Veg-centric, gluten-free fare is coming to the Gold Coast all the way from NYC when the Little Beet Table (845 N. State St., Gold Coast, no phone yet), opens in late summer.
The second location for the Manhattan-based restaurant, the Little Beet Table is a full-service spinoff of Little Beet, the six-location, healthy (and gluten-free) fast-casual spot that was founded in 2013.
“Chef-driven, good-for-you food that you can get fast is how it all started,” says Josh Morgan, managing partner for Aurify Brands, Little Beet’s management company. “[With the Little Beet Table], we found this great, laidback niche that seems to have captured something in New York. And Chicago is always one of the cities that we are confident about bringing any of our brands.”
The seasonal American menu (which will be similar in Chicago) is heavy on salads and veg- and fish-focused small plates, like cauliflower hummus, roasted shrimp and quinoa salad, and cobia crudo with sour orange. Entrees, which top out at $28, include roasted chicken and a grass-fed burger. Everything from the bread to the bevvies is 100 percent gluten-free, but that’s not the brand’s core identity, Morgan says.
“At the end of the meal, people realize it was gluten-free and they feel even better about it,” he says.
The space, inside the new State and Chestnut residential building, will seat 80 to 90, with room for another 50 to 60 when the patio opens, likely next season. The bright, wood-accented interior will be anchored by a 10-foot communal dining table, in a nod to both the shareability of the menu and “homey” feel the Little Beet Table is aiming for.
“It’s meant to reflect what your communal dining table might feel like at home,” Morgan says. Your veg-cenric, totally gluten-free dining table.