Jeff Ruby

Pascal’s Law
Pascal Berthoumieux, a restaurant veteran who most recently worked as the GM at One Sixtyblue, plans to open Bistro Bordeaux, an 80-seat “grass-roots” bistro in the former Le Petite Amelia space (618 Church St., Evanston; 847-424-1483) on December 15th. “We will be... Read more

Dean's (Wish) List
Dean Zanella, the chef of 312 Chicago for years, is partnering with Mia Francesca’s Scott Harris to open Aldino’s (626 S. Racine Ave.), a 120-seat Italian restaurant/deli in the old Rico’s and La Scala spot near the UIC pavilion. “A better word than... Read more

Big news over at Branch 27 (1371 W. Chicago Ave.; 312-850-2700), the West Town American bistro that opened this past April: Chef Bob Zrenner is leaving on November 19th and will be replaced by John Manion, lately of Goose Island Brewpub. “They want me to take... Read more

Animated Cookies

Joe Bova and Jeff Steinberg, respectively an animator and a screenwriter, plan to open a bakery called Cookie Bar (2475 N. Lincoln Ave.) next month in a former Lincoln Park Starbucks. An animator and screenwriter? “In our private lives we entertained a lot,” says Steinberg. “People always loved anything we would bring to dinner parties. We started getting calls from... Read more