BTW, It’s Slang for “Butter”
Zebda (4344 N. Elston Ave.; 773-545-7000), a new Mediterranean-influenced takeout deli/caterer from Katie Garcia (Mundial Cocina Mestiza) and Mohammed Djeddour (Tassili), opened last week. “We’re doing really interesting sandwiches and soups and things to go,” says Garcia, who met Djeddour working at the Ritz-Carlton years ago. “Trying to keep ethnic but…
Despite a struggling economy and a postweekend time slot, the Monday-night DJ series Rehab—newly relocated to Wicker Park’s Debonair Social Club from the nearby Evil Olive—was elbow-to-gyrating-elbow for last week’s turntable lineup, aptly dubbed “I Can’t Stop Dancing!” Get your groove on tonight when J2K of Flosstradamus (one of Chicago mag’s 2008 singles…
We found five spots where fast-food speed and slow-food deliciousness (and table service) happily coexist
Chris Nugent doesn’t care if you don’t know his name. He’s more interested in pleasing his dedicated clientele.
When I heard the 22-year-old Streeterville karaoke bar Café Shino had morphed into the sake lounge Murasaki, I imagined yet another generic spot for an afterwork drink.
I was wrong…
Awesome gluten-free fried chicken in the West Loop. PLUS: Restaurants, bakeries, and Web sites with gluten-free menus and products
Barbecue Alert!
Michael Altenberg (Bistro Campagne, Crust) has found a massive, undisclosed space in Lincoln Square for his “Alabama pit barbecue” concept; now he’s just ironing out details. Plans for the two-story space include slow-cooked barbecue, authentic old-fashioned Southern drinks like Sazeracs and mint juleps, and—believe it or not…
Those still mourning the loss of Wicker Park’s long-shuttered Sinibar, take heart: That lounge’s founding father Joseph Russo is back, with a similarly diverse mandate—and a much bigger space. Enter The Shrine, Russo’s new 8,000-square-foot dance club in the South Loop, featuring a musical lineup of DJs and live acts (e.g., Julie Dexter last Friday), plus a more…
The very location that killed MoJoe’s Hot House coffeeshop will likely save Square Bar & Grill. The storefront sits on a relatively unremarkable stretch of Belmont, which otherwise might doom the newly opened spot to a short lifetime of thin crowds. But as anyone who has ever elbowed her way into—or been turned away from—Kuma’s Corner knows, this is a block that could use a plan B…
Eat Here. Now.
More often than not, we know all about any remotely promising restaurant months before it serves its first meal, but every now and then, a true gem comes out of nowhere. Han 202 (605 W. 31st St.; 312-949-1314), a chic 38-seat Amercian/pan-Asian BYO that opened two months ago in Bridgeport, is just such a place. Guan Chen, the chef-partner and his wife, Yan Ruan (former owners of Evanston’s Nine Fish), push the envelope with their prix fixe menu (five courses; $20. “That’s nice value, right?” asks Ruan, in the understatement of the year). On a recent visit…
