08/22/07

Sugar Shock

You Gotta Like  . . .
. . . a little place like Bien Trucha Restaurante (410 W. State St., Geneva; 630-232-2665). The month-old BYO from Ricardo García-Rubio, who ran Tia Maria’s in Geneva for 20 years, has room for no more than 15 customers at a time, and does everything made-to-order. “Our specialty is tacos,” says García-Rubio of his mini-menu. “They’re like four bites a taco, and we put four on a plate, do different peppers and different salsa for every taco. And we marinate our pork for a day in adobo made with chile guajillo and ancho pepper and orange juice.” Yum. Even the name is adorable: It means “good trout.” “That fish, when it swims, is looking from one side to the other...

Posted at 05:34 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (1)

08/15/07

Brasserie Ruhlmann Calls in the Big Guns

New York's Loss . . .
Dish has learned that the chef at Brasserie Ruhlmann, the offshoot of a classic NYC brasserie/raw bar opening opposite Japonais (600 W. Chicago Ave.; 312-822-9600) in early October, will be Christian Delouvrier. A native of Gascony, Delouvrier is a veteran of New York standouts such as Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, Lespinasse, and Miami's La Goulue. He has published a highfalutin cookbook (Mastering Simplicity, Wiley, 2004) and has worked in topnotch restaurants from Montreal to the Bahamas. This time around, his bosses are the New York Brasserie Ruhlmann partners, Jean Denoyer, Miae Lim, and...

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08/08/07

The Donald names his new apprentice

The Trump Card
Everyone has been speculating about what high-octane chef would anchor the restaurant coming to the 16th floor of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago (401 N. Wabash Ave.) when it opens in December. Trotter? Robuchon? Ducasse? Nope. The answer is . . . Frank Brunacci. Who? A native of Melbourne, Brunacci, 36, has worked under Alain Chapel and Joël Antunes, learning the ropes in kitchens from London (Les Saveurs) to Atlanta (Ritz-Carlton Buckhead) to New Orleans (Victor's) to Sedona, Arizona (L'Auberge de Sedona). We chatted with him earlier this week.

D:...

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08/01/07

One huge pancake headed for Lincoln Square

5 Questions for Elizabeth Dahl, the new pastry chef at Boka (1729 N. Halsted St.; 312-337-6070)

D: You've been the pastry chef at Naha for a while now. Why did you leave?
ED: I heard that Giuseppe [Tentori] was hiring. I had dinner with my husband one Sunday night at Boka and we loved his food and I thought: Why not? All of us always keep our eyes and ears open for new opportunities for growth.

D: You worked with your husband at Naha, didn't you?
ED: I had come on as my husband's assistant. We planned our wedding while working there. It was definitely very hard to leave. But for the first time, I can work with my own style. [Editors' note: Elizabeth's husband, Tim...

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