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Buzz Builder
By Patrick Sisson
Triple-threat singer-songwriter-carpenter Joe Pug infuses folk music with new energy Read more
Dish Flash
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Belly Dancing
Bill Kim, Mr. Urbanbelly (3053 N. California Ave.; 773-583-0500), has just signed the lease on a space in Logan Square where he will open Belly Shack (1912 N. Western Ave.), another counter-service Asian BYO. “It’ll be mainly soups, sandwiches, salads, and some sort soft-serve ice cream or yogurt,” says Kim, who promises no overlap with Urbanbelly’s noodles and dumplings. “I want to do Asian- and Latin-inspired. Instead of french fries, yuca fries with a chimichurri dressing or some kind of chimichurri sauce. And maybe a kimchi hot dog.” Prices will top out around $10, and Kim is percolating ideas for the space: “We’re still getting inspiration from Los Angeles and street-inspired graffiti and things like that.” ETA: This fall. Read more
Kuma’s New Neighbor
The very location that killed MoJoe's Hot House coffeeshop will likely save Square Bar & Grill. The storefront sits on a relatively unremarkable stretch of Belmont, which otherwise might doom the newly opened spot to a short lifetime of thin crowds. But as anyone who has ever elbowed her way into—or been turned away from—Kuma's Corner knows, this is a block that could use a plan B... Read more
Got Twenty Bucks?
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Eat Here. Now.
More often than not, we know all about any remotely promising restaurant months before it serves its first meal, but every now and then, a true gem comes out of nowhere. Han 202 (605 W. 31st St.; 312-949-1314), a chic 38-seat Amercian/pan-Asian BYO that opened two months ago in Bridgeport, is just such a place. Guan Chen, the chef-partner and his wife, Yan Ruan (former owners of Evanston’s Nine Fish), push the envelope with their prix fixe menu (five courses; $20. “That’s nice value, right?” asks Ruan, in the understatement of the year). On a recent visit... Read more
Three Big Piggies Go to Market
Purple Hearts
Get ready to pig out. Scott Harris (Mia Francesca) and Jimmy Bannos (Heaven on Seven) (plus a third well-known chef who wishes to remain anonymous for now) are at work on The Purple Pig (500 N. Michigan Ave.), a Mediterranean “cheese, wine, and swine” spot. Bannos’s son, Jimmy Bannos, Jr.—a veteran of various Mario Batali places in New York (Esca, Lupa, Del Posto) for the past five years—will be the chef at the 65-seat Mag Mile spot on the ground floor of what some people know as... Read more
A Peek Inside: DreamHome

A few of us here at Home + Garden attended a media preview of this year’s DreamHome at the Mart (open to the public April 17 to December 18). This year’s entries were just as polished as ever, with a bit more of a traditional bent than in past years (at least I thought so). As usual, many inspiring ideas where shared by the designers. I liked the nature-meets-sparkle ambiance in Laurel Feldman’s foyer and Mick de Giulio had the most wonderful antique tapestry-like painted wood panel framing the chandelier above the chunky table in his kitchen. Larry Boeder loves a nice desk in a living room, which I found interesting. And the lush, deep-rosy color of the wallpaper in Missie Bender’s European-inspired bedroom had us all hailing the return of mauve! Here are some other favorites from our gang.

Jan Parr: “Loved the vintagey pivoting screens in the bathroom by Christoper Michiels and the mink-like rug in the TV
 room/study by Denise Antonucci and Jerry Sanfilippo. Also the farmhouse-meets-industrial vibe of the kitchen and the grouping of Nyphenburg plates as art in Leslie Jones’ fab dining room.”

Barri Leiner: “I heart the ‘Art in Motion’ video that was created by local design collaborative Thirst to play on a loop on the TV in the family room, the rug with the constellation map design in Janet McCann’s home office, and the extra space provided by the cool undersink drawer that Mick de Giulio designed for the kitchen. Also the general idea of kitchen as dining room—love that!” 

Bradley Lincoln: “I liked the bathtub fixtures, the constellation rug in the home office, the big, round dining room table chosen by designer Leslie Jones, the engraved floating marble shelf in the kitchen with patterns inspired by Art Deco details on the exterior of the Mart, and the Ann Sacks marble-tile-covered floor in the welcome lobby.”

Tate Gunnerson: “I thought the office constellation rug was interesting and I really liked the shag-rug-style pillows on the chairs in the TV room/study.  They remind me of my favorite dish at Lula Café in Logan Square, the Pasta Yia Yia.”

And the winner is…. That constellation rug! Check it—and all the other winning designs—out for yourself when DreamHome opens this weekend.

—Gina Bazer

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