Press~ What others are saying about Antalee

North Shore Magazine 
February 2009

Suburban Woman North Shore Magazine 
September-October 2008

Mindful Metropolis
September 2009 

YOGA Chicago Magazine 
September-October 2008 

 
Suburban Woman North Shore Magazine
September-October 2008

Self Improvement:
Nourishing Your Inner and Outer Beauty

By: Aneta Arutcheva

"I have always wanted to empower people and help them feel beautiful, inside and out," says Aneta Arutcheva , owner of Antalee Wellness Spa & Gallery Chicago in downtown historic Glenview, just a block east of the train station on Glenview Road. Aneta's own personal journey to health and wellness was the impetus for opening this unique spa offering services that treat the whole of who you are. Besides the traditional spa services, which include manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, and laser removal, Antalee Spa offers chiropractic, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, coaching, nutritional counseling, Reiki, and even psychic readings!

Dedicated to Health & Healing

For the last 15 years, Aneta has dedicated her whole life to her own healing, having had severe food sensitivities all her life. After discovering macrobiotics, she began to turn her life around, and not only did her body feel better, but her own sense of well-being increased tremendously. "I came to experience firsthand that the food we put into our bodies affects the way we feel physically, mentally and emotionally, as well as how we look, which in turn enhances how we feel. And I felt so much more alive and energetic."

So the philosophy at Antalee Spa is to offer a place where people can come to approach wellness from all angles: body, mind and spirit. Starting when you enter through the spa door, you encounter an atmosphere of serenity and peace. Displayed there are health and beauty products made of the finest natural ingredients. You can browse books and CDs on self empowerment, healing and meditation. Just steps away is the café, offering completely organic, macrobiotically cooked food … very few places on the North Shore offer such a healthy menu. And what's also special about this café is its chef, Aneta's father, Gary, who cooks everything fresh and with a love for what he does that's very evident with each bite. You have to try it!

An Organic Body, Mind & Spirit

Beyond the entrance is an exquisite world of the finest spa services offered by a staff of experts providing you with an experience that brings you deep relaxation and restorative energy whether it be through a manicure or deep tissue massage. Everyone at Antalee knows taking care of the body affects the whole, meaning mind and spirit, too. Any products used in spa services are organic and all-natural.

Also on staff is therapist Julie Doherty, M.A., offering hypnosis, hypnotherapy, life coaching, spiritual direction and meditation. Dr. Justin Gruby is the staff's chiropractic medicine physician, who facilitates physical therapy and nutritional therapy. Valerie Merner, MSOM, L.Ac., is Antalee's acupuncturist, offering various ways to promote health working with the meridians of the body. Aneta- -not just the owner-- offers Reiki, Feng Shui consulting and nutritional counseling. And if it's a reading you'd like, Beverly Koeppel is the staff's psychic, specializing in Tarot, photo readings and name analysis.

A Mission of Self- Empowerment

All the specialists at Antalee practice a holistic approach in their individual areas of expertise. "I looked for practitioners who shared my same philosophy," says Aneta, "I believe that beauty is much more than just on the outside, and what truly makes a person beautiful is self-empowerment. It's important to take care of yourself on the outside because to look good is to feel better about yourself. But to really be fully beautiful, you need to be fully empowered … that's done through working on yourself inside, too."

In further commitment to promote overall health and wellness, Antalee offers several classes, including Hatha Yoga, with an emphasis on stretching and increasing flexibility in the body. Nia class is offered once a week. Nia, or "the art of motion" is a popular and fun way to exercise, gain strength and balance and create grace and power in your movements. There are also weekly meditation classes and classes on special topics, including nutrition, Feng Shui, Law of Attraction, chakra cleansing, and so much more.

For more information, please visit our website at www.Antalee.com. We hope to see you soon and assist you in your transformation … in body, mind and spirit!

YOGA Chicago Magazine
September-October 2008

Antalee: Healthy, Sensuous Food
on the North Shore

By: Cara Jepsen
ClICK HERE FOR LINK TO ARTICLE

Antalee Café in Glenview is like a well-kept secret; a café tucked into a spa that features incredibly tasty raw, macrobiotic and gluten-free food. Most of the food in the café is organic. And all of it is so satisfying and pleasurable that it’s easy to forget how healthy it is.

The Antalee Wellness Spa & Gallery offers services ranging from acupuncture to yoga classes, and the name combines those of owners Aneta Arutcheva and her mother, Alla Arutcheva, an MD who does research in microbiology and women’s health and is studying to be a naprapath. Aneta teaches meditation and cooking, is a hypnotherapist  and does energy healing; her artist husband, Artur Kalendjian, helped design the spa’s soothing interior. Her father and Alla's husband, Grair (or “Gary”), is the chef who creates the wonderful, handcrafted food. Aneta and her parents emigrated from Azerbaijan to Glenview 14 years ago.

Aneta had been suffering from migraines and sinus and viral problems a decade ago when she decided to try a macrobiotic diet. The diet, which means “long life,” balances yin and yang principles and includes cooked green and root vegetables, beans, grains and sea vegetables, plus a fermented item to aid digestion. “The doctors thought I was crazy and that I didn’t have anything, when I actually did,” she says.

The macrobiotic diet solved her health problems. “If you eat greens every day and seaweed a couple of times a week, you get a lot of minerals and vitamins, then you don’t need to take supplements,” she explains. “Brown rice has a lot of fiber, so you don’t need to take digestive enzymes if you take well-cooked brown rice twice a day. If you eat well-balanced food, the body gets everything it needs for maintenance; it starts detoxifying and healing itself.

But I knew that there was more to it than just eating well,” she continues. A student of self-empowerment guru Sonia Choquette, she started doing yoga and meditation and learned that it was her destiny to learn and help others. “[Sonia] said, ‘You’re  going to help a lot of people, and you’re helping yourself at the same time,” says Aneta, who went on to study macrobiotic cooking, hypnotherapy, Reiki and Nomena advanced energetic healing. "She actually told me I’m going to open this healing  center in Glenview."

The spa, which opened in early 2005, “addresses all parts of the human”--physical, mental and emotional. Spa and wellness services include psychology, hypnotherapy, chiropractic, energy healing, naprapathy, nutrition, feng shui, massage, facials, laser treatments and self-empowerment. There are also monthly cooking classes with Aneta and her father.

“You can’t just eat well and be in emotional chaos and be healthy,” Aneta explains. “You have to address all the parts of you. That’s why I wanted to open a center where people can do that and become whole.”

The spa is also an art gallery; it features the paintings of the internationally known Russian artist Victor Grabovsky, among other artists; the works on the walls are “chosen for their spiritual uniqueness and potential to inspire and heal.”

 The café has something for everyone: vegans, raw foodies, macrobiotics, gluten-free folks and even meat-eaters (all of the meat is hormone-free and organic). “We have a lot of options for energetic healing,” Aneta says. The cozy dining area is tucked into the back and features three small round tables draped with colorful silk fabric, wood floors and peach walls. It’s just off the kitchen, where Chef Grair Arutchev creates his handcrafted masterpieces. His mostly vegetarian menu features a wide range of healthy cooked macrobiotic items and live salads. There are several soups and appetizers, including nori wraps (vegetarian sushi) and daikon. He prepares most of the food according to macrobiotic guidelines, which include such things as using only certain oils (such as sesame) and preparing beans with Kombu seaweed to make them more digestible. In summer, the menu has more live foods and salads; in the winter, there are heavier items “that give the body a more warm feeling.” "A lot of people think health food is very bland, which is not true,” says Aneta. “You have to know how to cook  it well, to make it tasty. My father has this feeling for food--he makes it tasty.”

On my first visit, YOGA Chicago music writer, Debi Buzil, joined me. We shared a bowl of Greens Soup-Pure (small $3/large $4), an exquisite, unsalted mélange of broccoli, greens (including kale), brown rice, ground walnuts and a hint of mint.For our entrées we each chose the small vegetarian plate ($8.95). The menu said it would include the beans of the day, grains and three vegetable dishes.

But what came out was a rather large plate laden with 13 items, including a wonderfully creamy (but dairy-free) beet salad, creamy millet (again dairy-free), sweet potatoes, zucchini flavored with walnuts and Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise), al dente broccoli, kale, tangy pickled green beans, roasted potato, red beans and more.

Grair came out of the kitchen and explained what everything was and how he made it. Each item was tastier than the last--all of it so sensuous and satisfying.

Grair has enjoyed cooking since he was a child and has a natural talent for making healthy food taste deceptively decadent; indeed, the other customers at the café--all regulars--said his food is “addictive,” and I can’t help but agree. “I can put the same food on the table, but it’s not going to be the same as when he does it,” says Aneta. “We always wanted to get helpers in the café, but it’s hard--because nobody can do it as well as him.”

Most items on our plate are also available à la carte ($3/$5).  Other vegetable dishes include fermented white cabbage with grapeseed  oil and flame-roasted eggplant sautéed with tomatoes, onions and olive oil. There’s also a juice bar and a wide assortment of herbal teas.

My car’s air conditioner conked out just before my second visit to the cafe. I had no desire to spend hours stuck in 90-degree heat during Edens Expressway construction, so when my friend Tommy suggested taking the Metra train I decided to look into it. Not  only does the train stop two blocks away from Antalee, but also you can take your bike with you--for no extra fee. Moreover, the station is just around the corner from Sweet Dreams organic bakery (see my review in the September 2007 issue of YOGAChicago) and just a few miles from REI--where, after my meal at Antalee, I purchased  a monsoon-quality raincoat for an upcoming trip to India.

This time, Debi, who joined me again, and I started with a bowl of fresh borsch ($4), a Russian cabbage and beet soup so thick you could stand the spoon in it. It was warm and tangy from cilantro and dill; shredded carrots gave it a satisfying crunch. The salt-free delicacy came with a side of lemon juice, which gave it a nice zip.

Grair is on a first-name basis with regulars, but is just as friendly,  open and engaging with newcomers--a very yogic quality indeed. When we decided we wanted the large vegetarian plate, he actually asked us which plate we wanted it on. We chose the most beautiful ones. “Why not?” he said.

Again, there was a huge amount of food. All of the items were wonderful, but the standout was an addictive, creamy Russian salad made with peas, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, dill, cilantro, ground walnuts and almonds and vegan mayonnaise. There was also a sweet, garlicky beet salad, amazing red cabbage coleslaw with a slight kick to it, an organic seaweed salad made with flax seed oil, buckwheat, lentils, pickled green beans and peas and several other items--including a succulent zucchini and green pepper dish that came out on a separate plate. I loved it--even though as a rule I’m not a fan of either vegetable.

Grair came out again and told us what was in everything and showed us the hand-cranked nut grinders and high-quality Swiss Zepter stainless steel cookware he uses--which allows you to cook without oil or water and preserves the natural flavors of the food (the café’s flatware is also made by Zepter). He came out again later, this time with complimentary green salad featuring fresh feta cheese and just enough ground walnuts and almonds to balance the acidity of the dressing.

 It was late in the day, so we decided against his specialty Turkish coffee--which was highly recommended by a regular at the next table--and shared a Teeccino, a dark, rich, full-bodied, caffeine-free herbal coffee substitute that has the same mouth-feel as coffee. The mocha one we tried had all organic ingredients: roasted carob, roasted barley, chicory, dates, almonds, figs, natural mocha flavor and cocoa powder. Grair brought out some fresh squares of dark chocolate with our drinks. He’s planning to add some healthy gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free desserts to the menu. In the meantime, the organic bakery Sweet Dreams is around the corner.

“It’s good there’s more energy going into wellness  in Glenview, as more people get educated and start eating well and aking care of themselves,” says Aneta. “If more people do that, then we save the world.”

Antalee Wellness Spa & Gallery is located at 1834-36 Glenview Road in Glenview (847.486.1130 or www.antalee.com).
The café is open Monday through Saturday from noon till 6 p.m.; carryouts are available until 7:30 if arranged in advance.
It’s a short  walk from the Glenview Metra station, and there’s free parking in front. Catering is available, and there are monthly macrobiotic cooking classes. Antalee also offers a wide range of wellness services ranging from acupuncture to yoga.
Sweet Dreams is located at 1107 Waukegan Road. To find out more about taking the train to Glenview, visit www.metrarail.com.

This review is based on information available at press time. Please call the restaurant to confirm.

 Cara Jepsen holds a master’s degree in journalism, and her byline has appeared in publications ranging from Billboard magazine to the Chicago Tribune. She teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and Dharma Mittra yoga at the Chicago Yoga Center, YogaNow, Yoga Trek Center,  East Bank Club, Lincoln Park Athetlic Club, Lakeview Athletic Club and DePaul University’s Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center.  She is also available for private or workplace classes. For more  information, visit carajepsen.com, or contact her at 773.315.5489 or via carajepsen@yahoo.com.