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Penny Pollack
Coming Soon To Your Neighborhood?
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
The Fifth Element

The team behind Volo, Paramount Room and two Kitsch’ns plans to open a new concept in mid-October. “It’s our fifth spot, and we are calling it The Fifth,” says Jon Young of the 75-seat restaurant in an undisclosed location. (All Dish knows is... Read more
Guac, Stock, and Barrel
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
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... Read more
This Old Pontiac Is No Clunker
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
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... Read more
Prairie Tales
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
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... Read more
More Burgers, More Dogs
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Nothing’s Stronger than Plutonium
Jacky’s on Prairie (2545 Prairie Ave., Evanston; 847-733-0899), slated to open in the old Jacky’s Bistro space on October 12th, is an homage to Jacky Pluton’s popular French spot. “It will reflect what Jacky was at the beginning,” says Jonadab Silva, the executive chef. “There is such recognition of... Read more
French Bliss
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
The Timeless Allure of the Bistro
Joseph Calabrese (owner of Zia’s Trattoria and veteran of Ambria and Spiaggia) has gone French at Café Touché (6731 N. Northwest Hwy.; 773-775-0909), a block from Zia’s. Calabrese describes the 80-seat spot—designed by his wife—as “a cross between a café in Paris and a French Quarter look in New Orleans.” The menu is straight-up... Read more
Dish Flash
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Quince Adopts a New Motto
Quince at the Homestead (1625 Hinman Ave; Evanston; 847-570-8400), which loses chef Pete Balodimas at the end of the month, has named a pretty darn good replacement: Andy Motto. Motto, 33, was a big shot at Old Town Brasserie and Le Lan, and a smaller shot at The French Laundry, Les Nomades, and Le Français. “I think it will be... Read more
Streeterville Boots Up
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Aqua Man and His Wife
Pelago Ristorante (Raffaello Hotel, 201 E. Delaware Pl.; 312-280-0700), a 60-seat spot slated for a Streeterville boutique hotel, sounds like quite an upscale production. Italian porcelain chandeliers, white leather chairs, a mother-of-pearl fireplace, an aqua vestibule, aqua blue damask banquettes, and three meals a day from Mauro Mafrici (Manhattan’s Lo Scalco), a Trieste native plucked from obscurity by... Read more
A New Stakeholder
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Starting Over
The star-crossed space at 444 North Wabash Avenue has another chapter. You may recall it as the former Jazz Record Mart or the place that Jason Paskewitz and Phil Lotsoff had rebuilt a few years back to house Jackson Park Bar and Grill, which never opened. Now it has been leased to... Read more