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Ad Categories: Dining & Drinking

Geno’s Fourth Comeback

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His Ship Has Landed

Trattoria Valle d’Itria (581 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park; 847-266-0600), a casual retreat that opened in the former Tapis Rouge space April 18th, utilizes the talents of three cousins. Chef Giovanni Chirulli is a Kendall College graduate who worked for the Pacific Princess cruise line—yes, The Love Boat—and studied in restaurants throughout Europe. MaryAnn Carioscia brings catering experience to the table. Maria Giallanza has a business management degree. Their menu covers familiar territory: veal marsala,…

That Wheach Doesn’t Kill Us

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Turns out you can judge a beer by its six-pack. Meet Wheach, the “peach wheat beer” from Missouri’s O’Fallon Brewery that comes in a big yellow carton with its very own mascot. No, that’s not Pac-Man. It’s a peach.

In honor of four consecutive days of yes-god-there-is-a-spring weather, I went looking for the sunniest beer I could find—and I defy anyone to top this baby, a spiked popsicle of a sipper just released on April 1st ($11.99 at Vas Foremost, 2300 N. Milwaukee Ave.)…

May 2008 Table of Contents

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Features Best New Restaurants By Dennis Ray Wheaton and Jeff Ruby Twenty-one restaurants, countless thrills. Several of this year’s top new spots bend rules and influences; others give classic genres much-needed shots of adrenaline. Either way, all 21 of them loom large in a booming restaurant landscape where it’s getting harder and harder to do … Read more

Get Twisted

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We’re Not Gonna Bake It

Our favorite new bakery these days is Twisted Sister Bakery (1543 N. Wells St.; 312-932-1128), which opened three weeks ago in Old Town. “I’ve collected and tweaked hundreds of recipes over the past 30 years,” says Lisa Alexander, a partner. “They are all the things that I love.” She loved them so much that when her husband persuaded her to quit her job as a nurse manager at Illinois Masonic and open a bakery, she did just that, teaming up with her best friend, Doug Lee (who didn’t quit his day job as a gastroenterologist). We loved the chocolate…

Eels, Pugs, and Other Lounge Lizard News

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Just because I’ll be stuck on the couch nursing an injured knee instead of a cocktail tomorrow on my birthday doesn’t mean you can’t raise a toast on April 15th. Yes, the Tax Man taketh away, but you can drinketh whatever’s left. Read about new bar openings and tax day specials below; then, if you make it out to these or other spots, come back and post comments so that others (ahem, me) can benefit vicariously from your bar hopping…

Up to the Plate

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You may know that The Closer, when he’s not Closing, reviews restaurants. People constantly ask him, “Man, how do I do that?” His answer: Eat like a maniac, and write like you mean it. Oh, and make sure you’re in the right place at the right time.