Quick Hit
We’ve heard the buzz on Chilam Balam (3023 North Broadway; 773-296-6901), a new cash-only Mexican BYO run by Chuy Valencia, an alum of Frontera Grill, but Pollack was skeptical. Especially when the halibut seviche ($9.25) and guacamole and chips ($7.25)—both recommended by the gregarious waiter—arrived in a flash and looked small, especially the guac, even by small-plate standards. Pollack’s upsell alert bell went off, but both were…
Lederhosen, lager, Lincoln Square: Must be the North Side hamlet’s German Day Festival (a.k.a. Oktoberfest). Our photographer caught folks midpolka on Friday, the first night of the weekend-long fest, before heading inside the neighborhood tavern Huettenbar…
Maybe they didn’t get the memo: Despite the chance to don their white kicks one last time before Labor Day Fashion Police put the kibosh on said footwear, a Sunday night crowd showed up to Hub 51’s White Shoes Party largely white shoe–free. Oh, well. At least this way folks weren’t crying over spilt wine on their sparkling Choos…
Neapolitics in Downers Grove
Parkers’ Restaurant & Bar (1000 31st St., Downers Grove; 630-960-5700), a new farm-friendly American revamp of Parkers’ Ocean Grill, also happens to serve Neapolitan pizza so serious that it received Naples’ treasured VPN (Vera Pizza Napoletana) certification. “We had a wood-burning oven since we opened as Parkers’, but we didn’t really utilize it…
What better way to toast summer’s sendoff than with the season’s bubbliest trend: sparkling cocktails? This sipper is perfect for soaking up dwindling twilights on the new 16th-floor Terrace at Trump (401 N. Wabash Ave.), but for nights when rooftop plans get rained out, we coaxed the recipe out of the Trump’s food and beverage … Read more
Wrigleyville’s The Central has been, well, decentralized. Which is not to say the neighborhood is suddenly lacking for bars: In its place, the Eat Well, Drink Better team (LaSalle Power Co., English, Angels & Mariachis) has introduced Rockwood Place, a neo-dive of the sort increasingly seen around town, where cheap beer takes precedence over…
A Humboldt Park labor of love earns our adoration
The original comfort zones—ye olde bake shoppes
From Powerhouse to Prairie
It’s been a good month for Prairie Grass Cafe (601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook; 847-205-4433). On the heels of its burger being anointed Chicago’s best, now PGC has announced it will spawn Prairie Fire, another all-American outpost in the old Powerhouse space in the West Loop (215 N. Clinton St.) “We’re going to do some of our signature stuff like…
The legendary Beverly destination hasn’t changed a lick over the years, and now ORC plans to open a Loop branch in August.
