Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

" /> Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

" /> Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

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Jeff Ruby
Two If by Terra
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Theocracy in Action

“Despite the economy seeming to decline, our business has increased every month in a lot of ways,” says Theo Gilbert, chef-partner of Terragusto (1851 W. Addison St.; 773-248-2777). “We still turn away a couple of hundred people every week, so we’re opening a small restaurant similar to Terragusto to handle the overflow.” The new Terragusto (340 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-7200) bows this Friday (January 23rd) in the same mini shopping center as...

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The Spice Channel
By Jeff Ruby
Bangkok’s reputation as one big, nocturnal XXX sex show full of tattooed pole dancers and post-op ladyboys beckoning with flesh and degradation? It’s obviously still out there, but we’re too blinded by diapers and Elmo books to see it. Besides, we go to bed at 8.  Tonight, though, we kept Hannah up late and met some friends for dinner at one of Bangkok’s many night markets. I wondered if I would if I would see some... Read more
Dish Flash: Bahena Resurfaces
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Geno Bahena, whose list of opened and closed restaurants is so long we’ve lost track, has plans to open Coco’s, a Puerto Rican/criollo spot at Division and California (that’s Humboldt Park) with a seviche bar on the second floor. “This will happen within a month or so, but...

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Bayless Blinks, Blue Water Sinks
By Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby
Market Sharing
The Market House (Doubletree Hotel, 300 E. Ohio St.; 312-787-6100), a 150-seat modern American restaurant focusing on local suppliers, has designs on a February 15th opening. “I don’t want to get labeled as comfort food,” says the chef, Scott Walton (The Sheraton, Harry Caray’s), a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. “It’s more a warm big feel to the food, driven by local farmers and... Read more
Alinea Jr.
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
John Peters (the former chef at Powerhouse) is in talks with Grant Achatz, his boss at Alinea (1723 N. Halsted St.; 312-867-0110), to do a restaurant project together. “Our intention is to open something else in the style of Alinea,” says Peters, who goes with Achatz back to the Trio days. “Not another heavy-hitter restaurant but something in the style of Alinea. We are kind of in limbo with the economy, obviously, but hopefully...

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Hot Dogs and Hamburgers
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Getting Mary’d

After 11 years of anchoring Andersonville, the idiosyncratic Tomboy (5402 N. Clark St.; 773-907-0636) is getting out while the getting’s good. Tomboy’s neighbor “Hamburger Mary’s [5400 N. Clark St.; 773-784-6969] is expanding,” says Stacy Malow-Williams, a partner at Tomboy, which closed on December 21st. “I have an eight-month-old baby at home and we got an offer we could not refuse. It’s the perfect opportunity.” Ashley Wright, a partner at Hamburger Mary’s Chicago franchise, says his restaurant will double its seating capacity when the new space opens in the spring. “It will be mostly high-topped tables,” says Wright, who promises the same...

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Tocco
By Jeff Ruby
Bruno Abate turns a former McDonald's into a hip Wicker Park restaurant. Read more
The Stein Report
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Quick Bite
On a no-man’s-land stretch at the edge of Uptown, six-week-old Monticchio (4882 N. Clark St.; 773-275-7080) could someday qualify as a pioneer. We were intrigued by the Tuscan-contemporary spot after the owner, Jim Delelio, said about his Neapolitan pizza, “I didn’t want to put myself out there as the best pizza in Chicago. Even if we are. . . .” So Pollack checked the place out. Decent pizza, nice slice of moist banana cake, but the showstopper was...

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I’ll Pass, Thanks
By Jeff Ruby
If you've been thirsting for plagues, taxi driver stories, and miracle food in The Closer, you're not alone Read more
Dish Flash
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

Failure to Communicate
 Today’s big news: Roland Liccioni, who put Le Français back on the map in the nineties, is apparently leaving Old Town Brasserie (1209 N. Wells St.; 312-943-3000) just before Christmas. “I’m going to France to visit my mother, take some time off,” Liccioni says. After that, he has no plans, but would like to stay in Chicago. Bob Djahanguiri, OTB’s owner, sees it differently. “I told him...

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