Former MLB star stepping up to the plate

Opens upscale restaurant in East Dundee

Area residents craving Klaudia Crawford's freshly made cuisine can rest easily. The newly opened Abanazz restaurant has given the chef a new venue to continue whipping up her magic.

Abanazz (pronounced Ah-BAN-as), which opened in mid-March in the East Dundee River Street leisure district, replaced the shuttered Mason's Martini & Grille, a business that received $400,000 in renovations and upgrades before opening in 2006.

Some of the same meals patrons had grown to love still can be found on the Abanazz menu -- with some added twists.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Juan Acevedo is the new owner of the restaurant, flanked by fellow 1988 Dundee-Crown High School graduate Jeff Lovell, who runs the restaurant daily.

Lovell and fellow general manager Mark Weishar have prior restaurant experience to help advise Acevedo, a restaurant novice who resides in Carpentersville.

"The past couple of years, Juan has been wanting his own restaurant and has been looking for a place," Lovell said. "This one worked out perfectly. It's in our own backyards."

Part of the restaurant's grand design, created by former owner Chuck Fowler, includes a shared kitchen with next-door business Lavender Cafe. Crawford, the cafe's co-owner, not only cooks daily lunches for her own establishment, she also is head chef for Abanazz five nights a week.

Abanazz is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, with later bar hours for those looking for some nightlife.

Since Abanazz opened, many have flocked for the entertainment and drink specials. There's a disc jockey Thursday through Saturday night and drink deals, such as half-priced bottles of wine on Wednesdays and $5 martinis on Thursdays, that have brought in the crowds.

"Business has been good," Lovell said. "Our best nights have been Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays since the DJ starts at 10."

Lovell said there is no theme at Abanazz when it comes to the multi-ethnic menu.

Crawford said the menu is made up of past favorites, current specials and some new regular items.

Crawford's Czechoslovakian upbringing adds some flavorful additions, such as in the Hungarian goulash, a menu mainstay.

Other menu items include appetizers such as Voodoo Shrimp for $12 or the Abanazz Platter -- hummus, garlic baguettes, Cuban pork quesadillas, chicken skewers and melon relish -- for $15.

Under main courses, there are barbecue pork chops, $19; citrus halibut, $23; and a pretzel-crusted rack of lamb, $28.

Some of the old favorites that clients are asking for have remained on the menu, Crawford said.

"We still have the Hungarian goulash and the teriyaki flat-iron steak and filet mignon with wine sauce," Crawford said. "But we also have some new items, such as Caribbean chicken."

Crawford said there is a smaller dessert menu now, but it changes daily to keep things interesting. Everything still is made fresh daily, including the soups and salad dressings.

Besides the menu, Acevedo also tweaked some other facets of the business, such as the upstairs bar area, but left all the interesting components, including the 15-foot water fountain.

"We changed the upstairs to where we took away a few of the dining tables and made it more of a lounge with couches," Lovell said. "We can still do private parties up there, though, for up to 50 people."

Acevedo, a right-handed pitcher who has played for 10 major league teams (although never in Chicago), is now playing in Mexico. However, customers will see him at Abanazz after the season ends.

"He eventually will be there every day, but for right now, he's only here about one weekend a month," Lovell said.

Until then, Lovell and Weishar are holding down the fort, trying to establish a clientele before making any other major changes in the lineup.

"We initially were thinking of doing lunch, but we want to concentrate on our evening crowds," Lovell said. "Maybe down the road business will allow for it, but for now we have been very well-received and business is good."

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