Openings
Mason (613 N. Wells St.), a dark, clubby space in the Found Hotel Chicago in River North, is open. It’s from the same owners as Blind Dragon, the karaoke bar in the hotel’s basement, and offers an old-school menu with classics like Oysters Rockefeller, beef Wellington, and a selection of steaks.
A new coffee house has come to Logan Square, and you might want to pay attention to this one. Four Letter Word (3022 W. Diversey Ave.) opened last weekend; it’s a partnership between a local roaster of the same name and Heisler Hospitality.
Morsels
There’s some debate happening over Mini Mott (3057 W. Logan Blvd., Logan Square), the relatively new outpost of Mott Street. Its owners’ goal was to showcase their insanely popular, award-winning burger, and critic Nick Kindelsperger at the Trib is all for it, loudly praising his meal. Critic Michael Nagrant, however, hated the darn thing! Looks like I’ll have to try it for myself and form my own opinion.
One of the city’s more venerable vegetarian spots is closing: Mana Food Bar (1742 W. Division St., Wicker Park) throws in the towel in a couple of weeks. Eater reported that the owners plan to open a new restaurant in the space to adapt to changes in the neighborhood.
Who doesn’t love free burritos? Unless you’re a weirdo who doesn’t, download the new app from Dos Toros, which now has three Chicago locations. Each day, it’ll send you a notification saying it’s “burrito time,” and the first 15 people who open the app get a free lunch. You’ll probably get annoyed with it after a couple of weeks, but the dedicated burrito fan might get some good stuff, especially while the app is still in its early days.
One of the best food events of the fall is Eataly’s SeptemberFest, an all-access, all-you-can-eat (and drink) party on September 21. It has a simple premise: walk into Eataly and do whatever you want, all included. This year, in addition to all the awesome food already there, Eataly is bringing in outside chefs from places like Blackbird and Pacific Standard Time to create even more special dishes. VIP tickets are sold out, but standard tickets are still on sale for $78.