yup -- didn't realize it had already reopened. JS was hit or miss -- the food as well as their hours!

gls wrote:yup -- didn't realize it had already reopened. JS was hit or miss -- the food as well as their hours!

The place I'm talking about is south of that. Has JS Closed?

JS has been closed for a few months

Is La Bahia Mariscos by Horseshoe then?

Was at Old Orchard last night and headed to Billy Berk's for dinner. They're closed -- place was dark and empty. That didn't last long. Not shedding any tears, but it wasn't all that bad. Any backstory?
>>Brent

A sign went up in a space near my office, next to Bar Louie in Evanston, on Sherman near Grove. "Jamaica Jamaica Opening Soon" My guess is that it will serve Jamaican food, though I'm not sure why I think this. We'll see...

Last night we had a lovely dinner at Masouleh Restaurant, in the old Cafe Salamera spot. Between my chicken in pomegranate and walnut sauce, and his eggplant dish, it was one of the best meals we've had in a long time. It was totally empty last night, so hopefully business will pick up - this is someplace we want to return to often.

Masouleh Restaurant
6653 N Clark
Chicago, IL
773-262-2227

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Last night we had a lovely dinner at Masouleh Restaurant

See also this dedicated thread.

Masouleh got a 4-stars-out-of-6 review from TOC this week!

I was driving down Clark last night, and Hey Sushi was dark and there was some sort of sign on the door -- looks like it's closed.

The one time I ate there was probably a year ago on a Friday night and it was dead -- we ended up there because the wait at nearby Sushi Toro was 2-3 hours!

blipsman wrote:I was driving down Clark last night, and Hey Sushi was dark and there was some sort of sign on the door -- looks like it's closed.

If that is indeed the case, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
It was one of those places I never heard or read anything about - good or bad.

johnny wrote:

blipsman wrote:I was driving down Clark last night, and Hey Sushi was dark and there was some sort of sign on the door -- looks like it's closed.

If that is indeed the case, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
It was one of those places I never heard or read anything about - good or bad.

It was really, really, really awful. Did I mention it was awful?

Wasn't Superdawg supposed to open a location in Wheeling? Can't remember where I read that, but anyone know if that fell through?

Kesey wrote:Wasn't Superdawg supposed to open a location in Wheeling? Can't remember where I read that, but anyone know if that fell through?

According to the Daily Herald article published last August, they aren't breaking ground until this spring and they hope to be open by Labor day of 2008.

There's a new shop called "Just Indulge" on the corner of North & Wood. According to the awning, it offers chocolate, custard (which may mean ice cream ?) & coffee. And apparently pop/caramel corn, too, as I was able to view the inside from my car while waiting at the light.

Not sure how well this place will do. It's a bit off the main Damen/North/Milwaukee nexus and it's ignoring AM commuter traffic as it doesn't open until 11am.

I suppose it'd help if I actually went in

blipsman wrote:I was driving down Clark last night, and Hey Sushi was dark and there was some sort of sign on the door -- looks like it's closed.

The one time I ate there was probably a year ago on a Friday night and it was dead -- we ended up there because the wait at nearby Sushi Toro was 2-3 hours!

Hey Sushi was horrible. I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

The wait at Toro is indeed ridiculous. (This past Saturday, they were even too busy to do take-out) Having just eaten there for the first time though, I can understand why. We loved it.

I passed a new chocolate shop today, and although it's on a little-known stretch of Damen, it looks rather impressive from the street.

It's open for business, and I plan to visit soon.
It's closed Tuesdays.

According to the Web site, Let Them Eat Chocolate will serve Belgian and vegan chocolates, brownies, cake, gelato, coffee, and tea. The grand opening weekend is April 4-6.

NB: I do not work for this shop.

Let Them Eat Chocolate
5306 N Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL
60625
www.letscoco.com

773-334-COCO

CG wrote:
Also on Lincoln, there's signs in the window of the old Calliopie Cafe (no idea if that's spelled right). It says coming soon Italian Food. Anyone know of what going in here?

Rumor has it that one of the owner's of Wellington's (bar at the corner of Lakewood and Wellington) is opening a casual Italian restaurant, looking to draw families. The old Calliope space was not very large, so not sure what the plan is as far as size, but there was a mention of outdoor seating in the summer, as well.

No details on the food at this point or if a liquor license will be present.

germuska wrote:

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Last night we had a lovely dinner at Masouleh Restaurant

See also this dedicated thread.

Masouleh got a 4-stars-out-of-6 review from TOC this week!

We went back last night for another go at the pomegranate walnut chicken. Fabulous. But I don't really understand the love TOC had for the olivieh - it was OK, but it was basically just chicken salad. I actually really like chicken salad, so I enjoyed it, but I can't imagine it being too exciting for most people.

jesteinf wrote:

johnny wrote:

blipsman wrote:I was driving down Clark last night, and Hey Sushi was dark and there was some sort of sign on the door -- looks like it's closed.

If that is indeed the case, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
It was one of those places I never heard or read anything about - good or bad.

It was really, really, really awful. Did I mention it was awful?

To be quite honest, I thought it was just a little bit worse than that.

Looks like La Fette on North Ave. just east of Wells has closed it's doors. Horrible location for a restaurant, I must have driven past the place hundreds of times without even noticing it was there before I saw the chef doing a demo at Taste of Chicago and wanted to check it out. Had some excellent meals there, but the last one (about a year or two ago) wasn't that great.

They closed aroun the first of the year I think.

Ok, I have some new places popping up I'm curious to know if anyone knows any background info on.

Chocolate Grape
2113 Division

Coutore Crepe
2568 Clark - Next to Lito's

Ark Cafe just opened it's doors. Nice place it looks like a coffee house / cafe. There was a pianist playing. I grabbed a card but didn't have time to check out much else.
1209 n noble

The space just west of Lincoln on Montrose that briefly housed a non-descript ice cream parlor will soon offer a "100% organic eatery" going by the name of Drew's, promising (per their site drewseatery.com) ice cream, hot dogs and hearty soups. The room looked like it was getting a very professional makeover, so here's hoping the food shows a similar level of craftsmanship. That block has become a real treat, with awesome burritos at Asaderos, a new level of quality at Royal Thai and lovely thin crust at Apart Pizza. Take out al fresco in Wells Park never looked so promising!

Snax wrote:a new level of quality at Royal Thai

Can you elaborate?

I met some of the people involved in Chocolate Grape at The Art of Chocolate V event at Bin 36 a few weeks ago. They said that Chocolate Grape would be a chocolate and wine lounge. Sounds interesting even though the name sort of rubs me the wrong way.

We just got back from an evening walk because it's beautiful outside! We saw papers on the windows of the old pierogi factory (palace? ) on Belmont. Anyone know what's going in there?

CG wrote:They closed aroun the first of the year I think.

Ok, I have some new places popping up I'm curious to know if anyone knows any background info on.

Chocolate Grape
2113 Division

i made a post about this somewhere above this thread, probably a page or two back now... and it was subsequently followed up twice w/ more info... what are you wanting to know specifically? there's a link above to their web site, which for a new restaurant (yes, apparently they'll have food as well) is pretty extensive.

dddane wrote:rumor mill on another forum is that a trader joes might be opening at 170X w division (on the north side of st)... anyone got anything on that? this is the best news i've heard in a long, long time

apparently this is just a rumor and not true...

WP Bucktown Chamber of Commerce wrote:Thank you for contacting the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce. Unfortunately, that is just a rumor. There is no Trader Joe's opening in Wicker Park/Bucktown. We are unsure of who started that rumor or why?! But I agree it would be exciting!

...also, in the space formerly occupied by Andy's Deli on division (which is now relocated), there's a new place opening up ... there is still paper on the window but the light fixtures are on and installed, it looks like it's probably pretty close to ready. as of a few days ago there are now decals on the window, and I believe it said "At Home" ... (or was it At Home Cafe?? who knows)

Not sure if anyone has posted this one yet but there's a new Mexican Seafood Place on Lincoln just north of Irving. We had the Huachinango (Whole Snapper) the other day and it was quite tasty and reasonable at around $16.

I posted about this in mid-February. Since then, I've been hoping that someone would write in with the news that they're serving fried-fish tacos. Did you happen to notice if they were?

La Bahia Mariscos
4111 N. Lincoln

I ran by there today and quickly glanced at the menu but did not see fish tacos (I very well may have missed it because I was in a rush). I'm sure they will eventually add them to the menu so people will stop asking for them . In any case, there were several huachinango dishes, shrimp, coctel de pulpo etc.... and then your Mexican basics (tacos, carne asada, etc). I love a good Mexican seafood retaurant so I'm really hoping these guys are solid. BTW - it looks like they are BYOB.

We went to La Bahia Mariscos on a Friday a coupla weeks ago. Mademoiselle ordered the snapper filet which came on a huge platter and was delicious. I had ... fish tacos. They are not fried fish tacos but were quite good. BYOB. No corkage fee. The men's bathroom is very teal.

A banner on Tepatulco (formerly Las Fuentes, on the corner of Halsted and Wrightwood) announces the "grand reopening" of Las Fuentes, "now merging with Tepatulco."