What's the deal on parking at Orange? Street parking only?

sundevilpeg wrote:Further on the Evanston beat, there is a new Kosher resto opening on Howard St., just east of Dodge/California, across the street from Gulliver's (in an old, long-vacant Kwikee Mart). The place will be called 'Manghal'; no further info at this time.

Since you mention it, the hostess at Gulliver's tonight said that they're opening new restaurants in Glenview and Oak Brook. I know nothing more than that. Well, that and the new set-up for the bar at the mothership remains under construction.

Vella Cafe is closing next week.

I'm so excited!! Just west of MarketPlace there will be a new Jamaican place (De Jred, 4901 W. Oakton) and in the old Billy's Sandwiches space, Baba's Market and Café!! More news will follow.

sundevilpeg wrote:Further on the Evanston beat, there is a new Kosher resto opening on Howard St., just east of Dodge/California, across the street from Gulliver's (in an old, long-vacant Kwikee Mart). The place will be called 'Manghal'; no further info at this time.

Mangal is Hebrew for a popular style of Israeli barbeque on a charcoal grill. So I would expect a meat "al ha-aish" restaurant, with grilled (if not actually BBQ) steak, kabobs, and chicken as well as salads and sides. Although the funny thing is that the name usually implies a portable grill, as in something you'd make outdoors or in your back yard. If they really go for the charcoal approach, that might set them apart from, say, Taboun. As an optional kosher diner, I'd personally go more for something that isn't already in Chicago in some form, but I guess it's too much to ask for kosher Mexican or Indian, or kosher Asian that's not at a supermarket:-).

Not that I would mind a kosher Moroccan or Persian restaurant either, if it were high-end enough to draw non-kosher diners going for quality, while being sustainable around the barrier of Shabbat observance limiting weekend business.

If anyone's curious:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mangal-i ... izing.html

abe_froeman wrote:Speaking of Vietnamese in Des Plaines, the place at River & Oakton that used to be Cesar's, then Lam's Inn (or whatever; not-that-great Chinese) now has a coming soon sign in the window and the sign out side says "Thai Viet: Pho and Pan-Asian"

Hopefully, it will be good.

Thai Viet is now open; haven't been in yet, though.

abe_froeman wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:Speaking of Vietnamese in Des Plaines, the place at River & Oakton that used to be Cesar's, then Lam's Inn (or whatever; not-that-great Chinese) now has a coming soon sign in the window and the sign out side says "Thai Viet: Pho and Pan-Asian"

Hopefully, it will be good.

Thai Viet is now open; haven't been in yet, though.

See my comments from about a week ago. I was less than impressed.

More on the Evanston Beat: Pluton strikes again?
Jacky's Bistro is opening again as Jacky's Prairie Cafe (not 100% sure about the 'cafe' part; I drove by today on the way home from my BotGar demo, and was literally gobsmacked by the first part. . . ). More info as it becomes available.

Up Wilmette way, I noticed that the space that was formerly the World's Smallest Starbucks (albeit with a million-dollar lake view) at Plaza del Lago is becoming a tiny resto, doing burgers and pizza. The name whizzed by pretty quick - No Man's Land Grill, maybe? Wonder where the heck the kitchen will be? That whole space would literally fit into my living room. Intriguing!

Will investigate the foregoing further ASAP.

BR wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:Speaking of Vietnamese in Des Plaines, the place at River & Oakton that used to be Cesar's, then Lam's Inn (or whatever; not-that-great Chinese) now has a coming soon sign in the window and the sign out side says "Thai Viet: Pho and Pan-Asian"

Hopefully, it will be good.

Thai Viet is now open; haven't been in yet, though.

See my comments from about a week ago. I was less than impressed.

Ah, missed that. Oh well, thanks for taking one for the team.

The chicken place on Elston and Montrose that I keep forgetting the name of is open for real now. Look for the flaming chicken sign.

dddane wrote:

Marshall K wrote:They closed the restaurant portion which bordered on both Marion and Chicago. The entrance to the Ice Cream shop is on Chicago Ave a little west of the big Peterson's sign. If you blink you will miss it and assume the whole place is shuttered.

well count me as one who blinked and missed it Monday when i went by saying "oh, that's where we were gonna go" (after FLW tour)... there are big "for sale" (or "for lease") signs papering the windows...

good the ice cream parlor is still there, i guess.. but they had really good soup at the restaurant. boo.

Some kind of construction (at least gutting) going on in the restaurant half. The tables and chairs have been removed from the single storefront ice cream shop and the family visiting this afternoon had to sit on the window ledge.

They are not trying hard to compete with all of the other offerings in the area.

Mattkrc wrote:Looks like Suzi's Tea cafe and Chaos Theory Cakes (wow that didn't last long) both closed. They were right next door to one another, so that block of Lincoln ave. Really took a hit.
In other news, Starfruit is coming to Lincoln Park! They have a sign up on Halsted just south of Webster.
With all the openings of Red Mango, Berry Chill, Yogen Fruz, and Starfruit, it looks like frozen yogurt will be HUGE this summer!

-M@

I went to Red Mango today for the first time. I had the green tea and pomagranate swirled. Subtle flavors, not too sweet with a bit of yogurt tang. It reminded me very much of the Danon frozen yogurt from years ago when they had yogurt shops. (There was one in Champaign.)

Red Mango is delicious, but Starfruit was distinctly disappointing. I love kefir, but I didn't care for the thin, sour taste of the frozen product. Also, the "parfaits" are a rip-off - why would I pay $5 for a cup of kefir poured over fruit and granola when I could easily assemble the same thing at home for a lot less? I'm surprised it's still in business.

Ms. Ingie wrote:

Mattkrc wrote:Looks like Suzi's Tea cafe and Chaos Theory Cakes (wow that didn't last long) both closed. They were right next door to one another, so that block of Lincoln ave. Really took a hit.

For some reason I can't find Mattkrc's original post, but the space that was Chaos Theory Cakes now has posters in the window announcing the coming of some sort of place specializing in Columbian coffee. (They even have references to Juan Valdez, who I thought was in the same rest home as Betty Crocker.)

I agree with Suzycreamcheese. I'm not a fan of Starfruit at all. I would much rather make myself a kefir smoothie at home.

Red Mango is quite good. But Berry Chill is far and away my favorite!

Anyone tried YogenFruz yet?

-M@

Monticchio (4882 N Clark) has closed....opened in November I believe. Just never got the business in they needed to stay open.

For some reason I can't find Mattkrc's original post, but the space that was Chaos Theory Cakes now has posters in the window announcing the coming of some sort of place specializing in Columbian coffee. (They even have references to Juan Valdez, who I thought was in the same rest home as Betty Crocker.)

According to the signs in the window they are also going to have pastries and Colombian empanadas.

Maybe this is a "shopping and cooking" thing. From today's Crain's Chicago Business:

Specialty food shops on menu in West Loop commuter marketplace
By: Lorene Yue Aug. 19, 2009

(Crain’s) — Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine joins a list of specialty food stores set for a late-October debut at the MetraMarket’s French Market.

U.S. Equities Realty, developer of the European-style market taking shape in the Ogilvie Transportation Center concourse in the West Loop, announced Wednesday the names of roughly half the tenants expected for the 15,000-square-foot space.

They include:


Albano’s Deli, an Italian specialty store.
Canady Le Chocolatier.
Chicago Organics grocery store.
Completely Nuts.
Flip Crepes.
Fraternite Notre Dame bakery.
Sweet Miss Giving’s bakery.
Vanille Patisserie pastry shop.
Wisconsin Cheese Mart.
The French Market is part of the 100,000-square-foot MetraMarket located in the train station bordered by Lake, Canal, Washington and Clinton streets. Other MetraMarket tenants include a CVS drugstore and an Expression by Lavazza Italian café.

The year-round market will be open six days a week and aims to “appeal to a broad range of consumers looking for a unique shopping experience and high-quality products,” Camille Julmy, vice-chairman of U.S. Equities, said in a statement.

The French Market will be managed and operated by the Bensidoun family, which manages markets around Paris, as well as 11 weekly outdoor summer markets in the Chicago area.

A sign on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville says Tacos El Norte is coming to fill the space vacated by Grill 21.

Katie wrote:A sign on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville says Tacos El Norte is coming to fill the space vacated by Grill 21.

Just for fun, we should have an "over/under" pool on how long Tacos El Norte will survive in that cursed space.

Let's set 18 months as the benchmark--- I'll choose "under"

No kidding ... though I do like the outdoor patio, especially around sunset when there's a blue heron or white crane standing in elegant silence at the edge of the pond ...

Seriously, though, one thing I can't forget about Grill 21 was the bathrooms being down a flight of stairs from the dining area, with no elevator option. On a visit once with my elderly father, this was a real problem and I can't imagine how it wasn't a violation of the ADA or at least some state or local ordinance. I had to beg the manager to let him use the bathroom in the manager's office (on the dining room level), because no way could dad have managed getting down those stairs and back up. It was enough to keep us from going back.

OK, this is just plain flat kooky. Fom the current Dish:

Jacky’s on Prairie (2545 Prairie Ave., Evanston; 847-733-0899), slated to open in the old Jacky’s Bistro space on October 12th, is an homage to Jacky Pluton’s popular French spot. “It will reflect what Jacky was at the beginning,” says Jonadab Silva, the executive chef. “There is such recognition of the building.” Silva, who will team up with David Lipschutz, also his boss at Evanston’s Blind Faith Café, promises contemporary French cuisine (i.e., an honest bouillabaisse shares the menu with global creations such as lobster carpaccio with a lemongrass glaze), nearly 200 wines, and a minimal renovation of the 100-seat restaurant. Says Silva: “The space will always be Jacky’s.”

I....I....I....words literally fail me.

Ricobene's at Wells and Wacker is no more.

Completely empty.

Holding out fleeting hope that The Surf (or someone who can replicate the donuts) moves back in.

sundevilpeg wrote:OK, this is just plain flat kooky. Fom the current Dish:

Jacky’s on Prairie (2545 Prairie Ave., Evanston; 847-733-0899), slated to open in the old Jacky’s Bistro space on October 12th, is an homage to Jacky Pluton’s popular French spot. “It will reflect what Jacky was at the beginning,” says Jonadab Silva, the executive chef. “There is such recognition of the building.” Silva, who will team up with David Lipschutz, also his boss at Evanston’s Blind Faith Café, promises contemporary French cuisine (i.e., an honest bouillabaisse shares the menu with global creations such as lobster carpaccio with a lemongrass glaze), nearly 200 wines, and a minimal renovation of the 100-seat restaurant. Says Silva: “The space will always be Jacky’s.”

I....I....I....words literally fail me.

That is weird, isn't Jonadab Silva of Blind Faith Café known for vegetarian cuisine?

Mr K's on about 5100 N Harlem is closed. Lot was empty this morn and it has a for rent sign in the window. The place died a slow slow death.

Jacky’s on Prairie (2545 Prairie Ave., Evanston; 847-733-0899), slated to open in the old Jacky’s Bistro space on October 12th, is an homage to Jacky Pluton’s popular French spot. “It will reflect what Jacky was at the beginning,” says Jonadab Silva, the executive chef. “There is such recognition of the building.” Silva, who will team up with David Lipschutz, also his boss at Evanston’s Blind Faith Café, promises contemporary French cuisine (i.e., an honest bouillabaisse shares the menu with global creations such as lobster carpaccio with a lemongrass glaze), nearly 200 wines, and a minimal renovation of the 100-seat restaurant. Says Silva: “The space will always be Jacky’s.”

Takes the phrase "turn-key operation" to a new level.

a going and a coming ...

Flat Top Grill and Stir Crazy merge to form ..... "Flat Out Crazy".

Obituary pending.

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRelea ... 103&EDATE=

2146 north wrote:Mr K's on about 5100 N Harlem is closed. Lot was empty this morn and it has a for rent sign in the window. The place died a slow slow death.

No way! Wait til mother hears about this!
I will miss that shabby little place—the chocolate cake I never had, the turquoise roof, the early morning breakfasts with Mr. Pie, and the weather beaten sign that misspelled dining with three 'n's.

Cupcake Counter just opened. Near southeast corner of Madison and Franklin. They have cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and Intelligentsia coffee. A mother/daughter team. I wish them luck.

teatpuller wrote:Cupcake Counter just opened. Near southeast corner of Madison and Franklin. They have cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and Intelligentsia coffee. A mother/daughter team. I wish them luck.

They should merge with The Counter and serve burgers between cupcakes.