give you more stars Knead, but you killed one of my favorite sandwiches on a day I was really craving one.
I love a good hot corn beef sandwich. No cheese, maybe some thousand island but ALOT of meat between either a pumpernickel or rye. What I paid $ 7.50 at Knead for was a sadly skimpy sandwich. The meat content would’ve been fine had there been other toppings. There weren’t any however. I mean all one has to do is pile corned beef until its hard to eat in one bite. What made matters worse is that the only side was a tiny cup of OK cole slaw. I had to buy a bag of chips to stave my hunger… and I dont usually eat chips.
Sorry Knead, maybe I’ll give you another try when the memory of this experience fades.

located in the heart of downtown LaGrange, this little deli/​bakery/​café is the perfect stop for a fresh, delicious breakfast or lunch. choose from a unique selection of hand-​made baked goods, sandwiches and salads, or create your own! I tried the «Green Eggs & Salmon» — the perfect balance of spicy cured smoked salmon, egg salad and green onion mayo on a bagel — which cost me 7 bucks, but it was worth every penny. it left me so satisfactorily full, I couldn’t even think about trying any of their desserts! I will definitely be going back to try many more of their tasty specialties.