Summer Hot List: Restaurants & Food
A FOODIE ESCAPADE: You know a macaroon from a macaron, sweetmeats from sweetbreads, and St. Germain from St. Albray. Yup, you’re a foodie.
Ad Categories: Dining & Drinking
Rooftop Lounging at Epic Sky
Wednesday is the busy night at Epic Sky, a new open-air lounge on the roof of the River North restaurant Epic (our dining department’s pick for most striking décor of 2010)—which means you have a full day to round up a crew and claim your spot tomorrow at the 28-foot bar. Our photographer stopped by last week and found a lively happy-hour-and-beyond crowd…
Dish Flash: Bangers & Lace Is Coming to Wicker Park
The sausage-and-beer restaurant in the works at 1670 West Division Street (where there was a minor disagreement about the level of involvement of Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s) has acquired a name: Bangers & Lace…
Dish Flash: Ron Howard Movie To Be Filmed at Sepia
Sepia (123 N. Jefferson St.; 312-441-1920) announced on Tuesday on its Facebook page that it would be closed from July 1st to July 9th but coyly implied that it wasn’t just for a long Fourth of July break. In fact, the restaurant is closing to accommodate the shooting of an as-yet-untitled Ron Howard movie starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James.
Chad Starling Is the New Chef at Aria
iPad Thai
For two months, Chad Starling, previously of Saltaus and Le Lan, has helmed the kitchen at Aria (Fairmont Chicago, 200 N. Columbus Dr.; 312-444-9494), and now the menu belongs entirely to him…
Aripo’s mini-review
BUDGET BEAT: The arepa is the star attraction at this new family-run Venezuelan charmer.
Hated Our List of Chicago's 25 Best Pizzas? Jeff Ruby Fires Back
Since my list of the top 25 pizzas in Chicago hit newsstands two weeks ago, I’ve been called an idiot in multiple forums—most effectively on these message boards. So I’m answering a few letters and posts from our pizza mailbag. Plus: my ode to the world of Chicago pizza…
Vintage 338 by the Numbers
NEW MATH: Burned out on nightspots named after their addresses, we came up with an alternative equation for the numbers behind Lincoln Park’s newest wine bar, Vintage 338 (since we’re barflies, not mathematicians, give us a break and round down)
Rendezvous Bistro mini-review
“Like Mom’s cooking. Nothing fancy. Traditional provençale,” says Simon Yaacobi, owner of the three-month-old Rendezvous Bistro. Another bistro pushed through a Chicago lens, I thought, until I tasted RB’s poulet rôti. Crispy skinned and redolent of rosemary, it was juicy through and through—even the white meat. The braised cabbage was almost caramelized, and the frites … Read more
Donatella Mediterranean Bistro Evanston mini-review
Donatella Majore’s followers—and she has legions—have trailed her from La Cucina di Donatella on Howard Street to Gruppo di Amici in Rogers Park to Evanston’s Provenance, their tongues quivering in excitement. Now their Roman goddess has a 35-seat BYO in downtown Evanston, where they can enjoy her food three meals a day. Her far-flung menu … Read more