Yeah, I Wish for 10,000 Hamachi Rolls
Andy Park was the executive chef of Blu Coral (1265 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-252-2020) when one of his longtime customers told him he was building a mall. Turns out the guy was Mike Jaffe, the developer of The Arboretum, a soon-to-open 600,000-square-foot open-air lifestyle center in South Barrington. Next thing you know…
September 2008: Sautéed Marinated Shrimp with Corn Yogurt and Corn, Green Tomato, and Bacon Salad
While Chicago confronted what sounds like a hailstorm of biblical proportions last week, Texas, where I had road tripped, was busy sandwiching the half-hearted tropical storm Edouard with raging, relentless, stick-to-the-car-seat heat. What better way to wash down rain and rampant sweat than with more moisture, in the form of cold beer? If you’re ever in the Texas Hill Country—that incongruous swath of elevation that rides the Lone Star State’s belly like a giant belt buckle—find yourself a bottle of…
What I loved and hated—and felt suspiciously neutral about—at the newly renovated, $500 million Horseshoe Casino, floating just off Hammond, Indiana. I checked out the spot Friday on opening night, along with about 6,000 other partygoers. Is this Chicago’s next nightlife destination? You be the judge…
Bummer of the Week
Erba (4520 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-989-4200), a rustic Italian spot in Lincoln Square that made Chicago magazine’s 2007 list of best new restaurants, will close on September 13th, according to Robert Butterfield Jr., the owner. “It’s a lack of business,” said Alan Pirhofer, Erba’s chef. “People are being more cautious with their money. The neighborhood is changing.” As for Pirhofer’s future, he’s…
Laid-back and green, a Mediterranean storefront opens in Bucktown; Topaz takes Burr Ridge on a Euro tour.
There are after-parties, and then there are industry parties. Just about every club worth its cover was touting its own “official” Lollapalooza after-party last weekend. The Underground sent out mass emails and text messages bragging that Lindsay Lohan and waify gal pal Samantha Ronson were in the house—they were hanging out while Sammie’s Grammy Award-winning brother (and Sunday Lollapalooza act) DJ Mark Ronson spun at the club…
No Privacy Issues Here
Here’s a new one on us: Hank Dreyer, owner of the new Wine & Vine (105 S. York Rd., Elmhurst; 630-832-9463), jumped up on the chef’s platform in the open kitchen during the height of dinner last Sunday and proposed to his partner, Beth Corcoran. “Beth, it’s true that I’m married to Wine & Vine,” he said, in full view of his staff and customers. “But I’d much rather…
Whoever said “Good enough” probably didn’t get very far in life. In our annual pursuit of better living through extreme pickiness, we discovered the best reasons to celebrate our ever-expanding city.
In one of the bigger bar shakeups of the year, Cary Michael, former GM of Rockit Bar & Grill, announced his resignation last week, just days after the head of Rockit Ranch’s PR, Maura Daley (aka the mayor’s niece), also said her goodbyes. I caught up with Michael to talk about his leaving and his in-the-works nightlife venture: an as-yet-unnamed spot in West Town (1371 W. Chicago Ave.) with partners Howard Natinsky (Five Star, Fat Cat) and Jim Dragatsis (Marigold)…
