Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

" /> Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

" /> Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

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Penny Pollack
Two If by Terra
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Theocracy in Action

“Despite the economy seeming to decline, our business has increased every month in a lot of ways,” says Theo Gilbert, chef-partner of Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

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Dish Flash: Bahena Resurfaces
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Geno Bahena, whose list of opened and closed restaurants is so long we’ve lost track, has plans to open Coco’s, a Puerto Rican/criollo spot at Division and California (that’s Humboldt Park) with a seviche bar on the second floor. “This will happen within a month or so, but...

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Bayless Blinks, Blue Water Sinks
By Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby
Market Sharing
The Market House (Doubletree Hotel, 300 E. Ohio St.; 312-787-6100), a 150-seat modern American restaurant focusing on local suppliers, has designs on a February 15th opening. “I don’t want to get labeled as comfort food,” says the chef, Scott Walton (The Sheraton, Harry Caray’s), a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. “It’s more a warm big feel to the food, driven by local farmers and... Read more
Alinea Jr.
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
John Peters (the former chef at Powerhouse) is in talks with Grant Achatz, his boss at Alinea (1723 N. Halsted St.; 312-867-0110), to do a restaurant project together. “Our intention is to open something else in the style of Alinea,” says Peters, who goes with Achatz back to the Trio days. “Not another heavy-hitter restaurant but something in the style of Alinea. We are kind of in limbo with the economy, obviously, but hopefully...

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Hot Dogs and Hamburgers
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Getting Mary’d

After 11 years of anchoring Andersonville, the idiosyncratic Tomboy (5402 N. Clark St.; 773-907-0636) is getting out while the getting’s good. Tomboy’s neighbor “Hamburger Mary’s [5400 N. Clark St.; 773-784-6969] is expanding,” says Stacy Malow-Williams, a partner at Tomboy, which closed on December 21st. “I have an eight-month-old baby at home and we got an offer we could not refuse. It’s the perfect opportunity.” Ashley Wright, a partner at Hamburger Mary’s Chicago franchise, says his restaurant will double its seating capacity when the new space opens in the spring. “It will be mostly high-topped tables,” says Wright, who promises the same...

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The Stein Report
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Quick Bite
On a no-man’s-land stretch at the edge of Uptown, six-week-old Monticchio (4882 N. Clark St.; 773-275-7080) could someday qualify as a pioneer. We were intrigued by the Tuscan-contemporary spot after the owner, Jim Delelio, said about his Neapolitan pizza, “I didn’t want to put myself out there as the best pizza in Chicago. Even if we are. . . .” So Pollack checked the place out. Decent pizza, nice slice of moist banana cake, but the showstopper was...

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Dish Flash
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Failure to Communicate
 Today’s big news: Roland Liccioni, who put Le Français back on the map in the nineties, is apparently leaving Old Town Brasserie (1209 N. Wells St.; 312-943-3000) just before Christmas. “I’m going to France to visit my mother, take some time off,” Liccioni says. After that, he has no plans, but would like to stay in Chicago. Bob Djahanguiri, OTB’s owner, sees it differently. “I told him...

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Unconditional Italian
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

. . . To Grandmother’s House We Go

Scott Harris (Mia Francesca) and Patrick Concannon (Don Juan’s) plan to open a rustic Italian spot called Osteria Ottimo (16111 S. La Grange Rd., Orland Park; 708-403-3366) around the New Year. “It’s going to feel as though it’s been there for a hundred years,” says Concannon, who has been a corporate chef at Francesca’s for the past six years. “Old barn wood, lots of brick, white mosaic tile.” The 130-seat spot will also feature an open kitchen, a glassed-in antipasti area, and straight-up Italian comfort food: lasagne...

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The Library Bistro
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Jim Dragatsis (Marigold), Howard Natinsky (Fat Cat), and Cary Michael (formerly of Rockit) are collaborating on Branch 27 (1371 W. Chicago Ave.), a 120-seat American bistro in the old 27th Ward library. “We are focusing on foods people are very familiar with—flat-iron steaks, great mussels, great seafood—classics done very well,” says Dragatsis. “The plates are not going to be loaded with garnishes and sauces.” The partners... Read more
Libertyville Gets Sauced
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

New ’Cue

Main Street Smokehouse (536 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville), a promising 35-seat spot slated to open the first week of January, plans to put its own spins on barbecue styles around the country. “I’m pairing pork shoulder with my own apple cider ale barbecue sauce, and ribs with maple chipotle sauce, and brisket with a sweet Tennessee-style sauce,” says the owner, Eddie Moore, a culinary school graduate who has been working as a caterer in...

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