When you are in Key West, only 90 miles separates Cuba from the United States. For many, it was tantalizingly close, but a world away. For the Gonzalez family, who emigrated from Cuba on a shrimp boat back in 1980, it was a 15-hour trip to the land of opportunity. Alberto Gonzalez certainly made the […]
High above Streeterville, on the 18th floor of a Northwestern Medical Center office building, sits GreenRiver, a luxe restaurant and bar that combines the magic pixie dust of NYC restaurant king Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events with the Best Bar in the World team (Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon of NYC’s The Dead Rabbit). It’s a […]
Chicago has seen a slew of excellent modern Asian (Fat Rice, Parachute, Momotaro), Italian (Osteria Langhe, Formento’s, Ceres’ Table) and even Spanish restaurants (Salero, Bom Bolla, mfk) opening over the past couple of years. But aside from The Blanchard, there haven’t been many notable French newcomers. Now there is George Trois. This most ambitious endeavor […]
I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, because it’s already crowded, even on a recent Tuesday night when the Cubs hadn’t yet thrown in the towel. But the truth is, you need to know about La Principal, a new full-service Mexican restaurant in Evanston. Authentic Mexican Street Food Located on the site of the old […]
Update Feb. 14, 2017: Marigold Maison is now located at 900 N. Milwaukee Ave., Lincolnshire. Bannockburn isn’t exactly on my destination restaurant radar, but now that I’ve been to Marigold Maison, I might just have to adjust my thinking. Suburban restaurants in strip malls aren’t generally my cup of tea, but the warm colors—marigold […]
It’s easy to see why New York/California import Fig & Olive has been such a big hit with the “Social X-Ray” crowd (thanks, Tom Wolfe!); everyone looks attractive here, whether in the lovely diffused light of day or the golden-hued evening setting. Fashionista Paradise And the super-chic restaurant has been embraced by A-lister fashionistas and […]
Evanston, already the North Shore’s primary restaurant destination, keeps expanding the offerings; this time, with a bit of a history lesson thrown in for good measure. Way back in 1836, a Major Edward Mulford opened the original Ten Mile House, which—as it combined an inn, post office, tavern, and courthouse—became the de facto center of […]
A glorious trip to Hungary and the Czech Republic last fall opened my eyes and taste buds to the food of Central Europe. It’s not just pretzels, beer and knackwurst—though they are all, of course, delicious—but a world of flavors and textures, from the sweetness of root vegetables to the tang of dark sourdough breads […]
River Roast, brought to you by Levy Restaurants, is cooking with wood. Combine a seasonally driven location (most recently of Fulton’s on the River) with a gorgeous view, add in two of Chicago’s most respected chefs of longstanding—John Hogan and Tony Mantuano—and the result is literally incendiary. On an early fall night, the patio overlooking the […]
High-powered celebrity chefs and restaurateurs all over the country are reaching out to new clientele with more casual concepts, and Chicago-area chefs are no exception.
