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The Wit Hotel's third high-profile restaurant opening is scheduled for next Tuesday — chef Todd Stein's Cibo Matto will be on the hotel's second floor, in a sweeping space designed by the same team that did TRU. Along with the cheese- and salumi-focus that's got everyone all a-twitter, we got our hands on the opening menu. What should you be getting ready for? Crispy sweetbreads with artichoke fritto and lemon; roasted chicken livers with creamy polenta, pancetta, roasted mushrooms, and charred onions; the near-obligatory fried ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms; summer peaches with burrata and almond pesto; and seared trout with tuscan kale. We'll show off the rest of the menu next week.

Get excited, fans of fast-casual dining: National chain Buffalo Wild Wings has announced that they'll be opening their first whoops, eighth Chicago-area location, in Evanston's Church Street Plaza in the old Maple Gallery space. The location, at 1745 W. Maple Ave., already plays host to a Chili's — which we've always considered to be to burgers and tex-mex what Buffalo Wild Wings is to fried pieces of chicken — and an outpost of Italian chain Bravo Cucino, which we're assured is the Italian equivalent. The Buffalo Wild Wings is slated for a November open. [Chi Real Estate Daily]

All the heat-seeking scenesters (in both the social and the temperature sense) will be flocking to the just-opened Terrace at Trump this weekend, sating their hunger for sixteenth-floor views and seventeen-dollar cocktails (despite its price tag, we're really feeling the Anchors Aweigh: Hendrick’s gin, fresh cucumber & watermelon juices, and some jaunty mint). At a media preview, Time Out Chicago described the feeling of standing on a walled ledge 200 feet in the air by noting that "you can almost reach out and touch Wrigley Tower’s clock; below that, the river peacefully unfolds into the lake." Just don't lean over too far, or you'll fall and then miss out on your duck leg with crispy spring roll and carrot coulis, your lamb loin sliders on brioche with red pepper ketchup, your cuban nachos with plantains, chorizo, and manchego, or your next fancy cocktail (for max irony, may we suggest the Man Overboard?). Check out the complete selection of food and drink post-jump.

Continue reading "What to Eat at Terrace at Trump" »

The comparisons are inevitable between the recently-opened Chicago's Dog House in Lincoln Park and Avondale's Hot Doug's — taking their cue from the king of encased meats, the boys behind the Dog House have turned to some nontraditional animals in putting together their menu. Adventurous eaters can order lamb, duck, or even smoked alligator sausages, as well as plenty of inspired riffs on the traditional Vienna Beef. But where the Dog House's brilliance really shines is in their aptly named Blago Dog: it's a classic Chicago dog with all the garden trimmings, but the whole thing has been sacrilegiously and embarrassingly doused in ketchup. If this is something you actually want (if, perhaps, it is something you find fucking golden?), the menu notes that the starting bid is $1000. You can also check out the Dog House's complete offerings after the jump.

Continue reading "The Brilliant Blago Dog at Chicago's Dog House" »

Heatwave, schmeatwave — in blatant violation of the culinary dictates of summer, Bucktown Soup Cafe finally opened its doors this week. The wide-ranging soup selection will be served on a rotating basis, with hearty fare like lobster bisque, chicken & dumpling, hot & sour, and fire-roasted tomato sharing the stage with more seasonally appropriate selections like gazpacho. Check out the complete selection post-jump.

Continue reading "Now Open: Bucktown Soup Cafe" »

If the Taste of Chicago ignites a fire within you for Original Rainbow Cone, but not really enough of a fire to get you to trek down to Beverly, the owners have decided to expand their operation up to State Street: they'll be sharing a retail spot at 177 N. State St. that's also occupied by sandwich restaurant Halsted's Deli. [Chi Real Estate Daily]

Paul Kahan, Donnie Madia, and crew have finally revealed what they're planning to do with the old Pontiac Cafe space that they acquired last fall — though the reveal might have been accidental. Eavesdropping at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Food & Wine's Kate Krader overhears Kahan saying to a companion “I'm gonna serve tacos and cheap American beer in an old gas station in Wicker Park.” The space is a stone's throw from Violet Hour, in which Kahan and Madia also have a stake. [Mouthing Off]

Previously:
Old Pontiac Cafe To Become Post-Publican Publican

[Photo: Salim Virji/Flickr]

Looks like UFood Grill in the South Loop has changed its name to just The Grill, Sloopin reports: "We couldn't find much about the new name or concept, but it looks very similar inside. It also looks like it's the same owner, but we're not sure about that. The restaurant looks to have changed its mantra from 'healthy' food to simply traditional grill food (ie burgers, fries, etc)." [Sloopin]

Update: Never mind! We just heard from the nice folks at Taxim, and they're thinking maybe tomorrow instead. We're thinking we will hold off reporting on this until we have DNA evidence of orchid root ice cream in a paying customer's tummy.

After taunting us for months with the promise of all-day mezethes, this morning at 7 a.m. Taxim opened its doors to anyone in search of a decent cup of strong coffee and some Mediterranean accompaniments (Greek ice cream for breakfast? Crazy flavors like orchid roots, crocus, and mango? Hells yes.) Look for daily chalkboard offerings, plus a fixed menu of small plates and pastries. Today's opening menu after the jump.

Continue reading "Yes, Taxim Is Open For Lunch (and Breakfast) Today Wait, No It's Not" »

Brace your arteries: Chicago is slated to get two more locations of Five Guys, the DC-export burger chain known as much for their fresh-cut (and addictive) french fries as they are for their hamburgers. The Stew notes that Lincoln Park gets a second location opening July 20 (2368 N. Clark, on the corner with Fullerton), and for those who can't wait for novelty, the Rogers Park Five Guys at 6474 N. Sheridan will open two weeks earlier on July 6. [The Stew]

Time to nail closed the coffin for Rockstar Dogs: the Lincoln Park location of the mini-chain, whose alive-or-not status was unclear this past March, is for sure shut for good. LTHer "Puppy" notes that there's a sign in the window saying the space will reopen as "The Dog Joint" in July. It's unclear whether that'll be under the same ownership; a call to the former Rockstar location gets an out of service message, which kills us, because we really need to know the fate of that stripper pole. [LTHForum]

Previously: Time Out Chicago is the Harbinger of Hot Dog Death

While the restaurant's namesake fish isn't on the menu, there are other trouts: a three-way tasting of fish preparations includes orange-cured Tasmanian aea trout and applewood-smoked rainbow trout. Plus there's the entree we're calling for Most Likely To Be Mentioned In Every Review is their pan-seared Idaho golden trout, prepared "New Zealand style" — i.e. the way chef Sean Sanders and his wife cooked it up while they were honeymooning in Kiwiland, with brown butter, confit shallots, peas, mint, and toasted walnuts. Finish it off with the intriguingly named "Grandma Burns Chocolate Chip Cookies" — it's not clear if this is a recipe from someone called Grandma Burns, or if the lady has a tendency to overcook them, but they're served up with a glass of organic milk. Can't go wrong with that.

Check out the complete menu after the jump.

Continue reading "Eat Your Salad After Dessert at Browntrout" »

Tonight at 5pm the doors of the former Chinaski's space will reopen, and 6 Degrees will be born. Think your standard Bucktown bar, but with the crazy meat-lover's hook of The Horseshoe — the unofficial official sandwich of Springfield, IL. What's in a horseshoe? UrbanDaddy breaks it down: "Texas toast piled with your favorite meats (hamburger, turkey, chicken, Italian beef), topped with crispy French fries and, finally, smothered in warm, thick cheese sauce." This is, in fact, why you're fat.

Jimmy Bannos (Heaven on Seven), Scott Harris (Mia Francesca), and at least one other big name in the Chicago restaurant world are joining forces, Voltron-style, to bring Chicago The Purple Pig, reports TOC's Heather Shouse, in what might be the biggest restaurant news to cross our desks in a long while. The restaurant is slated to open in mid-September at 500 N Michigan Ave. And they're playing to trend: pan-Mediterranean small plates all under ten bucks, a bar-centric atmosphere — and that name? "We like pork and we like wine,” head chef Jimmy Bannos (whose son Jimmy Jr., late of New York's Del Posto and Esca, will be running the kitchen) told Shouse. Turns out when a pig drinks wine, it turns purple. Apparently this is common knowledge? [TOC/Out & About]

Rejoice in a delayed fashion, suburban hot dog lovers! Beloved weiner stand Wolfy's, a West Rogers Park staple since 1967, was scheduled to unveil its long-awaited Northbrook location today, but they've pushed the grand opening to this Thursday, June 4. The menu is pretty much identical: there's the famous dog, of course, as well as options like Polish sausage, grilled salami on French bread, house-made Italian beef, and their beloved brisket/chuck-blend cheeseburger burger, topped with Merkt's cheddar and grilled onion and served on a challah roll. [Dining Chicago]

There’s been a bit of mystique surrounding the opening of Nightwood; its location—an oasis in a somewhat underdeveloped Pilsen environs—and its namesake the Djuna Barnes novel, apparently an homage to owner Jason Hammel's literary past. Not left out of the anticipatory buzz has been eager speculation about Nightwood’s menu, especially among Lula devotees.

And now the big reveal: having just recently opened its doors, the buzz is that Nightwood’s dinner offerings, changing almost daily, should satisfy Chicago gourmands and hipsters alike. A sample menu, posted today on the TOC blog, includes deep fried Mississippi prawns, suckling pig and morel ravioli, and wood-grilled trout.

Art and Chelsea of The Pleasant House have already checked it out and proclaimed it a great addition to the neighborhood. Initial Yelp reviews, though still few at this point, have commented on Nightwood’s “delicious” food and the freshness of its ingredients, also citing the “really wonderful service” as “ridiculously attentive.”

Nightwood’s interior features an open kitchen lined with seating for those who wish to observe, and, true to its name, walnut woodwork throughout. There is also a covered patio for dining semi-al fresco.

-- Hanna Andrews

Anyone out there craving gado-gado? Chicagoans with a penchant for Indonesian cuisine are currently at a loss for restaurants. Starting in June, you can get your Halal on at Angin Mamiri, Muhammed Rukli’s soon-to-open eatery on West Touhy. Highlights will include traditional Indonesian chicken, beef and lamb dishes, soups and spring rolls, as well as regional selections from Rukli’s native South Sulawesi. [The Food Chain]

--Hanna Andrews

In 2004, Chicagoans in Roscoe Village saw the closure of Little Bucharest, one of owner Branko Podrumedic’s two establishments. The other, Continental Cafe, features live music and Romanian cuisine in Avondale. Now, in an interesting switch, Podrumedic will open Little Bucharest Bistro in the Continental Café space come June. But don’t expect to go back in time—the new Little Bucharest is a joint venture with chef André Christopher of The Grocery Bistro, a fact that will likely put a new twist on the current traditional Romanian menu. No word yet on whether meat-chewing vegetarian Christopher will be pairing tripe soup and Romanian sausages with market greens. [Dining Chicago]

-- Hanna Andrews

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, the doors have opened for the second season of the Lincoln Park Zoo's Cafe at Wild Things! Not only is the menu organic, seasonal, and local (as befits a restaurant sharing a park with the Green City Market), it's got quite possibly the best views in town: the tables overlook the lion and tiger habitats, adding that extra soupcon of carnivorousness to your lunch-eating experience. Menu items like the "Say Cheese Pressed Sandwich" (aged blue cheese, arugula, tomatoes and caramelized sweet onion) or the roasted cauliflower & chickpea salad (with garbanzo beans, golden brown cauliflower, sweet peppers, cucumber, red onions and basil, in a lime tomato dressing) are a step up from your average zoo fare; ingredients are sourced from places like Delong Farms, Bushman's in Wisconsin, and all the cookies and sweets are straight from Bleeding Heart Bakery.

[Photo via the Lincoln Park Zoo]

Southern-food staple Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop is shuttering June 7, part of the University of Chicago's large-scale closure of Harper Court, the pedestrian mall in which the restaurant is located, reports the Hyde Park Herald. The restaurant is at least as famous for playing host to state Sen. Barack Obama on an episode of Check, Please! as it is for its homey comfort food. Owner Carol Andresen will be putting some of Dixie Kitchen's most-beloved menu items, like jambalaya, catfish, and fried green tomatoes, onto the menu at her other Hyde Park restaurant, Calypso Cafe. [Hyde Park Herald]

[Photo courtesy Dixie Kitchen]

Upscale Gold Coast sushi joint Tsunami will be shutting its doors for good come May 31, 312 Dining Diva reports. Chalk up another one. [312DD]

Attention, Loop-based meatheads: former sports agent Matt Matros opens >Protein Bar on Monday at 235 S. Franklin St. Matros lost 60 pounds drinking protein shakes, and now brings the magic to the masses with his smoothie bar, where all the flavors on offer (piña colada, a Reese's Pieces-esque chocolate-peanut-butter) come with an extra wallop of protein. You can also make your own, starting from a base of soy, egg, or whey and adding fruit and flavor mix-ins. There are also "bowls" — spoon-eating dishes like a "pancake-in-a-bowl" (oatmeal mixed with vanilla protein and sugar-free maple syrup) and "crackberry" (acai berry blend topped with vanilla protein and fresh granola).

An MP reader tipped us off to the fact that over the weekend, the West Loop branch of Indiana-based Cajun/Creole joint Yats quietly shuttered. A call to the restaurant turns up nothing more than a mournful outgoing voicemail: "Thanks for calling Yats. Sadly after nine months we are closing our doors. Thanks for all of you who got to make it by. Have a great summer."

The "Yats all, folks" jokes will be refrained from at this time, out of respect for the departed.

Howard Davis, owner of the now-closed Le Lan has issued a statement about the restaurant's shuttering, and the simultaneous closure of Clarendon Hills' restaurant Soul: "We had to close due to a downturn in business that we attribute to the current economic situation. We appreciate all of the great effort our staff made over the years in creating very high quality restaurants and we are grateful to all of our customers who supported us over the years."

Cue the real estate vultures who will no doubt want to swoop in on the restaurant's prime location. Wasn't there someone looking for a good space?

According to Steve Dolinsky'stwitter, Le Lan is closed, presumably the latest casualty of the restaurant-inhospitable economic climate.

Calls to the restaurant reach a voicemail recording that reminds us of the restaurant's closing for Easter — considering Le Lan's general on-top-of-it-ness about tiny details like the outgoing message, that's a pretty clear signal that something is amiss.

A scant six days out from its official opening date, and Terzo Piano is still looking to hire servers, bartenders, and prep cooks. We can't help but wonder what the tipping situation's going to be like, since the restaurant is only open for dinner once a week, and the era of the three-figure business lunch seems to be dead and gone. Still, pretty room to work in. [Craig]

The Hotel Felix, the future home of the restaurant Elate (opening, in theory, this summer), has just been awarded LEED Silver Status. When Elate opens, it'll join the illustrious ranks of other LEED-certified restaurants like Province and the McDonald's at 4158 S. Ashland. [HDM]

We're sure that every non-tourist resident of Chicago often feels the simultaneous urge to go to Navy Pier and have a burger at Harry Caray's, but can't choose between the two totally authentic Windy City entertainment/food options. So thank god the Harry Caray's team just announced that all systems are go for the restaurant chain's expansion to a new Navy Pier location, with decor and menu near-identical to the other locations. Look for doors to open in late summer.

Jerry Kleiner (Opera, Carnivale, Via Ventuno) has got some sort of new project in the works, and all we know is that it's got an address (1419 North Wells) and that for the next 30 minutes they're on the tail end of a staffing casting call. No name, no phone number, (as yet) no gimmick. Who else can get us details? Is this the answer to today's most intriguing blind item?

Title says it all, really. [Dirty DIsh]

With just twelve days until its grand, earth-shattering opening, we can't get enough of all things Terzo Piano.

Our favorite source for all things inside, Emilie of Dirty Dish, took a walkthrough of the space last week: "it was clear that Terzo has turned a major corner since my last visit just a week ago. Staff members were unloading and stacking dishes and cookware in the kitchen. Even better, as we emerged into the dining area, there was a collective gasp: the interior architecture is completely finished and it is *gorgeous*. Denison has done a phenomenal job with his usual minimalist restraint, although the pearl-toned mosaic on the bar is a surprising touch of understated glamour. The chairs and other furnishings were just beginning to make their way in, some of them supporting nervous-looking interviewees."

The lucky Emilie will be dining at one of the restaurant's dress-rehearsal lunches this week. If you want to land a lunch table yourself, you'll have to wait like the rest of us for a date on or after May 16th — but the task will be just a smidge easier, since Emilie also reveals that Terzo Piano has embraced the future and will be taking reservations via OpenTable. [The Dirty Dish]

[Photo via The Art Institute]

If you can't make it to Pilsen's epic Mole de Mayo celebration this weekend, complete with a mole cook-off judged by the awesome Alpana Singh, fear not: mole maestro Geno Bahena's new mole-centric restaurant, aptly named Los Moles, is scheduled to open on Monday. [The Stew]

Ladies and Gs, may we present Terzo Piano? That's right — the most highly-anticipated restaurant of the first half of 2009, with all systems go for its May 16 opening, has finally gone all full-disclosure on us. Not only do they now have a website up for all the world to see, but they've also shared with MenuPages the entire menu, and it's a doozy. Keeping in mind that this is a lunch-focused restaurant (like the museum that houses it, Terzo Piano will only be open during dinner hours on Thursday nights), this sounds like it'll be the new spot for midday meals of both the power- and ladies-who- variety.

Some highlights: Focaccia stuffed with goat cheese, a chicken-and-egg salad whimsically titled "What Came First," several of chef Tony Mantuano's swoon-inducing pastas. And lest you doubted that this is the Age Of The Burger — no fewer than four bun-borne sandwich options: an Illinois Piemontese beef burger with Wisconsin Widmer, a Pinn Oak Farms lamb burger with Indiana goat cheese, a shrimp burger topped with dried tomatoes and arugula, and the sure-to-be-written-about "Uno, Due, Tre" slider platter, described adorably as "an assortment of naturally raised piccolo burgers."

Check out the entire menu after the jump!

Continue reading "Terzo Piano: The Menu Has Landed" »

It's been on the horizon for a while now, and has had a slow-burn soft-open for the past few days, but now it's official: Rockit Bar & Grill's Wrigleyville outpost is officially open for business as of today. Word is the space, vibe, and menu are similar to the River North location — but the proximity to the Cubbies will lend the place a certain je ne sais quoi, we're sure. Next Cubs home game is this Thursday, and we're thinking it'll be a madhouse. [312DD]

A new hot dog stand is scheduled to open soon on the Near West side: it's called Felony Franks and, as seems to be a requirement with hot dog stands these days, there's a gimmick. Hot Doug's is haute, Weiner's Circle is abusive, and Weiner & Still Champion will deep-fry anything. So what's Felony Franks up to? It'll be staffed by rehabilitated felons. Jim Andrews, the restaurant's owner, is hiring ex-offenders in large part out of sympathy for the fact that the requirement to disclose their criminal history makes it difficult for them to find jobs.

Not surprisingly, this isn't going over easily with all of the neighbors: Alderman Bob Fioretti says he "won't make it easy" for Felony Franks to open, and there are complaints from the neighbors that Felony Franks is on track to open too close to two area high schools.

There's also the worry that the name and logo (a hot dog behind bars) will glorify the criminal lifestyle: "Any business that wants to do business in the area should always think of having a positive impact," said area resident Monica Brown. Andrews points out that restaurants like Hooter's and Addiction aren't considered prohibitively offensive — and it's worth noting that those restaurants don't operate in service of individuals who need help getting their lives back together — the plan is for half of the Felony Franks' profits to be distributed among employees, and the other half to go to the non-profit Rescue Foundation, which Andrews founded to assist ex-offenders. Plus, Andrews has some killer ('scuse us) slogans worked up: "The Misdemeanor Weiner," for one. Or "Food So Good It's Criminal."

What's in a name? [Chicago Journal, via Gapers Block]
[Photo via The Chicago Journal]

• Logan Square's Chundy's has shut its doors for good. There's a handwritten sign on the door saying "That's all, folks." [LTHForum, via DT]

• Skokie's Patty's Diner will be closing in early May, thanks to an unworkable increase in rent. [LTHForum, via The Food Chain]

The restaurant that we've been referring to in conversation as "Pilsen Lula" finally has a real name: It'll be called Nightwood, after the eponymous Djuna Barnes novel. Aesthetically, the restaurant will be a melange of decorative eras, with the standard dining floor an open kitchen surrounded by a ten-seat dining bar. The restaurant will open in mid-May for dinner and a late-night menu, Tuesday through Saturday. [TOC Blog]

The old Bennigan's space on Michigan and Lake is going to emerge from its cocoon in September as a beautiful butterfly called Sweetwater Tavern & Grille, brought to us by the team behind Bucktown's Boundary Tavern & Grille. Beer, flat-screen TVs, "contemporary American cuisine," the usual drill. [Crain's, via Our Town]

This month's Chicago Mag has an in-depth look at the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute, and accompanying it is a sidebar by Penny Pollack on Terzo Piano, the Tony Mantuano-helmed restaurant opening along with it.

Sadly for all of us who live on the internet, ChiMag hasn't seen fit to put the story online. But the inimitable Emilie of Dirty Dish has put together some helpful bulleted facts for the obsessive among us — plus her clarifications of some of ChiMag's glosses. Like the assertion that the Dirk Denison-designed interior (he's the mastermind behind L2O's evocative space) has no walls, only windows. Actually no, Emilie points out, there are interior walls aplenty. As for the magazine's assertion that the glass covered patio is next to an art-filled terrace that overlooks the park? The patio is actually part of the terrace — which is even more awesome, because it means you can eat while sitting thisclose to actual honest-to-goodness art.

What the magazine does get right: The Nichols bridgeway will take pedestrians directly from the park to the restaurant level without having to walk through the pesky museum. The lunch menu has an "ode to the pea" salad. The dinner menu has house-made spaghetti (though ChiMag glosses over the fact that dinner is only served on Thursdays, when the museum is open late).

Both the Modern Wing and Terzo Piano open May 16th.
Terzo Piano Fact Check List [The Dirty Dish]

This past weekend, the space that was once Chaos Theory Cakes reopened as Smash Cake — same location, same owners, totally different theme. Gone are the classic French preparations that were the foundation of Chaos Theory, and instead say hello to "a party place for kids": almost all the furniture is kid-sized with just a few adult-sized tables and two couches.

We checked in with owner Michelle Garcia (who, with her husband Vinny, also runs Lakeview's wildly successful Bleeding Heart Bakery) about the shift from Chaos Theory to Smash Cake, and she told us that "the business plan is different, the space is set up different, the hours and the entire purpose is different. There is nothing similar between the two except that I owned both of them." Well that, and the mouthwatering baked goods.

So why call it Smash Cake? Michelle pointed out to us that a "smash cake" is the name given to a child's first birthday cake — a cake baked specifically in order to be gleefully destroyed. Gleeful destruction — we think we can get behind that.

Starting today, the space is open from 7am-7pm Monday through Friday, and is open on weekends only for private events. To schedule a birthday party or other delightful exercise for your young 'uns, call 773 281 2353.

[Photo: a dreamsicle cupcake from Bleeding Heart Bakery/Flickr]

• A new Fatburger from KW Foods LLC (is it Kanye? Is it not Kanye?) is opening at 2341 W. 95th Street. [PRWire]

• The team behind Chickpea have found a Ukranian Village location for their second restaurant — it'll be a breakfast/lunch place on Damen near Augusta. [Chicago Brunch Blog]

Hey, remember The Tilted Kilt? It's been more than six months since we heard anything about the planned Chicago outpost of the restaurant most succinctly describable as "Hooters, but with plaid," and we'd been inclined to chalk up the radio silence to an economy-driven quiet abandonment of the franchise.

Wrong! They're in line for a May 11th open, and next weekend (April 24-26), they'll be holding a casting call for Tilted Kilt Girls — "an elite group of women who wear a cute and sexy mini kilt costume while serving fun to our guests." Oh, and lest you think it's all about looks, what they're really looking for are "spectacular people with great personalities." Expect to see Chicago's breast and brightest lining up come next Friday.

New Sexy Sports Club Opening in the Loop [CL]
Previously: Kilts Up, Feminism Down
[There was a kid being hugged by the half-naked waitresses in this picture; we had an attack of ethics and cropped him out. Full photo via sterlo photography/Flickr]

For those with a legitimate gastronomic interest in the new Captain Morgan Club at Wrigley (as opposed to what we presume will be the restaurant/bar's primary clientele: sardine-packed Cubs fans in search of the nearest alcohol source), the Trib's Mark Caro paid the joint a first-look-esque visit.

Ostensibly, the room has a capacity of 620 occupants — but when Caro visited, it was so jam-packed that it took a full quarter of an hour before he even realized there were tables: "Turns out, you simply can't see them when everyone is standing shoulder to shoulder, but the room boasts 14 metal-mesh tables that each could comfortably seat four." More prominently displayed are dozens of gigantor plasma-screen TVs, which on gamedays are tuned to the action happening just a scant few feet away, through the restaurant doors that lead directly into the park — while the restaurant is accessible to non-ticket-holders, the park (for obvious reasons) is not.

Foodwise, it's not exactly a destination spot, but then again is that really the point? Of the limited selection of sandwiches, nachos, hot dogs, and a few dieter-appeasing salads, Caro finds his choices not entirely disappointing — the Italian beef is "very gray though not untender," and his companion adorns his otherwise naked hot dog with ketchup without getting punched in the face. So, that's a victory.

Cubs fans check out Captain Morgan, the latest Wrigley hangout [Tribune]
[Photo: pirate alice/Flickr]

Originally slated to open in late 2008, Naperville's Pizza Fusion has finally opened its doors in a soft open (the official launch is in early April).

According to JambleMag, this first Chicagoland outpost of the eco-friendly national chain is as green as you'd expect, with "bamboo flooring, insulation made from blue jeans, LED lighting, eco-friendly paints and Dyson airblade hand-dryers and solar tubes in the bathrooms." Plus, it's located in the same shopping center as the Naperville Whole Foods — the entire complex is vying for LEED-certification, and offers priority parking for hybrid cars.

We hear the pizza's good, but we imagine it pales in comparison to the delicious experience of wallowing in your own virtuousness.

Pizza Fusion open first Chicagoland restaurant [JambleMag]
Pizza Fusion [Official Site]
Previously: Coming Soon: Pizza Fusion Is Greener Than Thou

Hot on the heels of their report that Harry's Hot Dogs will be closing its doors for good come April, the good folks at TOC also noticed that the phone lines seemed to be amiss at Rockstar Dogs. Yep, they're already dark.

And that announcement came just minutes after the Time Out team revealed that Hot Doug's twitter is a fraud — albeit a benevolent one. Is no tubular meat sacred?

[Photo: biskuit/Flickr]

In an intriguing instance of Controlling The Spin, the folks behind Mambo Grill have sent out a press release letting everyone know that they're closing the restaurant (temporarily) on March 31st, and will be letting go (also temporarily) 75% of the restaurant's staff.

"This is not ideal," said Susan Frasca, president of Frasca Hospitality Group, owners of Mambo Grill. "I had hoped to extend my current lease for 90 days, but the building owner and landlord, Dr. Shahid Sarwar, would not give us a lease extension," said Frasca. "We have no other choice than to close our doors and temporarily layoff employees."

...She adds, "It makes me sick to my stomach to have to tell my employees in these economic times that they have to find work elsewhere during the transition."

Frasca also owns Kinzie Chophouse at 400 N. Wells Street just two doors south of the new Mambo Grill location. "I will take about 25% of the employees from Mambo with me over to Kinzie Chophouse but that is about all we can absorb." Says Frasca.

Points to Mambo for not closing permanently, considering that darn economy. And a gold star for preempting disgruntled employee fallout. But two raised eyebrows for the bright orange press release festooned with brightly colored images — shouldn't you be feeling somber and contrite since this is breaking your heart?

The restaurant will be reopening sometime this summer at its new, larger location at 410 N. Wells.

Mambo Grill [MenuPages]
Mambo Grill [Official Site]

A (quite possibly shilly) comment left today on an earlier post clues us in to iCream's official reopen date::

iCream reopens March 7th 2009! I was in there last week for the friends and family event. ALL the kinks are worked out, and the product is AMAZING!! Check it out!!

Will do, no doubt.

Here at MenuPages Chicago, we add new restaurants to the site every day, whether they're just-opened or just-acquired-a-fax-machine. Here's a selection of what's new and notable this week.

• Delicious Cafe (de.li.cious)
• Feast Gold Coast
• Pizzeria Brandi
• Bon Bon Vietnamese Sandwiches
• Chicago Curry House

Think we're missing a menu? Let us know.

[The interior of Delicious Cafe, via their Flickr]

There's been a lot of ink spilled about the opening of MarketHouse, the space-bar-averse new restaurant in the Streeterville Doubletree — and with good reason. The restaurant has taken over the former space of 300 East, a nondescript coffeeshop of the Twilight Zone/Automat/Exit To Nowhere variety, and in this seemingly incongruous setting chef Scott Walton offers up a New American bill of fare that's heavy on comfort food and light on the froufrou. ranging from beet & apple salad with baby arugula and buttermilk blue cheese all the way down to Arctic Char with sweet potato chowder and blood oranges. (You can check out the restaurant's full menu here.)

At her First Look visit, the Trib's Monica Eng enjoyed nearly every dish she tried from the comfort food-heavy menu — meatloaf that "satisfied completely," perfect cheese grits, and "irresistable" butterscotch bread pudding — but was left with a serious state of sticker shock. The prices are high, especially (as we are contractually obligated to point out) in these trying economic times. But the place has only been open a week, and will presumably find a happy medium, moneywise.

As the name implies, MarketHouse is market-oriented, with Walton and his team going to pains to source what ingredients he can from local suppliers, and planning to change the menu along the way to reflect what fruits and vegetables are in season. Chef de cuisine Thomas Rice told us that they're going for "nice, fresh simple recognizable ingredients", rattling off a list of suppliers and local farms with bringing Miller Farms chicken in from Indiana, beef from Pennsylvania's Four Story Farms, and vegetables from recognizable names like Nichols Farms.

MarketHouse [MenuPages]

Your Sunday mornings just got a little bit easier: The Hearty Boys — a.k.a. Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, the mediagenic wunderkinder who won The Next Food Network Star back in 2005 — have thrown their formerly catering-only hats back into the restaurant ring.

Hearty Boys, an ersatz restaurant located inside the Hearty Boys Catering Studio at 3819 N Broadway, is open just one day a week, and only for brunch. We talked to Dan, who mans the kitchen, who told us that the inspiration behind the limited service is that "I love brunch! Steve doesn't like breakfast, so I figured either I go out and eat brunch by myself, or I open a restaurant that serves it."

Hearty Boys Brunch is open every Sunday from 9am-2pm. They kicked off this past Sunday with a packed house — Dan tells us it was "standing room only" — and while their Handheld Cardamom Waffles aren't too difficult to consume on your feet, it's not optimal. Planning ahead highly recommended.

Full menu after the jump!

Hearty Boys [MenuPages]
Hearty Boys [Official Site]

Continue reading "Hearty Boys Brunch: Once-A-Week with a Big Wallop" »

Today marks the opening of new Pilsen bar Simone's (brought to you by the team behind Northside, Black Beetle, and other bar+burger locales), and everyone is going crazy.

Thrillist gave Simone's a fawning pre-open writeup, waxing excited about the bartop made from an old bowling lane and the simultaneous alcoholic presence of $2.50 PBR tallboys and a Pop-Rocks-encrusted Champagne cocktail. Tamarkin at TOC notes with delight the uber-eco interior, where 'most everything is made from found, recycled, or repurposed items. And Art & Chel over at Pleasant House get proustian with the salvage, recalling childhood trips to the salvage yard.

As for us — well, we're excited about the food. Black bean and banana empanadas? Avocado BLT? Reuben bratwurst? Hot wing chicken sandwich with celery relish? Oh god, yes.

Full menu, after the jump.

Simone's [MenuPages]
Simone's [Official Site]
[Photo: Martha Williams for TOC]

Continue reading "Simon Says Simone's" »

Back in September, our hopes flared up that beleaguered nuevo Latino restaurant DeLaCosta had found new ownership with a co-owner of Flatwater.

But today the Trib reports that a rumored dea (presumably the same one) has fallen through, and DeLaCosta is dark. Another shutter in these trying times isn't surprising, but there had been hope for this joint. Sadface.

TOC had predicted this shutter back in January — score one more for the psychic (or would that just be business-savvy) wondertwins on the Food & Drink desk.

DeLaCosta closes; might it reopen? [The Stew]
De La Costa Gets A New Owner [previously]
DeLaCosta [MenuPages]
DeLaCosta [Official Site]

[Photo: liz_noise/Flickr]

Heartening news in our times of woe! Crain's reports that the owners of The Gage are planning to buy space in the building next door to their Michigan Ave. location, in order to open another restaurant.

As for what kind of food — all the report lets us in on is that "the new restaurant will be different and completely separate from the Gage, and that its much smaller size means there won’t be a big bar area" like the one The Gage is known for. They're planning for an open before the end of the year.

Update: an astute reader points out that Ruby and Pollack at the Mag had the scoop on this — hella back in the day.

The Gage [MenuPages]
The Gage [Official Site]

Time portal to mid-August! Remember iCream, the pornographically-named high-concept DIY ice cream storefront in Wicker Park? It opened just long enough for us to get a firsthand repot on the ice cream techs who "pour your order into a SCIENCE BEAKER, which they then pour into a Kitchen Aid which churns the concotion as liquid nitrogen is poured in, immediately evaporating into smoke right in front of you whilst freezing the ice cream. This looks INCREDIBLY COOL."

And it was incredibly cool! Until the machinery sort of blew up and everyone was sad because the owners decided to close the doors for a while until they could get everything together. Which they have now, pretty much, done — iCream is slated for a mid-February reopen.

To whet your appetite for SCIENCE BEAKERS and INCREDIBLE COOLNESS, a revisit of the original iCream video, filmed (and featuring the girlish scream of) no less an illustrious figure than my brother:

previously
iCream, uCream
iCream iNsanity: Opening Day Report
iCream iNsanity: Now With Video!

In the run-up to his long-awaited restaurant opening, former Top Cheffer Dale Levitski is picking up what the zeitgeist is throwing down.

Hot on the heels of Top Chef top dog Tom Colicchio's weekly New York supper club, Levitski is starting his own: Dine with Dale, Thursday nights at Relax Lounge. Three solid courses, $25, hipper-than-thou cachet, and close proximity to reality TV celebrity? Mais oui.

The Appetizer [UrbanDaddy]
National: Colicchio Returns To His Roots [previously]

In this week's Dish, Pollack and Ruby have a Q&A with Paula Haney of Hoosier Mama Pie, who will be opening a retail outlet — Hoosier Mama Pie Company — on March 14.

They get some interesting info out of Haney. the space will be small, only three tables, with a hefty rotation of pie types and a cake of the day. She'll be candying her own pineapple for hummingbird cake. But one thing the Dishers didn't quite pick up on (or at least, didn't advertise) is the significance of Haney's opening date. March 14th? Why, that's 3/14. Which is ... ready for it, guys? Pi Day.

Not surprising, coming from a lady who named her company one of our all-time favorite puns. Go ahead. Say it out loud. We dare you not to totally love it.

Two if by Terra [Dish, about halfway down]
Hoosier Mama Pie Co [Official Site]

[Photo: Probably the best Pi Pie we've ever seen, via Foxtongue's Flickr]

When we realized last September that Loop lunch staple Freshii was actually the first American outpost of a Canadian chain, we had no idea it would come to this: Chicago-based über-franchiser David Grossman has signed a deal to open 80 (that's right, eight-zero) Freshii locations throughout the city.

Grossman recently signed a lease for his first location in Chicago's Water Tower Place on N. Michigan Avenue to open in June 2009. Water Tower Place is Chicago's premier shopping destination with a stunning eight-level atrium featuring more than 100 stores, restaurants and boutiques.

Grossman has another lease signed for Block 37, a new development at 108 North State Street in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago that will offer an array restaurants and retail, and is scheduled to open in September 2009. He hopes to open four corporate stores in 2009 and five more in 2010. Grossman then plans to franchise locations to qualified individuals.

The wellness-oriented DIY restaurant divides its salad/wrap options into three categories by health — nutrient-rich choices like beets, portobello mushrooms, and grilled asparagus are categorized as "24/7," while on the other end of the spectrum things like smoked bacon or blue cheese are wrist-slapped as "splurges." A friend of MP who regularly eats lunch at Freshii has complained to me many times that, while the food is delish, she feels incredibly guilty every time she falls off the wagon into the "splurge" category — I can only imagine the result of nearly a hundred new guilt-inducing locations. It's staggering.

But seriously, folks. As long as Grossman keeps the quality up, this is infinitely preferable to a rabbitlike proliferation of nearly any other fast food option. And, poking around their site, I turned up this incredibly entertaining nutrition calculator, where you can build your salad or wrap of choice and watch the calorie count rise!

80 New Freshii Units Set for Chicago [QSR Magazine]
Freshii [MenuPages]
Freshii [Official Site]

Rick Bayless's planned churros-and-blood-sausage casual joint, originally slated to open this April, has been delayed until summer 2009. Dish has the scoop: it's apparently not because of the economy:

“We decided to buy ourselves some time, given the economy,” says Bayless. “We have our money lined up. Plans are all done. Let’s just see what happens.”

Gotta be honest here, that sounds a little flimsy. If the Bayless team has all their financials ready to go, we can't begin to understand why they'd hold off on a lower-priced, more-accessible brand extension of the increasingly famous Bayless name. An April open could plausibly garner national media attention thanks to the Obama connection — a vague "summer" plywood is hazier.

Bayless Blinks, Blue Water Sinks [Dish]

Sad news, seafood fans. Restaurant-owning behemoth BR Guest has decided to close Blue Water Grill, the Chicago outpost of the company's hugely successful New York restaurant of the same name. BR Guest honcho Steve Hansen tells Eater that the closure is "the two-fold result of economic times and [the space's lease] ending this year. All closures are effective immediately. Staff at the restaurants will receive severance."

This is the first high-profile close we've seen. Hopefully not the first of many, but we're not holding our breath over here.

BLOCKBUSTER: Steve Hanson Closes Fiamma, Ruby Foo's Uptown, Blue Water Grill Chicago [Eater NY]
Blue Water Grill [MenuPages]
Blue Water Grill [Official Site]

Ira over at Being Totally Sweet In Chicago (we're just gonna shorten that to BTSIC from now on, k?) wonders whether the brand-new Crocodile Lounge (1540 N Milwaukee Ave, 773 252 0880) is going to blow up Chicago the same way it blew up New York.

Here's the schtick: Order a beer, you get a pizza.

No, seriously, we didn't believe it was true either, until a few years ago we hit up the Brooklyn location (called the Alligator Lounge, but it's the same sitch), ordered a Blue Moon, and were handed a ticket for a free pizza. And then we walked to the back of the bar, where a bunch of dudes were cooking pizzas in a wood-burning oven, and we picked up our pizza. And then we ate it, and it was delicious, and we were happy.

While you can upgrade your pizza for extra cash (toppings run a few bucks, fancy pizzas and paninis are separate purchases unto themselves), the plain personal cheeser that comes with the beer has always been more than enough to keep us happy. We'd advise that you maximize your spending power and stick to the (cheesy, saucy, delicious) basics.

Crocodile's grand opening is tonight, so swing on by and see for yourself.

Will Crocodile be sweet? [BTSIC]

[Photo via Slice]

The brand-spanking-reopened Chicago outpost of Trader Vic's is officially scheduled to open next Tuesday, and everyone's all a-twitter about it. (UrbanDaddy's so excited that they jumped the gun, saying the official open's on Sunday.)

Want to be one of the cool kids? We've got the scoop on the door policy: The fabled faux-Polynesian drinkery is actually opening its doors tonight for friends and family, and will be running a soft-open "service review" through the weekend.

We'll have a full menu for your reading pleasure shortly. Stay tuned...

They're having a WTF moment over at the Time Out Chicago office:

After attempting to set up a photo shoot for a (now unnecessary) upcoming review, TOC was informed by Mantou Noodle Bar’s PR team that as of today the restaurant has closed. The restaurant had been open just over one month.

Whoops! Someone's going to have to dig into the backup pile! (May we suggest: A video of Tamarkin street-dancing.)

It's highly probable that Consumatron, who purchased some deeply underwhelming crispy beef with egg noodles from the restaurant on 12/6, was the last blogger to see Mantou alive.

Mantou Noodle already closed [TOC Blog]
Crispy Beef w/Egg Noodles from Mantou [Consumatron]

312DD broke it, and TOC confirms it: Last season's Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard's restaurant is in the "we're making formal announcements!" phase. Oh, and they have a name: The "Italian–influenced small plates" restaurant will go by the very memorable name of The Drunken Goat. (No relation, we assume, to LA's Three Drunken Goats)

TOC elaborates:

Izard came up with the name with the help of fellow Top Chef contestant and friend Antonia Lofaso. The goat is Izard’s Chinese zodiac animal, Izard’s last name is French for a type of Pyrenees mountain goat. The duo were brainstorming on an adjective to add to the name and drunken "just fit," according to Izard, who says she loves the cheese and, well, also likes to drink. Izard’s friend Quang Hong, the local artist responsible for Scylla’s cool sculpted metal awning, is behind the Drunken Goat logo and will add a few other signature touches here and there.

Izard and her accomplices (Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, the brains and brawn behind Boka, Landmark, and the recently-opened Perennial) are thisclose to closing a lease on a Wicker Park storefront, and they're anticipating a summer 2009 opening "at best."

The perfect partners?! [312DD]
On the table exclusive: The Drunken Goat [TOC]

[Photo of goats drinking beer via kellygode's Flickr]

FIVE GUYS OPENS TODAY and oh my god we know what we want for dinner.

previously
Five Guys Burgers Coming To Town

We noted yesterday that, per TOC, Terrance Brennan's project of bringing Chicago an outpost of his NYC fromagerie/bistro Artisanal is, for the time being, dead in the water. And today we received an email from Brennan's PR, informing us that we had our facts backward.

So Artisanal Chicago is opening after all? Nuh-uh. It's still most certainly on hold. But she wanted us to be very clear that it's not Brennan's decision to put this on hold, it's the developers'. That darn economy!

Terrance Brennan’s Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar will not open in the 900 North Michigan Building in Chicago as expected in April 2009. Because of uncertain economic conditions, the developers behind Chef Brennan’s Chicago restaurant have put the project on hold.

Chef Brennan continues to aggressively look for an alternative space in Chicago in which to open Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar and remains passionate about joining the dynamic dining scene in Chicago.

We appreciate the clarification. On an unrelated note, allow us to introduce the Rhetorical Device Of The Day: metonymy, the rhetorical figure of speech in which the name of one thing is substituted for that of another closely associated thing.

Not Happening: Brennan (And Artisanal) At 900 North
Artisanal [MenuPages]
Artisanal [Official Site]

[Photo of 900 North, where Artisanal Chicago won't be, via nicnac's Flickr]

As long as we're talking White House Chef, we can strike one name from the list of potential Obama chefs-in-chief. As TOC reported back in July, (and ArtNews reiterates today), Tony Mantuano, the mastermind behind Obama-favorite Spiaggia, will be the executive chef and managing partner at the as-yet-unnamed restaurant in the Art Institute's new Modern Wing.

Like Spiaggia and its offshoots, the AIC restaurant will focus on Mediterranean flavors (the press release says Mantuano is in the process of finding a "chef di cucina" — no Frenchy chef de cuisine here, grazie very much), and is "hand-selecting" the restaurant's staff. His wife, Cathy, will be in charge of the wine list.

In a nod to the prevailing culinary trends, Mantuano says "With this new restaurant at the Art Institute, I will continue to create my signature Italian and Mediterranean cuisine, but with a greater emphasis and focus on local, organic and sustainable foods."

Of particular note to us is the fact that this will be the first of the Art Institute's restaurants to be accessible independently of one of the museum entrances — the press release notes that "guests will have access to the restaurant through the Art Institute as well as via the Nichols Bridgeway--a pedestrian bridge connecting the third floor of the Modern Wing to the southwest corner of the Great Lawn in Millennium Park." When New York overhauled their Museum of Modern Art, restaurateur Danny Meyer pushed for his in-museum restaurant, The Modern, to have a street entrance separate from MoMA's own — a detail that attracted a dining crowd that might not otherwise have come,, allowed the restaurant to develop an identity independently of its host institution, and ultimately elevated The Modern exponentially above the usual old-ladies-and-overpriced-salads school of staid museum cuisine.*

Could it be that Mantuano's venture will follow in this lead? The restaurant is scheduled to open in May of 2009, with a primary focus on lunch service. But here's hoping they decide to take a cue from The Modern and go whole-hog — position this as a real dining contender, with full dinner service extending even beyond the museum's closing time.

Art Institute Taps Award-Winning Chef Tony Montano for Upcoming Restaurant at the Modern Wing [ArtDaily]
Spiaggia [MenuPages]
Spiaggia [Official Site]

[Astonishingly awesome photocollage by digital artist Marc Alan Fishman, coauthor of The March, and fastest draw in all of gChat]

*An exception is made for the stellar crappy-pad-thai (as distinct from good-pad-thai) at Sonny's, the cafe in the School at the Art Institute — if you haven't gone there, oh man. You must.

TOC's Heather Shouse reports that Terrance Brennan, proprietor of New York's Artisanal bistro/cheese temple/pungent-smelling room, is officially shelving his planned Chicago outpost.

This is disappointing on many levels. There's the "Argh, the freaking economy" level — Team Brennan's reluctance to invest in Chicago is yet another spotlight shining on the fact that the R-word is real and true.

There's the "Aw, we really liked Terrance" level — he's put real effort into trying to get Chicago to like him, putting in an appearance at Chicago Gourmet and generally being a press-friendly guy.

And finally, there is the "Crapola, people, New York's Artisanal has some extremely kickass steak-tips-and-cheese fondue, and insanely addictive gruyere gougères, and now it's not going to be here" level. Which is, of course, the most important one.

Of course, you can still get your fondue fix at Melting Pot or Geja's Cafe, and you can find the recipe for Brennan's gougères online (on our parent company's website, no less!). So maybe we can make do. For now.

Terrance Brennan kills his 900 N Michigan project [TOC Blog]
Cheese Gougères [NYMag]
Artisanal [MenuPages]
Artisanal [Official Site]
Geja's Cafe [MenuPages]
Geja's Cafe [Official Site]
Melting Pot [MenuPages]
Melting Pot [Official Site]

[Photo: Kielbasa for fondue at NYC's Artisanal, via wwny's Flickr]

Five Guys is coming! Five Guys is coming! Five Guys is coming!

Five Guys Burger & Fries is a DC-export, a fast-food-ish burger joint where the meat is fresh and fatty, the french fries are crisp and mindblowing, and there are bushel barrels of free peanuts to kill the wait between placing your order and being handed over your burger. It's bar-none the best non-California chain burger we've had, and if recent Five Guys openings in New York are to be believed, the lines will be out the door.

Locations are opening in Oak Park and Lincoln Park. In related news, we get happier about the burger situation here every freaking day.

Five Guys Burger and Fries headed for Chicago area [Tribune*]
Five Guys [MenuPages]
Five Guys [Official Site]

[Photo via Adam Kuban's Flickr]

*Kevin Pang is now being bylined as "Cheeseburger Bureau Chief." Kevin: Is this on your resume? If so, is it awesome? If not, for the love of god, why not?

Want to piss off Steve Dolinsky? Head to Province this evening — it's opening night at the new completely-green restaurant from Nacional 27 alum Randy Zwieben.

The menu looks tantalizing — and it's broken down into quirky-yet-comprehensible categories like "big" and "bigger" (no "biggest" yet, but we blame the economy). If we were ordering (and who's to say we're not?) we'd opt for fluke ceviche with red grapefruit, Gunthorp Farms rabbit confit with Marcona almond emulsion, and a kingly pile of Malpeque oysters (call it an even dozen?).

Province [MenuPages]
Province [Official Site]

[Photo: Laurie Profitt Photography]

We would go on and on about how we have a brand-new updated menu on the site for Brasserie Ruhlmann, but the darn place has closed. Spontaneously, surprisingly, and — the official word — temporarily.

Whether anyone is buying that the closure is temporary ... well, that's another matter.

Brasserie Ruhlmann eatery shuts down [Tribune]
Brasserie Ruhlmann [MenuPages]
Brasserie Ruhlmann [Official Site]

In light of a confirmed opening date, on what will the restaurant/food/Chicago-focused blogosphere fixate next?

We predict that TOC's Heather Shouse has uncovered the next Publican: An as-yet unnamed, un-themed, un-detailed food and/or beverage joint located in the soon-to-be-former Pontiac Cafe. Which has been purchased by Donnie Madia and Terry Anderson. Who are, um, the very same team behind the Publican.

So the new Publican turns out to be... The New Publican!

The Publican crew takes over the Pontiac [TOC Blog]

[Photo: This space will soon serve lots of pig products and local produce. Via nofunk's Flickr]

UPDATE: Thursday. Trib confirms: Thursday, at 3:30pm, the doors open.

TOC says this Wednesday, but hedges it with "at the earliest."

312DD says this Thursday, but doesn't give a source.

What's a hungry Chicagoan to do? We advise: Just camp outside, iPhone style, until they open the doors.

The Publican: Once a tease, always a tease [TOC Blog]
Publican opens Thursday! [312DD]
The Publican [MenuPages]

Hey, remember yesterday when we pointed out that TOC's David Tamarkin was a... what's that word for someone who promises something and then snatches it away? A tease! A dirty lying street-dancing tease!

This was because he listed The Publican under "Just Opened," but then revealed that it's not anticipated to open until next Monday, the 6th.

Oh karma. He's now reporting that it's been pushed back again, to at least the 8th. Totally qualifying it to list as "Just Opened" in next week's issue of TOC. Gun-jumpers, learn your lesson here.

The Publican: Once a tease, always a tease [TOC Blog]
TOC, Digested [previously]
The Publican [MenuPages]

[Photo via]

This just in: intermittently-beloved West Town Argentinian joint Buenos Aires Forever has closed.

File this one under What You Name Your Restaurant Will Lead To Its Ironic Comeuppance.

The Headlines Write Themselves [previously]
Buenos Aires Forever [MenuPages]
Buenos Aires Forever [Official Site]

While serious water damage has pushed the opening of The Bristol back from this Thursday to next Tuesday the 23rd, we can console ourselves (just a little) with some designporny details about the space.

Like, f'rexample, the custom handmade maple tables from Bellfina, including two 10-person "contemporary farm tables" for your communal drinking pleasure. Or the handmade leather menus and wine holders.

Sigh. Swoon. Stupid rain.

This past weekend we were sitting around with friends over a bottle or five of wine when the subject of cupcakes came up. "So over them," said the jaded one (who is not us). "They're so 2001. So Sex & The City. The New York Times agrees"

"Are you insane?" said the optimist. "Cupcakes are amazing. They are little single-serving batches of cake! With frosting on the top! They are not over!" And then the conversation devolved into whether one is a cupcake-biter or a cupcake-break-piece-off-er (we are the latter, and apparently in the minority).

Whether or not you are so over cupcakes, you must have your interest piqued at least a little bit by More (1 E Delaware Place, 312 951 0001), the uber-haute "cupcake boutique" that's opening today with some big names behind it: Todd Maturatai, formerly of Powerhouse, is in the kitchen, and Gale Gand (she who helped make Tru what it is) consults.

While the cupcake roster includes more than its fair share of sweetness (Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip, Crème Brulee, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Mint, Pink Grapefruit, Tahitian Vanilla, Mocha, Passion Fruit Poppy Seed, Lemon Meringue, Valrhona Chocolate Ganache, Cinnamon Swirl — had enough yet?), More is making news particularly beacuse of their savory cupcakes — especially the BLT, an inspired pairing of 2008's most omnipresent culinary trends.

We're as excited as the next trend-riding bacon freak to get our mouth around one of those, but Chicago Bites asks a good question: how far will the novelty carry them? Previews all have More pulling off flavorful+interesting with aplomb, so we've got a decent feeling for the store's longevity. Head over yourself and find out.

[Photo via More]

As if two Hooterses weren't enough, we can now welcome to Chicago yet another girls-in-skimpy-outfits-will-serve-you-beer-and-bar-food joint: The Tilted Kilt, "The Best Looking Sports Pub You've Ever Seen," is slated for a late November opening on the second story of 17 N. Wabash. The pitch:

a contemporary, Celtic theme sports pub staffed with beautiful servers. And guess what the uniforms would be... knee-high socks and short, sexy plaid kilts with matching plaid halter tops under white shirts tantalizingly tied to show off the midriff.

There are also dirty limericks on the back of the (online) menu, which we are refraining from publishing because this is a family blog, goddamnit. But they involve elephant private parts and if we were not sort of personally incensed about this restaurant's very existence ("Sotos says he has no qualms about the overt use of sex appeal to lure customers" -S-T), we might actually find them quite hilarious.

Can't skirt issue: No skimping on skin at new pub [Sun-Times]
Tilted Kilt [Official Site]

Much anticipated not-yet-openeds The Bristol and The Publican have new opening dates. Doors open for The Bristol on September 18, and The Publican — previously confident in its September 15 opening — has pushed the unlocking back to sometime in October.

If you would like to get even more excited about The Publican, we suggest checking out Mike Nagrant's mouthwatering sit-down with Brian Huston, who'll be the joint's chef.

Here we would normally make a joke involving The Bristol/Bristol Palin and a play on due dates and opening dates. But we're not doing that, because we are classy.

[via]
The Publican of The Publican [Hungry Mag]

[Photo: Bristol Palin, Levi Whatshisface, and John McCain]

We know, we know. We proclaim our love of Fatburger to the heavens and, given the opportunity, we would wax rhapsodic about Chik-fil-A (let it be known that if those crazy folks decide to open a branch in our town, this blog will go insane and will post nonstop about the event, and you will have to seek your Chicago restaurant information elsewhere). We can't think of a good reason for our avoidance of Sonic coverage short of some deep-seated Freudian aversion to the notion of ... drive-in service? Slushy crushed-ice drinks? Chili-cheese tater tots?

Anyway, we're seeking therapy. You, meanwhile, should go check the place out.

Chicago area's first Sonic Drive-In finally opens Tuesday [Tribune]

[Photo: Sonic's chili-cheese tots, via Fast Food Critic's Flickr]

While we were sick this weekend, we sent special MenuPages correspondent Joe Rosner, a.k.a. Our Brother, to go check out the scene on opening day at iCream. He brought nine of his friends. No half measures here!

Quick recap: iCream's concept is DIY ice cream from the bottom up + liquid nitrogen. You order your base (ice cream, yogourt, sorbet), then two flavors, and finally, toppings, which cost a little extra. The cheery lab technicians (I cannot call them ice cream baristas, nor creamery custodians, since this is the future) pour your order into a SCIENCE BEAKER, which they then pour into a Kitchen Aid which churns the concotion as liquid nitrogen is poured in, immediately evaporating into smoke right in front of you whilst freezing the ice cream. This looks INCREDIBLY COOL.

When we entered iCream in Wicker Park on its opening day we realized we were inside an iPod (or at least Steve Jobs' treehouse). A white, curvy-square indoor storefront with futuristic words on the walls (the line is the iFactory, the countertops are the iLab), icy nitrogen tanks, and (of course) touch screens for placing your order. And although we didn't witness it, we were told that soon customers could plug their own iPods (the original Apple ones) into the wall and add songs to a store-wide playlist. All this combined with the cold nitrogen smoke made me feel like a kid in Willy Wonka's factory, except surrounded by taller workers.

Unfortunately, as cool (har har) as the liquid nitrogen and the whole concept were, we were sad the execution didn't pay off. One problem we encountered early in our ten-something ice creams ordering spree was sweetness - we were asked whether or not we wanted our ice cream sweetened at all, and then naturally or artificially. Some of us didn't catch this, got unsweeneted ice cream, and were quite let down (so we had to pump our own shots of corn syrup onto the ice cream at a counter, which really didn't make sense and didn't really help overall). (Also corn syrup is evil! — Ed.)

And then the texture of the ice cream was random - one tasted like gelato, another like hard ice cream, another like "refrozen melted ice cream," according to my friend Andrew. Combined with the overwhelming abundance of choices for your ice cream, the whole experience was very hit or miss - the simple rootbeer/vanilla ice cream (which happened to taste like gelato), and the strawberry/raspberry with extra raspberry topping, were crowned the favorites (we agreed the natural sweetness of the fruit really helped). But the failures haunted us, and we now know never to order coffee/banana ice cream with orange food-coloring ever again.

The prices were relatively inexpensive (no worse than Coldstone's; liquid nitrogen is pretty cheap), the other items like espresso-machine-steamed hot pudding intrigued us, and the store boasts it will stay open till four in the morning on Fridays and Saturdays. We're not sure how long those hours will last, but by the time iCream gets on its feet and maybe comes up with a more fixed, consistent menu, we wouldn't mind stopping by on a weekend to...chill. Har. Har.

— JOE ROSNER

[All photos courtesy Joe Rosner]

But we soldier on! In fact, on Friday, at the apex of feeling horrible and wanting to die, we were sort of lying waxenly in bed, listening to NPR (we are, yes, that sort of sick person), and on came a story about the battle between the residents of artsy upcoming neighborhood East Pilsen and the owners of late-night hot dog/Polish stand Express Grill (1260 S Union Ave, 312 738 2112), who want to open a 24-hour franchise of their sausagery in the neighborhood:

Bakery owner Carlos Chavarria says it would bring traffic, loud customers and garbage.

CHAVARRIA: My son loves hot dogs. I love hot dogs. It's not the issue. It's not one business versus another. It's about a neighborhood concern about the potential chaos that would be brought forth with this kind of establishment coming in.

"This is a threat, not an opportunity for our neighborhood," says Carlos Chavarria, who owns Kristoffer's Cafe and Bakery on Halsted. ... Then there's the traffic jams and litter and overflowing Dumpsters, not to mention the rodents, graffiti, prostitution and double-parked cars, Chavarria says.

Chavarria's not the only person speaking out against Express Grill, but he's also up against stiff competition from residents who would welcome the injection of variety into East Pilsen's somewhat lackluster dining scene.

Now that we can stomach the thought of actually eating (but gently — only gently), we will admit that there is a fairly permanent place both in our life and in our heart for a late-night dog topped with fried onions. But we will also point out that we can smell the onions from Express (and its nearby rival, Jim's) when we are driving on the Dan Ryan. And we are not entirely sure we would welcome with open arms that smell into, say, our bedroom.

The debate rages on! And, um, will be resolved tonight. At a meeting which will pit neighborhood officials (including Alderman Danny Solis, major wheel in the Daley machine) against the Express Grill folks. Sun-Times is calling odds against. We'll keep you posted.

Hot Dog Controversy...in Chicago? [WBEZ]
Sausage showdown [Sun-Times]

[Photo: Polish, Chicago-style, via ejholmes's Flickr]

This just in: State Street hotel-in-progress theWit (lack of space and internal capitalization [sic]) is contracting their dining to Concentrics Restaurants:

theWit's first floor will feature an Americana restaurant, serving the country's best traditional cuisine. A fine dining restaurant offering authentic Italian fare will helm the hotel's second floor, while a chic lounge and eatery will be situated on the 27th floor rooftop, offering hotel guests and Chicago locals a sharp rooftop lounge with unique indoor and outdoor seating boasting a strong beverage program and chef driven small plates.

Plus, CitySearch Atlanta voted TAP, their "upmarket and eclectic" gastropub, the eighth-best first date spot in the city. That's something!

Thus far they've only got spots open in Georgia and Florida, though, so it remains to be seen how well an expansion to Chicago goes over. theWit (the spacing and capitalization are killing us!) isn't scheduled to open until May 2009, so we've got some breath-holding time ahead of us.

The Restaurants at The Wit [Official Site]
Nationally Acclaimed Restaurant Group to Launch Concepts in Chicago's theWit Hotel [Yahoo/Press Release]

All you Counter apologists and your heartfelt defenses and whatnot can go ... do something else. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CALIFORNIA BURGERS. THIS RIGHT HERE.

Update: Also! It will be owned by Kanye West! WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

Fatburger Ready to Conquer IL [Chicagoist]
Kanye’s co. opening Fatburger in Orland Park [Chicago Business News]

[Photo: fatburger, via disneymike's Flickr]

Besides the extremely hilarious name (remember back in 2001 when putting i- or e- before anything made it super mega awesome cool, and 20 gigs of iPod cost $500?) (also did you catch how the name of the place sounds like an intimate or socially coarse statement?), what do we know?

We know this: The ice cream is made-to-order from the ground up. Going one step beyond places like ColdStone and Marble Slab, at iCream you pick your dairy (or non-dairy) base via computer touchscreen, and then start adding flavors and candy or fruit mix-ins. Then the whole thing gets plunked into a KitchenAid mixer with a hefty dose of liquid nitrogen, which freezes it up. Then you eat it.

We question this: Will it be any good? We're not quite as skeptical of iCream as we are of its hamburger equivalent, though this might be because we prefer a burger to a cone any day. But we're also a little nervous that freezing things with liquid nitrogen is not quite the same as freezing things in an ice cream machine — think about the textural difference between ice cream scooped out at a parlor, versus the brick of mint chip that's been sitting in the back of your freezer for a month.

Still, we recognize that this "will it be any good" question is kind of an irrelevant one. DIY joints tend to live or die based on the novelty of the experience as opposed to the deliciousness of the food, so while iCream prides themselves on their top-notch ingredients, people aren't going to be visiting for the hormone-free milk bases. They're going to be visiting so they can turn to their friend and say HOLY CRAP LIQUID NITROGEN!

In fact, it is entirely likely that we will be visiting in order to say HOLY CRAP LIQUID NITROGEN. And then we will make lots of puns on "iCream," and laugh like a thirteen-year-old boy, which we sometimes secretly believe we are.

Though given that we are a thirteen-year-old boy, we might actually attempt to make liquid nitrogen ice cream at home, instead. Which doesn't seem all that hard. And, um, kind of takes some of the awesome! factor away from iCream.

Well, there's always the puns.

iCream Cafe [Official Site]
Stone Cold Creamery [UrbanDaddy]
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream [Cooking with Chemistry]

[Photo: liquid nitrogen ice cream, via jrhampton's Flickr]

We are basically out the door for the day (we are so hungry for dinner that we can barely contain ourself), but this just landed in our inbox and we are ... well let's just say this: when we were hired here one of the few rules we were told was "don't be too profane, don't be too sexual." And we were all "sure, yeah, we can do that!"

And then this place has to go and open on N. Milwaukee, and call themselves iCream.

So, come back tomorrow as we try really really hard to restrain ourselves! Fun for the whole family!

Stone Cold Creamery [UrbanDaddy]

[Photo: Quench, via dmmaus's Flickr]

The resto rotates eight to nine fresh-made daily entrees for an absurdly low $6.50 (add an extra buck for a split plate); because you're dangerously underweight, you'll also get a baguette hunk slathered in butter & jambalaya seasoning. Mainstays include thick gumbo (w/ crayfish, sausage, shrimp, & chicken), red beans and rice w/ andouille, and a spicy chili-cheese etouffée; nontraditionals include the sausage- and chicken-fueled Italiana in spicy tomato sauce, and the pulled pork/olives/capers/carrots Cuban-inspired dish "Ropa Vieja."

Yaks All, Folks [Thrillist]
Yats [Official Site]

[Photo, Yats's sign and plate, via casey_atchley's Flickr]

That new beer-centric restaurant from Paul Kahan, wundercreator of Blackbird and Avec that we have been getting ourselves psyched about for, like, ever? Finally has a date and a name! Per The Stew, it'll open August 18, and it's called The Publican.

After some speculation about the various potential meanings of the name (renaissance slang for a pimp? Roman military tax collector? Re___? No, no, and no), Eng and Vettel learn that "the name comes from the Renaissance term for a tavernkeeper, which makes a lot of sense in a place with such a huge selection of ales, lagers, stouts and ciders."

So, yeah, tres sensical. Of course, to us, a publican will always be best embodied by Keith, the death-destined, Tesco-pizza-loving blowhard from Achewood. You see, he lives in the computer of a vaguely British, highly cosmopolitan teddy bear named Cornelius who is also alive, and in the computer also lives this finch named Mr. Teal, who hates Keith, and so Cornelius agrees to work with Keith to... you know what? Just start at the beginning and read every single strip. Your life will be the better for it.

Blackbird [MenuPages]
Blackbird [Official Site]
Avec [MenuPages]
Avec [Official Site]
Blackbird and Avec sibling finally has a name [The Stew]
Achewood [Official Site]

[Image via Achewood]

It’s going to be a tortería with a wood-burning oven. We will be doing classic regional Mexican sandwiches, a la plancha. All artisanal products. All the preparations will be in the front window. We’re grinding our own chocolate from Mexican cacao beans right on the premises. Nobody is doing that.

Rick promises us a no-fail launch date in April 2009. If we call an arbitrary launch date of April 1, that's 264 days, 20 hours, 50 minutes, and 41 seconds from now, as of the very instant of us hitting "publish" on this post.

Doing the Bristol Romp [Dish]

[Photo: Churros, via maijau's Flickr]

French-infused food is nothing new to Chicago. Takashi slips French into Japanese fare, Avec makes a (very) happy family of French, Mediterranean and Italian flavors and Le Passage fancies their bar food as French, but who’s doing French-Mexican? No one, until Mexique.

Husband and wife duo (it’s the chic way to open if you haven’t noticed) Carlos Gaytan and Iliamar Isaac chose Tuesday to open their doors on a stretch of Chicago Avenue known for its cowboy boots and taquerias. You can even buy live chickens at Hermitage, but probably not for long. The stroller-pushing hipsters and single-scouting diners that have settled into the hood need a place where they can be seen, preferably eating upscale food. A spot like Mexique feels appropriate.

If your first thought is burritos and French fries, you’re wrong. Chef Carolos Gaytan, whose resume includes seven plus years at the Union League Club, three years at Bistrot Margot and a short stint at Adobo Grill, combines his Mexican heritage with French training for a sophisticated result. Carlos tells us (talk to him when you go, his voice coos) he loves to cook and knows that to be a chef you must also be a "creator."

So what’s he creating? Pretty good stuff. On the appetizer list, a trio of sopes are filled with escargot and chimichurri butter, shrimp and avocado mousse, and plantains slathered with a spicy chocolate mole. Tuesday’s tuna ceviche (chef’s choice daily) was surrounded with tiny translucent gelatin cubes that tasted like a tortilla chip. The vetabel sounds just as peculiar as its spelled, but the combination of port wine poached beets with horseradish vinaigrette and a fried goat cheese cake promises an entourage of flavor.

On the main menu, Gaytan purees Malanga root from the Yucatan with white truffles as a topper for the NY steak. Dorado (Spanish for mahi mahi) is served with green beans, tiger shrimp, muscles and clams in a morita-saffron bouillon. A duck breast sports a chipotle-temple tamarind glaze and comes with a cranberry tamal.

After-dinner drinks are not on the menu, which is limited to a well-priced selection of wine. Iliamar (who is behind the design of the space and now has her career as an architect on hold to run the restaurant) tells us the list is only preliminary and will include beer in the future, but that cocktails have intentionally been left off. For fear a patron might order a midori-infused margarita to drink alongside their poblano pork tenderloin, maybe? We’re not sure, but if it’s tequila and citrus you want, you can find some resemblance of it on the dessert menu: the "Margarita" is a tequila pomegranate gelee with pink grapefruit sorbet and sea salt, for example. France and Mexico take turns down the list with classic options like crème brulee and apple tart or chocolate ganache and ancho chile enchiladas.

Call now for a table. It’s our guess once word gets out they’ll be hard to come by. Lunch starts in two weeks and weekend brunch is in the works.

Mexique [MenuPages]
Mexique [Official Site]

[Photo: Carne at Mexique]

What could be more auspicious than opening a fabulous new restaurant on the day that the foie gras ban got repealed? This is how L.2O was welcomed into the world, and based on the reactions of Mike Nagrant at Hungry (who supplied that quote and also, magnanimously, the menu) and Judy Hevrdejs at the Tribune, L2O is already in the pantheon of Chicago's top restaurants. And with dishes that have descriptions like "lamb tartar, ebi shrimp, pickled peach, tarragon" and "gold egg yolk, kampachi, Kurobuta pork, sake" and "shabu-shabu medai, kombu bouillon, citrus, King Trumpet," this is not hard to believe.

The ball of Ossetra caviar you can't help but stare at is sitting on a bed of fluke; while this exact preparation is not on tonight's menu, you can get something similar in the $110-$140 range. A twelve course tasting menu is $165, and a four course prix-fixe is $110. Eh, we've seen worse. The photo is from the restaurant's official flickr pool, which is hot. When LEYE wants to do something, they really do it.

Anyway, we're excited.

First Sip: L2O [Hungry]
First Bite: L2O [Tribune]

L.2O [MenuPages]
L.2O [Official Site]

[Photo: Ossetra caviar on fluke at L.2O, LGras/flickr]

Much like Sixteen at the Trump Hotel before it, C-House — famed Ethiopian-Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson's venture at the Affinia Chicago — has opened its door for breakfast only at first. This is a perfectly reasonable way to test the space and prep the staff, but the morning menu does not reveal too much of what's to come. Except that, much like Sixteen, it is very expensive.

No less of a personage than Phil Vettel checked out C-House over the weekend, reporting that "there are three versions of eggs Benedict, including one that includes generous slices of pastrami-style smoked salmon; that’s what I ate, and it was terrific."

One would hope so! It's $17. The smart money may be on the $22 lobster version, but there's always the $14 Canadian bacon for penny pinchers.

You know what else is $14 at C-House's breakfast? An omelet with tomato, mushroom, herbs or cheddar cheese. Pancakes with blueberry compote. Almond French Toast with vanilla maple syrup. Waffles with chestnut honey. Clearly, this is the "sweet" spot. Hahaha!

We referenced the pastrami smoked salmon eggs Benedict earlier; it is also possible to get pastrami smoked salmon as a side for $7. Why so much pastrami smoked salmon? And why aren't they calling it gravlax?

To answer the second question first, it's because gravlax isn't smoked, it's cured. If you want legit gravlax, you'll have to go to Magnolia Cafe, where gravlax eggs Benedict are served with wilted arugula, tomato and pesto hollandaise and house potatoes for $13. But we digress.

What's strange is, Mr. Samuelsson certainly serves gravlax at his flagship restaurant Aquavit in New York. Aquavit offers a $48 all-you-can-eat brunch smorgasbord that includes gravlax as well as any number of smoked salmons and herrings, Swedish meatballs and Danish Marys. Hello, why isn't that available at C-House?

Oh well. Lunch and dinner menus will be posted as they materialize.

C-House [MenuPages]
C-House [Official Site]

[Photo: gravlax, which is clearly not smoked, via Ben Harris-Roxas/flickr]

Bunch of one-namers, these are. Okay, sort of a lie; Stages is actually Stages Family Restaurant. Chuck Sudo attested to the charm of the Bridgeport diner's open face hot turkey sandwich, which we can confidently report to cost $6.75 and include mashed potatoes and a bowl of soup.

Shochu is a somewhat bigger story, as the New American/Asian small plate lounge in Lakeview opens TO-NITE. It's run by the Deleece people and is the first Chicago establishment to get on the shochu bandwagon. Shochu is a recently popularized 50-proof Japanese alcoholic beverage that's "cool" right now in America. Small plate lounges are also a recently popularized 50-proof Japanese alcoholic beverage that's "cool" right now in America. Um, anyway, here you'll find a handful of Thai curries, some upscale izakaya-style tapas, raw fish in various preparations, and skewers of meat (yakitori) served with any number of fusion-y sauces (blueberry teriyaki! Miso lychee aoili! White soy Dijon vinaigrette! And so forth)

Speaking of skewers, Skewerz! The name doesn't indicate this, but it's a Hawaiian fast food restaurant, opening "hopefully next week" in Wicker Park. Proteins available on a stick include: chilied chicken (with a red & black pepper marinade; four for $7), lemongrass tuna (with a lemongrass emulsion, three for $9), and flank steak (grilled with five spices; four for $8). Each of the aformentioned come with a rice (e.g. jasmine or brown) and a condiment (red curry peanut sauce sounds exciting). They'll be open until 3am on weekend nights, which sounds like the right time for this kind of food.

Finally, everyone else in the world may have known that the Butcher's Dog on Clark and Harrison closed a year ago, but we only found out yesterday that it's been replaced by Villains Bar & Grill. The menu offers nothing you haven't seen before (buffalo calamari for $9, mushroom swiss portobello burger for $10), but vodka drinks are only $3 on Terrible Tuesdays, an appellation we wholeheartedly agree with.

[Photo: grilled lamb chop with mandarin mint salad and white soy dijon vinaigrette at Shochu]

The latest yogurt craze-inspired entrant to the Chicago restaurant scene is Starfruit, opening tomorrow in Ukrainian Village. Unlike competitors Berry Chill and Wow Bao (you knew they were serving Asian-style frozen yogurt, right?), Starfruit makes its parfaits, smoothies and frozen concoctions from kefir, a variant of yogurt with a high concentration of bacteria. But good bacteria! Starfruit uses "probiotic" a lot on its trippy, hypnotic website (the best Flash-driven restaurant website we've ever seen, by the way, even though we normally don't like Flash), a totally hot trend in 2008. The yogurt...it will cure all your medical problems! It will do your taxes!

On that topic, as a special promotion for their opening day tomorrow, Starfruit is offering, for free, small parfaits, smoothies and frozens (let's just call them that) plus one topping. All of this would normally be $5, so it's not a bad deal. Flavors include flavors-of-the-week like Pomegranate and Acai, plus all the standard berries, a handful of fruits, and vanilla and capppuccino. Some of the flavors are available in organic, an extra 50 cents. The toppings are more fun, ranging from fresh fruit to milk and honey granola, yogurt chips (in case you can never get enough) and most exotically, mochi balls (a buck for the first topping, and then 50 cents per).

We say, the more, the merrier on yogurt. But the best part is, the menu they sent us came in three versions with three different fonts. They've since determined one for the website, but the tri-font menu gave us the unique opportunity to share with you the design decision as it came together. Here are the three options:

1)

2)

3)

The first one has a Harry Potter-type thing going on, the second one is like playful late 1950s, and the third one is a bit American Girl Place, yeah?

So which one makes us think the most about groovy yogurt? Also, why not just use the same sans serif font that the Starfruit logo is in? Because sans serif is modern and forward thinking, but Starfruit's hippy-wellness-holistic angle requires a few serifs to put us in a time and place, and the curlycues in the first font are as close as you're gonna get. And so, that's the font they ultimately chose for the website. Branding, we think, is like one of those good bacteria! Best eaten fresh and cold.

Starfruit [MenuPages]
Starfruit [Official Site]

ZED451 is an AYCE (all you can eat) New American steakhouse, opening in River North in two weeks. The restaurant is similar in concept to the various churrascarias around town like Brazzaz and Fogo de Chao, but with a New American rather than Brazilian orientation toward the meat and accompaniments. For a $50 prix-fixe ($25 for the kiddies), you get your pick of proteins like bacon-wrapped filet mignon, Parmesan crusted pork medallions, buttermilk marinated bottom sirloin, spicy fruit-glazed lamb chops, and so forth. And in lieu of a traditional salad bar, ZED451 employs a "Harvest Table" with sides like Maui pineapple salad, roasted asparagus with herbed aioli, and a "Hot Station" with options like sherry braised mushroom soup.

One mildly interested twist is that the restaurant employs thirty front-end chefs, who do everything from carving your meat to delivering it to your table. Furthermore, they get to show off their skills by making amuse bouches for the audience...er, dining guests. This is sort of like an audition so maybe you can hire them to be your corporate chef or something! We wonder if they wear name tags...

If ZED451 sounds familiar (the restaurant's name refers to the last letter of the alphabet and the temperature at which paper spontaneously combusts. All this makes us nervous that it's a doomsday cult), that's because there are already two in the area: Downers Grove and Schaumburg each have a location. It definitely feels like sloppy seconds to get a restaurant concept that got its start in the suburbs; we've learned by now to not assume that food served in the suburbs will be less sophisticated than its city counterpart, but...we cannot shake the associations of the soulless marketing immanent to restaurant groups in general, and these suburbs in particular.

The next best thing to judging a dish by eating it is to judge by looking at it (this is the premise behind Top Chef, by the way). Above are some encrusted lamb chops (apparently not the spicy fruit-glazed variety they have on the menu). They look...fine. More than adequate. There are chives in the foreground, cilantro in the background. Definitely a stab at upmarket. We look at these lamb chops and know instantly that the food will be good enough for the people who decide to go to this restaurant. It will be tourists and conventioneers and families and all sorts of people who appreciate high quality AYCE in a large (15,000 sq ft!), safe space. It at least has the virtue of being slightly different from other plausible alternatives in Chicago. Given the spiraling costs of meat, $50 for all the filet mignon you can eat is not a terrible deal.

ZED451 [MenuPages]
ZED451 [Official Site]

[Photo: ZED451's media center]

When it rains, it pours. Most of these are just opening or about to open. Some are from a few months ago, and one has eluded us since 2006! But all are worthy of note, not least for the reasons given:

• Big Jones — offers New Southern (i.e. fancified New Orleans and Charleston) cuisine starting April 9th. Sipping the Zeitgeist, they have a tea menu!

• Cinners — is Chicago's only Cincinnati-themed restaurant? They serve the city's famed chili over spaghetti, starting April 4th.

• Edgewater Lounge — has a MySpace, which is not so unusual. Music tastes include: Hank III, Drive by Truckers, The Verve, David Bowie, The Stone Roses, Mastadon, Van Halen, OutLaw Family Band

• Habibi — this Edgewater Lebanese restaurant, which drew the ire of the Dish last week, makes a point of saying they're open 365 days a year, including New Year's, Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's right on the menu!

• Harry Caray's Tavern — a spawn of the River North original hard by Wrigley Field, indulges in the irritating habit of placing a little ® next to "Holy Cow!" all over their menu, refering to their burgers. COME ON.

• Miss Asia — has every major South-East Asian cuisine except for Burmese. But that's the one we really wanted!

• Nellie's — purportedly has Chicago's only Puerto Rican breakfast buffet! It's $11.95 for adults and includes coconut oatmeal...

• Risqué Cafe — is Betty-themed. What a powerful cultural meme! Makes their barbecue sound plausible, ain't it; the chain of association being Betty-Route 66-BBQ. Correct us if we're wrong.

• Spicy Pickle — a national sandwich chain planning 9 more locations in Chicagoland!

[Photo: five spices pork leg, $14.95 at Miss Asia]

Three little ethnic restaurants opened recently, and we got their menus!

1) Kam Fung, in Chinatown. Exciting menu item: Chinese-style fried chicken, $15 for the whole bird

2) Snow Spice Thai, in Ravenswood. Exciting menu item: avocado fish salad, $7. And they deliver!

3) Tacos Erendira in Bridgeport. Exciting menu item: chiles rellenos burrito, $4.50. Exciting menu quirk: menudo is $5.50, but menudo to go is $6.50. Those plastic containers don't come cheap, we suppose.

Okay, have a good weekend. Try someplace new!

Cafe Marbella is a smallish, BYO classic tapas house in Albany Park, while Mercat a la Planxa is a flashy, Catalan tapas extravaganza south of the Loop. They both recently opened, and they've both been garnering the praise of Chicago's foodie Brahmins. How have they fared among hoi polloi?

Very well, so far. We've gotten two reviews for each in the past week, and we'll start with Cafe Marbella:

March 13th, entitled "Great local tapas":

Had a great meal here recently. The look of the restaurant is uninspiring (inside and out), but the tapas ranged from good to excellent. Most tapas are under $10, and it is BYOB, making it very affordable. (We had 5 tapas, one dessert, brought our own win, and bill was still less than $50.) Skip the sausage/jamon platter, it was the most expensive item we ordered, tasted fine but rather boring. Potatos with chorizo were perfectly cooked, though I would have liked a more flavorful, spicy chorizo. Rest of the dishes were really great and well-prepared, obviously made with lots of care. Server was very warm and attentive, really some of the best service we've had in a while! I would say that most of the dishes were on par with what you get at other higher-profile tapas places but without the high-profile prices. We will most definitely go back.

Nice new addition to the neighborhood. The food was very good.The mussels in cream sauce was addictive and the figs wrapped in bacon were very rich and unusual. The BYOB made it even more attractive. The service was very good and very helpfull. We had seven tapas and the bill was under $50.00. We wish this new place a long and successful life. Try it you'll like it if you like to try new things.

1) Both reviews talk about bills under $50. It would be really weird to do that on purpose!
2) The first review creditably criticized the food
3) The second review evinces a substantial drop in literacy from the first
4) Bacon-wrapped figs are not unusual, but they are delicious. Note that you can also bacon-wrap dates!

Okay, the fourth reason was not on point, but nevertheless, these reviews are plausibly legit.

On to Mercat a la Planxa, with its exotic 'x' standing in for 'ch' so the Catalans can pretend they're not Spanish like it matters. On the other hand, Catalans are known for their delicious cuisine (cf. El Bulli). Mercat opened for all three meals a week ago Saturday, where Chicago native chef Jose Garces dishes out all manner of Barcelonian specialties with broad-based Spanish cooking skills honed at the Andalusian tapas bar and Basque wine bar he ran in Philly. Expectations certainly run high with an opening of this size, and our users seem to think they were justified:

March 16th, entitled "OMG ITS SO SO GOOD!":

The food is totally insane with goodness! and lots of variety to choose from. The Wine list just goes on and on. the wait was about 20 minutes but it was worth it!!! as a neighbor to the restaurant i know that i will keep going for more and more.. there is also a nice bar in the lower level that looks really cute. the restaurant is located in the upper level and it so big, and it looks over grand park, but once the food starts your all your senses go to your mouth! ummm so good.

Everything I tried was fabulous, especially the bacon wrapped dates (drizzled with cheese sauce tableside), the cadi urgelia cheese with truffled lavender and apple jam, and the pork belly that melted under the fork. I can't wait to go back and try it for lunch.

Maybe these are shills, but we'd bet that the Mercat people would go for more sophisticated prose to match their ambitions. Besides, both of these restaurants have gotten great write-ups in the mainstream press, so none of the reviews come off as outlandish. Seems like these are 2008 winners, but of course, the jury is still out.

Cafe Marbella [MenuPages]
Mercat a la Planxa [MenuPages]
Mercat a la Planxa [Official Site]

[Photo: bacon-wrapped dates by stu_spivack/flickr]

Well, we told her that everyone seemed to be really excited about the concept. This was partially because we didn't want to say anything negative this early in the morning, and partially because we'd only skimmed the data and didn't have much substantive to report. Now that we've woken up, the thrust of the commentary thus far as been:

1) The line is so long
2) Much of the early business is being driven by the false impression that Rosscoe's is related to Roscoe's, which comes off as...unsavory
3) The chicken and waffles are alright, although they may suffer long waits on the way from the kitchen to the table

Some of this can be chalked up to opening drama and growing pains, but trying to ride the coattails of the established LA institution doesn't sit all that well with us. We realize the owners are just trying to maximize their business, but given the dearth of decent dining options in the area, simply providing good food and decent service would have taken care of that. Using the name Rosscoe's (misspelled as it might be) just opens you up for increased scrutiny and ire.

We'll have more to report when we receive the menu.

[Photo: the eponymous dish, but from the actual Roscoe's in LA, pointnshoot]

"I've seen wine bars and champagne lounges in Europe and New York and I think Chicago is ready," said Managing Partner Frankie Versean Cox. Chicago’s haven from the conventional club and bar scene unveils distinguished character, drink service and an exquisite menu that presents Chicagoan’s with something new in which to indulge.

...the University has indicated its willingness to forgive most of the unpaid rent and to supply additional funds in order to substantially repay local vendors to whom the Co-op is in debt. These actions would permit the Co-op to close without the costly process of bankruptcy proceedings and allow a new grocer to begin operations within two weeks of closure. All current Co-op employees would have an opportunity to interview for jobs in the new store as part of the arrangement with a new grocer.

Continue reading "How Doomed Is The Hyde Park Co-Op?" »

The Pepe's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina at 281 West Town Line Road, Vernon Hills, Illinois, is now open. The restaurant and beautiful Cantina seat 140. Every Wednesday is 1/2 Price Margaritas. Print out this e-mail to receive a FREE APPETIZER of your choice, when you purchase Two Mexican Dinner Entrees and Two beverages. DINE IN ONLY. Valid only at the Pepe's in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Not good with any other offer, coupon, or special or on Margaritas nights. Sales tax not included. Offer expires November 4, 2007. Please present this coupon to the server before ordering. Thank You.

The Pepe's Mexican Restaurant at 920 North Bridge Street(RT 47), Yorkville, Iliinois, is now open for dine-in or carry-ouy business.This cozy restaurant seats 100. Every Monday and Thursday is 1/2 price Margaritas. Print out this email to receive a FREE APPETIZER of your choice, when you purchase Two Mexican Dinner Entrees and Two Beverages. Dine In Only. Valid only at the Pepe's in Yorkville, Illinois. NOt good with any other offer, coupon or special, or on Margaritas nights. Sales tax not included. Offer expires November 11, 2007. Plese pesent this coupon to the server before ordering. THank You.

The dough is placed into the oven under a ceiling of steam or, alternatively, the oven is injected with steam as soon as the loaf is loaded. This adds moisture to the body, the crumb, of the bread and establishes the crust quickly, resulting in a light and airy crumb. When the steam is gone (sometimes today, withdrawn), the dry heat of the oven bakes the crust, producing its characteristically slightly crisp and flaky texture. Vienna bread is typically formed as an oblong loaf, but can be baked in other shapes. As a longer loaf, it may well have been the origin of French bread as bakers there attempted to adopt the steam method to produce their baguettes.

It's true, many may have seen it on their radar, but this weekend is the last for the offshoot of timo, and all its pork filled goodness. And no I will not be working there this weekend, so this is not a shill, but rather a suggestion to go get a pork belly with smoked gouda risotto tonight or tomorrow before they are gone. I truly enjoyed the food there, it made serving it to everyone very honest and easy. Although things were inconsistant in the foh at the end, I think that losing Scylla and Baccala is a terrific blow to a neighborhood whose food options are mediocre at best. I feel bad being the bearer of bad news, but it is better than letting it go without it's goodbye's.

[Soul Vegetarian East's] vegan cuisine is inspired by owner Prince Asiel Ben-Israel's religious beliefs. He and his wife Yohanna are African Hebrew Israelites, one of the purported "lost tribes" of Israel (for a gross oversimplification, think of it as a Jewish version of Rastafarianism), and among the Biblical passages they take seriously, one from Genesis stands out in informing their dietary choices: "God also said: 'See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food." There's plenty of stuff in the Bible about eating animals, too, but whatever - Soul Veg's offerings are a hell of a lot healthier than standard soul food fare, but similarly spiced and entirely enjoyable. Good for the Earth, good for the body, good for the soul, and all that jazz.