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Dish FLASH—New Avenues

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Graham Elliot Bowles, the supremely talented four-star chef at Avenues (Peninsula Chicago, 108 E. Superior St.; 312-573-6754) for the past four years, is leaving to open Graham Elliot in the former Harvest on Huron space at 217 West Huron Street. “The idea is to do four-star cuisine in a completely different atmosphere,” says Bowles. “I’m doing away with linen and florals and the silver and the crystal and making the space as reflective of the chef as possible. Instead of fine dining I think of it as ‘redefined dining,’ in the bistronomic sense of the word. To just be humble and serve the food we believe in.” Like what? “Dishes such as aged Cheddar risotto with Pabst-braised onions, smoked bacon, green apples, and Cheez-Its,” Bowles says. “And there’s going to be a bar and lounge element focusing on the art of mixology and handcrafted cocktails like a deconstructed Bloody Mary with horseradish sorbet, jellied vodka, Tabasco bubbles, and celery salt.” Bowles will bring…

Face to Facebook

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I consider myself to be something of an early adopter, but there’s one party I’ve come to late: Facebook. The social networking site launched in 2004, but I only caved to friends’ endless urging and joined about two weeks ago (another latecomer: Chicago senior editor Jeff Ruby; see his hilarious attempt at a Facebook profile). And now, here I am: a true convert, posting messages to The Boyfriend to ask when he’s bringing dinner over. It helped that I read in the February issue of Entrepreneur magazine that more than half of Facebook’s 60 million uses are over the age of 25. That’s my demographic, whether I like it or not.

Some folks use the site mostly to connect with old friends—and I did hear from my long-lost eighth-grade boyfriend, who recently relocated to Israel—but I’m an even bigger fan of the “groups” and “events” functions. Users can alert friends and friends of friends about parties they’re hosting, making Evite a thing of…

Five Questions for the Beer Dudes

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“I’m impressed when a bar has something I’ve never had before,” says Phil Kuhl, one half of the Beer Dudes—an entrepreneurial friendship founded on suds. Kuhl and the other Dude, Brian Moreland, met last April while bartending at Sheffield’s (Kuhl also tends bar at Goose Island in Wrigleyville). Since then, they’ve begun hosting beer tastings around town, including a weekly Monday night event at Rockit Bar and Grill called Taste It, in which the guys pair three beers from a particular state with a three-course meal. “We’re trying to ease people into appreciating beer,” Kuhl says. “Beer isn’t as intimidating as wine,” Moreland adds. I caught up with the guys this past Monday to chat about spreading the gospel of brew…

Name That Restaurant

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Stretch Armstrong

Govind Armstrong has set his sights on Chicago. “ Govind who,” you say? Armstrong is the man behind red-hot Table 8 in Los Angeles and Miami, and he is breaking ground at an undisclosed location in River North by the end of January. “I’ve always wanted to do a place in Chicago,” says Armstrong, 38. “It’s got an impeccable dining scene.” Armstrong, an L.A. native who apprenticed at the age of 13 with Wolfgang Puck at Spago, has Costa Rican roots, but describes Table 8 on Melrose Avenue as: “Nothing fancy; warm and inviting, a little gem that you would walk into. It’s not exactly comfort food, but it’s approachable. We’re not reinventing how people should eat, or what they should eat.” (The only dish he’s bringing to his 120-seat restaurant in Chicago that he’d reveal to us was a prime salt-roasted porterhouse.) Armstrong is currently searching for a Chicago chef who is…

My Carrie Moment

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I’ve been likened to the fictional sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw once or twice, but one thing we don’t have in common: the ability to trot in sky-high Manolo Blahniks. I bought my first pair recently on sale at Barneys (open-toe, patent-leather Mary Janes), but I’ve yet to wear them out of the house. Just looking at them in my closet gives me plenty of pleasure, sans pain.

But since I said I would participate in last night’s Service Club of Chicago charity fashion show at Chaise Lounge, I knew I might have to suck it up…

To Market, To Market . . .

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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…