Since 1928, Calumet Fisheries has perched on the northwestern side of the Calumet River, 95th at the bridge. Mark Kotlick, whose dad and uncle bought this small, no-nonsense operation in 1948, remembers, “In the old days that bridge would go up every 10 minutes. My dad would run out there and sell Kayo and little nickel […]
The holidays may be over, but the party has just begun. Winter has come to Chicago (brrrrrr!) and that’s the perfect time to seek out places where you can plop yourself in one spot for the whole evening. Who wants to pay to park (or ride share, or take the El or Metra) more than […]
The dead of winter is a notoriously slow time for the restaurant business. The big holidays are over, and with them the office and family parties, special meals with visiting relatives and kids home from college, and generally all festivities. Valentine’s Day — always chaotic, a one-day winter doldrums reprieve — is on the horizon, […]
The late, great chef Jean Banchet, credited with bringing fine French dining to our corner of the world at his seminal Le Français in Wheeling, was smiling down on the Chicago restaurant world this past weekend. The 16th annual Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, presented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, were held at the South Loop’s Venue SIX10 […]
Editor’s Note: The following interview ran in our January/February 2018 issue. As we were going to press, Curtis Duffy and partner Michael Muser announced they have stepped away from Grace, after a reported disagreement with their major investor. (You can read our exclusive post-exit interview here.) This interview provides a window into what makes Duffy […]
On New Year’s Day, most people make a list of the fattening foods they plan to avoid, the diet they plan to start, or the healthy comestibles they will start ingesting posthaste in an effort to start the New Year right. Me? I’m combing the internet, magazines, and other information oracles in order to make […]
As we were going to press this week with our January/February issue of Make It Better, Curtis Duffy and business partner Michael Muser announced that they have stepped away from the three-star Michelin restaurant Grace after a reported disagreement with their major investor. This is huge news for Chicago — and beyond, as yesterday the […]
As we were going to press this week with our January/February issue of Make It Better, Curtis Duffy and business partner Michael Muser announced that they have stepped away from the three-star Michelin restaurant Grace after a reported disagreement with their major investor. This is huge news for Chicago — and beyond, as yesterday the […]
New Year’s Eve is around the corner, which means it’s high time to gear up for one of the biggest nights of the year. The only problem with an hours-long celebration punctuated by Champagne, confetti, caviar — and more Champagne? The morning aftermath that accompanies it. Thankfully, we’ve rounded up some of Chicago’s best restaurant […]
New Year’s Eve is a weird mix of wishful thinking and hard, cold reality. Wishful thinking: You’re going to have the best time of your life tonight because it’s New Year’s Eve and that’s how it works. Just stand there and good things will magically happen. Reality: You forgot to book a reservation/make plans/do any […]
