I knew I’d feel right at home in a bar called Farmhouse since I grew up in a house on a farm myself. Yes, my family’s farmhouse was in the middle of a field with a frog pond off to the side, while Farmhouse, the “Midwestern craft tavern,” is on Chicago Avenue with an L stop off to the side, but there had to be similarities, right?…
FIRE POWER: Two Japanese spots in River North test the lure of robata grilling
Yusho Crazy
After leavingCharlie Trotter’s last October to strike out on his own, Matthias Merges lays the first brick in his own business this November with a yakitori-inspired restaurant in Logan Square called Yusho…
MESSAGE ALERT: How to decipher the buzzing new spot
Spicy octopus salad, whole-wheat noodles It didn’t take much to get us excited about Slurping Turtle. Basically, just a few choice words: “Takashi,” “noodles,” “dumplings,” “sake,” and “patio.” When Takashi Yagihashi, he of the marvelous three-star Takashi in Bucktown, decides to downshift into what he calls “my soul food,” we’re there. The 80-seat space will … Read more
Ginger, blueberry, chocolate-toffee, and cinnamon scones; passion-fruit tart; lemon kiss cookie We found the best ginger scone ever, and we weren’t even looking—just out for a quiet breakfast in some innocuous corner of the world, and 22-seat Fraîche seemed a likely spot. It’s an order-at-the-counter, pick-up-your-silverware storefront with a chalkboard menu, where cheerful young servers … Read more
There are only two barstools in the upstairs lounge at the two-week-old Lincoln Park restaurant Morso, where the mixologist Matthew Lipsky—known to all as Choo—holds court nightly in a bow tie, rolled-up shirtsleeves, a dapper vest, and quarter-size gauge earrings…
The stretch of Taylor Street in Little Italy continues to add new restaurants at a pace as blisteringly hot as a Neapolitan crust. The chef Michael Shrader has given notice at Epic and is teaming up with Jason Chan (Butter) to open Urban Union (1421 W. Taylor St.; no phone yet) this fall, if all goes well…
Mike Green, owner of Roscoe Village’s venerable Village Tap, staged a Chicago beer coup on Thursday night, turning all 26 of the tavern’s drafts over to local brews, including such rarities as Half Acre’s Galactic Double Daisy Cutter and Three Floyds’ Thick White Freeks…
THE BUZZ: Gaztro-Wagon’s Matt Maroni opens Mörso; 2 Sparrows offers tony brunch; SmallBar’s sandwiches dazzle
