Revival Food Hall ... culinary awakening in the loop

I thought I'd start a thread on this new venture in the loop - as my Budlong Hot Chicken brand is a proud partner and vendor in this magnificent "Revival" of lunch in the loop..

The 16" on Center group (Dusek's, Promontory, Longman, St. Lou's Assembly) has put together this ambitious project, and will set the new standard for Food Halls in Chicago.

Much like the ever-popular (for its time) food court of the 80's & 90's, this concept brings together a variety of food concepts (15 in total) in one common area. Unlike its pedestrian predecessor, this Food Hall has hand-selected top chefs and restaurant groups to assemble (as Eater calls it) a "Dream Team" of restaurant owners bringing their neighborhood concepts downtown. In most cases, this is a smaller version of popular, already established local favorites: Smoque BBQ (they actually have a smoker onsite, on the 20th floor, how cool is that??), Antique Taco, Furious Spoon Ramen, The Budlong, Aloha Poke, Brown Bag Seafood Company.. A few others are owners/chefs folded into the mix under a new brand: Folks from Table, Donkey, & Stick are serving charcuterie, bread, wine, & cheese under the new "Danke" brand. Sarah Jordan (Johnnie's, Blackbird) is opening Graze Kitchenette.. Mindy Segal is baking goodies - not for her own brand, but under the 16ONC guys... Union Pizzeria (Evanston) is serving Detroit style pizzas under the brand "Union Squared"... Farmer's Fridge (fresh salads from a vending machine startup) has a counter - with deliciously healthy lunches...Fat Shallot (food truck) has a stall...

This is such a great project, and will change the lunch scene in the loop..

We had media night on Wednesday - we served friends & family dinner on Thursday... Open to the public next week..

a few of my favorite pics from "first look" article by reader
http://chicago.eater.com/2016/8/10/1242 ... nside-loop












Revival Food Hall
125 S. Clark St.
Chicago, IL

opening soon (next week)

Was there both nights, this place is going to do gangbusters. I think I loved everything about it save an overly-adventurous carbonated coffee-rye-vermouth-anise cocktail. Great looking space, great cross section of several great restaurants. Didn't necessarily need or get to try everything - poke line was longest last night - but the variety was impressive and I'm already looking forward to heading back for some things that weren't available (like Antique Taco's horchata milkshake). I hope it's not a madhouse once it officially opens, even with so many options diverting the masses, but I could also easily imagine getting several things to take home on the train (assuming I could make it home without eating everything), or even/especially for picnics in Millennium Park.

It's a good thing that I don't work in the Loop otherwise I'd be doing a Smoque-Budlong bang-bang all the time and then I would straight up die.

I'd be doing a Smoque-Budlong bang-bang all the time

Bang Bang is not there... but Mindy's baked goods are delish!

I appreciate your posting about this. I am always looking for places to eat not far from the Civic Opera House. But it appears as though it's intended for lunch service only. How late in the afternoon will it be open?

7am-7pm

rubbbqco wrote:7am-7pm

Great! Thanks.

It’s finally here: Revival Food Hall, the highly-anticipated destination food court by the 16” on Center crew will begin serving guests on Thursday (Aug. 18) at 7 a.m.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:

It’s finally here: Revival Food Hall, the highly-anticipated destination food court by the 16” on Center crew will begin serving guests on Thursday (Aug. 18) at 7 a.m.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html

I don't know if I'll be ready for Nashville Hot Fried Chicken and BBQ at 7AM that day, but I plan to visit early and often.

rubbbqco wrote:Bang Bang is not there... but Mindy's baked goods are delish!

Not that Bang Bang. This bang bang. And Smoque/Budlong is a strong option.

admich wrote:

rubbbqco wrote:Bang Bang is not there... but Mindy's baked goods are delish!

Not that Bang Bang. This bang bang. And Smoque/Budlong is a strong option.

I never saw that bit with Louie CK. Love it.

Stopped in this morning and had a Large Dark from the Budlong; delicious as always. The lines were long, but manageable considering that this is opening day. Great food, but my colleagues have officially christened this place the "hipster food court".

Well that should be a good addition to white trash, soccer mom and bureaucrat food courts.

scottsol wrote:Well that should be a good addition to white trash, soccer mom and bureaucrat food courts.

So the bureaucrat food court is obviously in the Thompson Center.
Which is the soccer mom food court: Chase Plaza or Rustle & Roux?

I'd rather not say. There are plenty of possibilities is Chicagoland.

I was there twice last week - once for Budlong and once to Danke. Both were great. Budlong had the same quality of chicken as the Broadway. If I'm being honest, I might be more into Danke than Table, Donkey and Stick proper. I've always loved their breads and charcuterie, but the bigger items on the menu at TBS have been hit or miss for me. Danke has a nice array of sandwiches made from those cured meats and that bread.

It is bananas down there between traditional lunch hours but I popped in for a late lunch on Thursday around 2 and there was virtually no lines anywhere except Aloha Poke because TRENDS.

Just a little side story on Revival: That stretch of Clark street has been a food truck hub for several years now. The food trucks, however, are all gone. I assume this is because of the rule in the Chicago ordinance that food trucks must be more than 50 feet, as I recall, from brick and mortar places. Interesting that there is a small middle eastern restaurant that opened last year, and the food trucks stayed. But now, they are gone. I'm good with the trade off; as much as I enjoyed the food trucks, Revival is a big upgrade. I do think, however, that the rule in the ordinance (assuming that it was caused the change) is politics over common sense.

As to Revival, I tried an open sandwich from Farmer's Fridge. It had no lines (no cool factor, apparently), but it was great. Good bread, smear of avocado and pickled vegetables on top.

Addendum to my last post on food trucks: Today they were back on Clark Street, but on the northern half of the block, a bit away from the entrance to Revival Food Hall.

On the Revival front, at 12:00 no line to get in, and the lines were only long at the "hot" places. I got an excellent corn and cheddar quiche from the bakery (Mindy Segal) with no wait at all.

Just got back from lunch at Revival. The place is absolutely bananas at lunchtime, a line outside to get in, a doorman and roped off waiting area on Clark St. Lines for everything, I cant imagine going with a group (at lunch), all getting food and managing to sit together at this point, but maybe it will die down after a while?

Looked at everything and settled on the Italian Spiderman sandwich from Danke, from the Table Donkey and Stick folks. It was awesome! The bread was the standout, a super crusty rye baguette. Filled w mortadella, salami, pickled fennel and parsley, just wonderful yet kind of a splurge at $12.50.

The lines for Budlong, Smoque, Antique Taco and Aloha Poke were unbelievable at 11:45ish.

It's a beautiful space, all the vendors are top notch, it's just a foodie paradise, obviously. I may hit it next at happy hour to avoid the crush.

I was also at Revival for lunch today -- at 12:30 the crowd was just as nutty and chaotic as the previous poster noted. Several of the lines (Smoque!) were just "fuhgettabutit" but I only waited 10 minutes for the Brown Bag Seafood Company, and my friend and i were able to grab a seat at the counter to eat. It was really yummy -- fried crispy shrimp on a interesting bed of brown rice, wheatberry and quinoa. I also tried the "chowdah" which was less successful. The potatoes were not cooked through and rather crunchy, and there were only two very chewy, very small, clams in a more brothy than creamy and underseasoned soup. If you've had the incredible chowder at the New England Seafood Company -- this is a major letdown.

Afterwards we wandered over to the bakery to sample some of Mindy Segal's baked good delights -- I will say that $4 for a croissant seemed kind of high, but the cookies and the other sweet treats were $2 -- and that seems more than affordable. It's also rather fun to grab treats that I have in a cookbook at home and compare the originals to my versions.

I think it's a smart bet to grab your take out and maybe wander over to the bar -- there was no one sitting at the bar and we could have had a nice glass of wine while we ate.

I think this place is a real asset. My friend noted though that when she walks through in the morning from the train (she walks through the Marquette building to get to our offices) that it's dead. They need to get folks in for the breakfast crowd. I'm also hoping that there will be popups of different places throughout the year, but the variety is pretty darn good right now. The pricing seems about right for the Loop with most items, although I still can't get over the $14 cheeseburger. Ouch.

Totally recommend. Go early or late to avoid the madness.

I also dined at Revival for lunch yesterday, but didn't arrive until after 2pm when most of the rush was winding down. There was still a short line for Smoque and Aloha at the time, but nothing major. All the other vendors had short or no lines at all.

Finding a table for a group though can present a challenge even after the lunch rush, since they don't have many tables throughout the hall. There is a very large communal "surfboard" table in the front and as mentioned by earthlydesire, some seating available at the main bar. Also, most of the vendors have some limited counter seating, and for the most part those stools were all available.

This was my third visit already and having already sampled the delicious hot chicken from Budlong (twice) and spicy Furious Ramen from Furious Spoon, my companions and I opted for sliced brisket and smoked turkey from Smoque, along with sweet & spicy chicken tacos from Antique Taco Chiquito. The brisket was fantastic, as good as you'll find anywhere in Chicago, and representative of the original restaurant on Irving Park. The smoked turkey was excellent as well. So kudos to Barry for replicating his superior product in another location. The tacos and guacamole/chips from Antique were also very good and I will return to try the crispy fish tacos soon (my go-to order at the Wicker Park location).

This food hall fills a huge void in the Loop lunch market and will absolutely thrive based on early impressions. Couldn't be any more convenient to my office, which may prove dangerous unless I start sampling some of the lighter fare (salads, smoothie bowls) from places like Farmer's Fridge & Graze!

Revival! I walked by first week and saw an outside line and obviously moved along, but then decided to try my luck again yesterday with a later (1:30) lunch planned - 30 minutes later and I had my po-kay bowl with ahi and a bunch of other stuff. I know TREND and all but it was really good and seemed pretty healthy (and hecky naw I didn't get any brown rice or anything crazy) and the large was really stinking filling. Good deal in this day and age at $9.50. But the wait was brutal. I saw a couple pals there, it was bustling/felt vibrant, and pretty good people watching for the loop. All told real nice experience and I wish them well.

As far as selection, there aren't too many days I want BBQ, Fried Chicken or a cheeseburger or ramen or big ol sandwich for lunch - I just can't stay awake for the PM work shift after that kind of meal - but the poke and tacos and a couple of other things will have me coming back a lot, and I work 2 blocks away. Great addition.

I pass this on my way to the office so it's an easy stop in the morning. There are a few places with coffee and breakfast items and no crowds. The first time I stopped in, I got a pastry (peach berry something...it was a couple of weeks ago) from the Mindy Segal spot. Today's treat was the egg sammie (biscuit roll, farm egg, tomato jam, pickled shallots) from Graze. Both items were a nice break from my usual morning oatmeal in the office.

I can see trying Revival after work for a drink and bite to eat. The price point is higher than I usually go for lunch.

I had the Secret sandwich from Danke today. Great charcuterie with some greens, mustard and pickles on a really crusty bread. It was first rate.

At 11:15 the lines for Smoque, the Poke place, Budlong and the ramen place were already building. All the other places had no lines.

A group should convene here to cross-pollinate the dishes. Brisket on top of ramen, hot chicken and biscuits with a scoop of maple cayenne bacon gelato.

JeffB wrote:A group should convene here to cross-pollinate the dishes. Brisket on top of ramen, hot chicken and biscuits with a scoop of maple cayenne bacon gelato.

Name the day and I'm there.

I've been twice in the last week, both in the 5-7 range. I think this is a good time to go as no station was particularly crowded. Last night, I got there around 6:15 and it was pretty lively (so not as sparse as it was around an hour earlier on my previous visit).

I've visited a good number of the offerings.

Smoque as fantastic. Barry was there slicing brisket himself and it was just as good as at the flagship restaurant.

I also was surprised at how well the Budlong sandwich held up, even after a 10 minute walk.

Some things at the end of the day just won't be as good. I'm looking at your stale chips, Antique Taco. I blame myself (but them too).

I don't work in the Loop, but this is good option for a quick meal before a show.

I work way out in Elmhurst, so I had already resigned myself to never visiting Revival, but thankfully, the need to get a marriage license drew me downtown on a weeknight before 7. The fiancee and I popped in around 6 on Wednesday and there wasn't a line anywhere really. I opted for a small dark and a biscuit from Budlong and she got the paté de campagne from Danke.

While the chicken wasn't fried to order as it would be at Broadway (totally understandable in a food hall), it was still gnar as hell and solidified my belief that this is one of the two best places for fried chicken in the city. My fiancee loved the sandwich and I was way into the bite that I got. Great bread, well-made charcuterie, you can't really go wrong.

We finished things off with a cookie and milkshake from Fat Shallot and I left equally satisfied and bummed that I won't be able to go back anytime soon.

Can those who have gone to Revival at dinner time attest to how hard the 7pm closing time is? Do they stop taking orders at 7, or make you leave right at 7? I have Hamilton tix for 730pm on Thursday, but can't make it downtown any earlier than 645, so I was hoping to grab a quick meal to gobble down before the show.

Snax wrote:Can those who have gone to Revival at dinner time attest to how hard the 7pm closing time is? Do they stop taking orders at 7, or make you leave right at 7? I have Hamilton tix for 730pm on Thursday, but can't make it downtown any earlier than 645, so I was hoping to grab a quick meal to gobble down before the show.

I'll take this one..
The hall & bar are open till 9pm. Most stalls do stop selling at 7 (never earlier, & no "last call"), and Danke always stays open till 9ish.. at last weeks vendor meeting we did discuss the theater crowd, and all vendors were encouraged to use their discretion whether or not to stay open past 7.. I can't stress enough how delicious Danke's sandwiches are - probably one of my faves of the hall. So even if that's your only option, it's not a bad one. I would expect until we see a solid demand - most vendors will stop selling at seven; I know that's our plan as The Budlong.