The Hot List: 10 places everyone’s talking about and dining at in August in order of heat

CUMIN This hip urban Indian spot has the trendoids in a tailspin: no charcuterie, no small plates, no craft beers. 1414 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-342-1414 THE PORTAGE Quay Tao, a savvy Tizi Melloul vet, turned Portage Park into an overnight sensation. 3938 N. Central Ave.; 773-853-0779 GILT BAR Now that the restaurant curse at this … Read more

Bill Kim Tests Out Country Belly at Pop-Up Restaurant

Belly Up

This Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., as part of the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, Logan Square Kitchen (2333 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-342-2333), a commercial kitchen and event space, hosts a pop-up restaurant with food from Bill Kim (Urbanbelly, Belly Shack) and Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe, Nightwood). Kim says he’s using the pop-up to field-test food for an inkling of a new restaurant called Country Belly. Kim’s menu:

Weekend Photos: Curio

Modeled after a speakeasy and tucked underneath the popular River North restaurant Gilt Bar (230 W. Kinzie St.), Curio opened in mid-June as a welcome spot for sipping hand-crafted cocktails and admiring some Prohibition-era décor. Our photographer dropped by Friday night and caught a small but stylish crowd lounging on the luxurious leather…

The Great Escape: Icy Cocktails, Cool Hangouts

Feel free to remind me of this throughly ungrateful statement sometime in mid-February, but at this very moment I can’t help it: I’ve had it up to here with the heat. I want to take a break from sweating while waiting for a patio seat, sweating while making small talk, sweating while sipping a warmish beer and sweating while eating a link of encased meat…

Dish Flash: Mia Figlia Now Open in Edgebrook

We at Dish are always on the lookout for dining trends, and an odd one just materialized: restaurateurs with Tizi Melloul on their resumés. After Pork Shoppe and The Portage, the newest restaurant from a Tizi vet is Mia Figlia (5304 W. Devon Ave.; 773-792-8300), which opened July 2nd near the Edgebrook Metra stop…

Dish Flash: Lillie’s Q Is Coming to North Avenue

Barbecue is the new black. Pork Shoppe, The Piggery, Smokey Bears BBQ House, Chicago Q, Q BBQ, Brand BBQ Market, and Rub BBQ Company have all either opened in the last year or plan to open soon. Here’s another one to add to the list: Lillie’s Q (1856 W. North Ave.; 773-772-5500)