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Jeff Ruby
The Best Burgers in Chicago
By Jeff Ruby
These days, you can get a decent burger pretty much anywhere in Chicago. Where do you go to get a great one? Here, our 30 favorites—upscale, downscale, or just plain messy Read more
French Bliss
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
The Timeless Allure of the Bistro
Joseph Calabrese (owner of Zia’s Trattoria and veteran of Ambria and Spiaggia) has gone French at Café Touché (6731 N. Northwest Hwy.; 773-775-0909), a block from Zia’s. Calabrese describes the 80-seat spot—designed by his wife—as “a cross between a café in Paris and a French Quarter look in New Orleans.” The menu is straight-up... Read more
Dish Flash
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Quince Adopts a New Motto
Quince at the Homestead (1625 Hinman Ave; Evanston; 847-570-8400), which loses chef Pete Balodimas at the end of the month, has named a pretty darn good replacement: Andy Motto. Motto, 33, was a big shot at Old Town Brasserie and Le Lan, and a smaller shot at The French Laundry, Les Nomades, and Le Français. “I think it will be... Read more
Streeterville Boots Up
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Aqua Man and His Wife
Pelago Ristorante (Raffaello Hotel, 201 E. Delaware Pl.; 312-280-0700), a 60-seat spot slated for a Streeterville boutique hotel, sounds like quite an upscale production. Italian porcelain chandeliers, white leather chairs, a mother-of-pearl fireplace, an aqua vestibule, aqua blue damask banquettes, and three meals a day from Mauro Mafrici (Manhattan’s Lo Scalco), a Trieste native plucked from obscurity by... Read more
A New Stakeholder
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Starting Over
The star-crossed space at 444 North Wabash Avenue has another chapter. You may recall it as the former Jazz Record Mart or the place that Jason Paskewitz and Phil Lotsoff had rebuilt a few years back to house Jackson Park Bar and Grill, which never opened. Now it has been leased to... Read more
Hotel Action: Elysian
By Jeff Ruby
Jason McLeod, exec chef of the Elysian Hotel’s two restaurants, Balsan and Ria, has got a handle on Balsan’s artisanal comfort food three meals a day—croissants, gourmet charcuterie, wood-burning-oven pizzas Read more
Hearty Boys Town
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Moral and Hearty
Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith, a.k.a. the Hearty Boys, are quietly moving forward with plans to turn their catering facility/TV studio (3819 N. Broadway; 773-244-9866) into a full-service restaurant, Hearty. “We’re calling it that, because that’s what the food will be,” says McDonagh. “It’s all twists on American comfort-food classics, like a deconstructed tuna casserole, which is... Read more