01/29/09

Dish Flash: Grant Achatz Talks Hollywood

The latest interest in Alinea’s celebrated chef revolves around talk of a documentary of his life, directed by R. J. Cutler. We probed Achatz for details...

Posted at 10:03 AM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (4)

01/28/09

Footsie Index Goes Chocolate

Excuse Me, Your Purse Is Melting

Edible shoes. Edible jewelry. Edible handbags. This is not the usual direction of a trained chocolatier. But Rieko Wada, a graduate of the French Pastry School, is about to unveil just such a line of chocolates. Wada, along with her daughter, Kasumi Wada, is launching their popular online chocolate store, Chocolatines, as a bricks-and-mortar...

Posted at 04:39 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/21/09

Two If by Terra

Theocracy in Action

“Despite the economy seeming to decline, our business has increased every month in a lot of ways,” says Theo Gilbert, chef-partner of Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

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01/16/09

Dish Flash: Bahena Resurfaces

Geno Bahena, whose list of opened and closed restaurants is so long we’ve lost track, has plans to open Coco’s, a Puerto Rican/criollo spot at Division and California (that’s Humboldt Park) with a seviche bar on the second floor. “This will happen within a month or so, but...

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01/14/09

Bayless Blinks, Blue Water Sinks

Market Sharing
The Market House (Doubletree Hotel, 300 E. Ohio St.; 312-787-6100), a 150-seat modern American restaurant focusing on local suppliers, has designs on a February 15th opening. “I don’t want to get labeled as comfort food,” says the chef, Scott Walton (The Sheraton, Harry Caray’s), a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. “It’s more a warm big feel to the food, driven by local farmers and...

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01/07/09

Alinea Jr.

John Peters (the former chef at Powerhouse) is in talks with Grant Achatz, his boss at Alinea (1723 N. Halsted St.; 312-867-0110), to do a restaurant project together. “Our intention is to open something else in the style of Alinea,” says Peters, who goes with Achatz back to the Trio days. “Not another heavy-hitter restaurant but something in the style of Alinea. We are kind of in limbo with the economy, obviously, but hopefully...

Posted at 05:54 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (4)