Jen Eisner co-founded House 406, 1143 1/2 Church St., Northbrook, in July 2014. She calls it “A comfortable neighborhood spot with elevated food and drink.” Her partner in the “farm-to-table, New American steakhouse” is her husband, Chef Eloin Amador.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: In Northbrook. I still live in Northbrook. My whole family’s here. We’re all really close.
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Q: As child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I went through phases, probably everything out there. When I got little older, I was going to be a school nutritionist. But while studying for the Medical College Admission Tests, I decided to got to culinary school. I realized my favorite part of studying was taking a break to make dinner.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I was a Little League umpire. I started doing it when I was 9. We did the real little kids. I don’t think an umpire was really needed.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: I do have two cats. They’re my favorite things in the world. He was 11 and she was 9 when we adopted them from Orphans of the Storm. We fell in love with them, and we’re weird cat people now.
Q: Do you play any musical instruments?
A: I’m not musical at all. If you asked me to sing, you’d regret it.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?
A: I love my restaurant, of course, but if I go out to eat I always go to Tocco, in the city on Milwaukee just north of Division. Pizza and pasta and just amazing things. The guy imports everything from Italy, he’s totally hands-on. So delicious.
Q: What’s your favorite charity?
A: We do a lot with Orphans of the Storm. And with kids’ charities, it’s easy to do things in a restaurant, and we’ve worked with Share our Strength (an anti-kids’ hunger group) in the past, and Common Threads. That’s by Art Smith, who used to be Oprah’s chef. It’s a charity that teaches kids how to cook healthy, and they take it home and teach their families.
Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: I would love to go to Greece, and stay on the beach and look at the ocean for a couple of days.
Q: Do you have any words of wisdom?
Never say to no to an opportunity, but be careful about the people you surround yourself with.
Shout Out is a weekly feature helping us get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut
Twitter @IrvLeavitt
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