Events Newsletters Subscribe

Ad Categories: Dining & Drinking

To Market, To Market . . .

by

Fox, Obel, and Vulpes?

Vulpes, LLC, a group of locally based investors led by the food retail veteran Bill Bolton, has agreed to purchase Fox & Obel (401 E. Illinois St.; 312-410-7301), Chicago’s leading gourmet food shop. The name will not change, nor will the people involved, but according to Fox & Obel’s president and CEO, Keith Montague, the deal leverages F & O’s longtime plan: expansion. “For a long time we have wanted to build additional stores and go to other areas,” Montague told us. “River North, South Loop, North Shore: all tremendous areas. Naperville, Oak Park. We are a small company and don’t have the luxury of opening sites that won’t be successful, so we want to be careful to do it right.” The deal, whose financial terms were not made public, is scheduled to close…

Geese is the Word

by

Poetry in Motion
Steve Schwartz, the owner of Campagnola (815 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 847-475-6100), is almost set to open Wild Geese (1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston), an eclectic restaurant with a huge bar. . “We had a guy come from Vermont who built the wood-burning oven,” Schwartz says. “It’s absolutely beautiful.” Pizzas and small plates will be on the menu, but Schwartz is reluctant to pigeonhole the restaurant, which shares a common performance/party space with a neighboring recording studio. And Wild Geese may sound like a random name for a pizzeria, but it comes from a poem of the same name by Mary Oliver: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting . . . ”

Out Lao’d
They say you should never open a restaurant in January, and Tony Hu didn’t. He opened two…

Best of 2007: Reader Comments

by

In the spirit of year-end lists—and not taking myself too seriously—I’ve compiled some of the best (and snarkiest) responses to Last Girl Standing, culled from comments posted to the blog throughout 2007. Here’s to even more banter in 2008.

In response to: Weekend Update
You said: “We have the privilege to read about the chronicles of a Chicago woman who is quickly approaching middle age. She flirts with randoms, gets wasted on expensive martinis, and spends time text messaging bar owners to try to get the ‘in.’ She is the epitome of the Old Man in the Window. If the Old Man had a column ten years ago, it’d be very similar. Last Girl Standing now, Alone Girl Sitting later.”
I say: That’s a great name for a blog! I’ll consider it for Last Girl Standing 2.0. But let’s get one thing clear…

Last-minute NYE Options

by

Unless your idea of a good New Year’s Eve involves aimless bar-hopping when cabs are scarce and clubs are overcrowded, stop dragging your feet and make your plans already. The events below still had tickets available as of late last week, and folks continue to post New Year’s Eve updates to the comments section of this blog. Get to it, people. And happy 2008…

Matzo Ball Menu

by

For Jewish singles, Christmas Eve is one serious party night. Revelry and romance! No work the next day and no family obligations! (One drawback: It’s also a night of dodging exes you met on JDate and thought you’d never see again. Good luck with that.) Whether: a) you’re looking to meet a nice Jewish boy or girl; b) you aren’t into the whole Christmas thing; or c) you just need a night off before all of the family togetherness the following day, one of these December 24th bashes, aka “matzo balls,” should suit your party needs. ‘Tis the season for schmoozing—and possibly meeting someone new to spend New Year’s with…