Dining Tidbits

For May 2008: Union Pizzeria, Summer Noodle & Rice, Soul, Shochu

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UPSCALE COMFORT
Soul
Last year, Bill Kim, the executive chef of Le Lan, was eating street food in Vietnam with Arun Sampanthavivat and Howard Davis when the trio had an epiphany: Wouldn't it be nice to open a restaurant with "real" food? Something from the heart? "We decided to do a restaurant of people's childhood memories," Kim says. That restaurant, which includes Mike Lindsay as a partner, is Soul, a 200-seat regional American spot with an art deco décor, craft beers, artisanal cheeses, and a kitchen led by Gramercy Tavern vet Karen Nicolas. She'll be loading Soul's rotisserie with suckling pig and Amish chicken—neither of which reminds me of my childhood, but, hey, a place dedicated to Ho Ho's doesn't sound nearly as good. 1 Walker Ave., Clarendon Hills; 630-920-1999. –Jeff Ruby