06/27/07

Caesar Salad or Intellectual Property?

Follow Suit?
Rebecca Charles, the owner of Pearl Oyster Bar, a popular seafood joint in New York's West Village, has sued her former sous-chef Ed McFarland over intellectual property rights, and the juicy story made the front page of The New York Times Wednesday. Charles accuses McFarland of copying "each and every element" of Pearl in his Ed's Lobster Bar (in SoHo). Her grievances include design elements, but the heart of the case swirls around McFarland's caesar salad, which Charles insists came from her own recipe. At the same time, Charles admits that Pearl was inspired by a...

Posted at 05:51 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/20/07

Chef Changes, Tamales, and a Barbecue Pitmistress

Water Works
Blue Water Grill (520 N. Dearborn St.; 312-777-1400) expects to take a step up when its new exec chef, Joel Dennis (Tru), begins on June 25th. A grad of the Culinary Institute of America, Dennis worked as Alain Ducasse's sous-chef for four years in New York, and he realizes he's being tapped as the savior of a restaurant that has fallen off the radar. "I'm hoping to breathe some new life into it," he says. "My background is very suitable for that type of environment. I am firmly rooted in four-star dining." He plans to add some intricate dishes to the menu, such as roasted dayboat cod with a chickpea purée, pipérade-style with peppers, onion, chorizo, and a little bit of...

Posted at 05:59 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/13/07

New stuff from Laurent Gras, Rande Gerber, Charlie Trotter, and other big names

The Next Chapter
We knew the acclaimed chef Laurent Gras (Fifth Floor in San Francisco) was hooking up with Rich Melman and his Lettuce cronies, but we weren't sure how or where. Now it's clear: Gras is taking over the Ambria space (2300 N. Lincoln Park West; 773-472-5959). "Our goal all along has been to build the best seafood restaurant in all of Chicago," says Melman, who also tried to make a deal (ultimately unsuccessful) in the new Trump building. Ambria's last meal is June 30th, then renovations should begin in July. Melman says his guys are pushing for a November opening for the unnamed restaurant (the name Agnes has been bandied about), but don't hold your...

Posted at 06:03 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/12/07

Dish Flash!-Day 48, Room 21

Aaron Whitcomb, the highly touted executive chef of Room 21 (2110 S. Wabash Ave.; 312-328-1198), has left. "Aaron is a great chef, but he's a young kid," says owner Jerry Kleiner. [Note: he's 30.] "He was overwhelmed by the volume and the pressure. He just couldn't take it anymore and kept saying it would be best for him to be replaced." Whitcomb says the split was amicable, and would like to work with Kleiner on a smaller restaurant. "I'm not meant to do big restaurants," Whitcomb says. "I'm not used to the owners having as much input on the menu, like Room 21 did. We both knew I wasn't being the chef that he needs at Room 21."

Stepping in for Whitcomb is Fred Ramos, a veteran chef currently running the show at...

Posted at 09:44 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/06/07

The Le Français mess, the Moto offshoot, and yet another gastropub

The Truth Is Out There

By now, news of the trouble at Le Français (269 S. Milwaukee Rd., Wheeling; 847-541-7470) has appeared everywhere—but does the closing, due to a small electrical fire, really spell the end for the restaurant? The owner, Mike Moran, claims Le Français will reopen. When?

Posted at 04:54 PM in Dish | Permalink | Comments (0)