We went on Sunday and left with (among other things) a loaf of the raisin and nut bread. It was very good. I have not had this bread before when Pamela F was there, but we were impressed. The bakery section had 2 employees working and they were both very friendly and nice.

Over the weekend, I picked up three breads: baguette, a 1/2 boule of the peasant bread, and a multi-grain. I don't shop here enough to notice nuance in the bread production, and I surely did not notice apparent differences between what I got and what I have got. It seemed to me, still, by far, the best breads in Chicago.

As to the rest of the store, I found the prices nearly always ridiculous, just more than you'd expect. I continue to think what I said about the place when it still opened.* I don't mind a certain amount of luxury and luxury prices, but you would think that they'd off-set it with various Zabar-like gimmicks (say cheap smoked salmon). It would have garnered a certain amount of panache for the store, and perhaps put them in a better light. Oddly enough, the breads, the one great item, are not very expensive, and for the quality rather cheap.

*Thinking of thoughts of the opening of F&O are mighty nostalgic, as F&O opened right before the very, very first Chowhound dinner, where Seth Zurer orchestrated the tearing down of the wall between virtual and real, and our collective thoughts on F&O were one of the topics of discussion at Lao Sze Chuan.

CrazyC wrote:We went on Sunday and left with (among other things) a loaf of the raisin and nut bread. It was very good. I have not had this bread before when Pamela F was there, but we were impressed. The bakery section had 2 employees working and they were both very friendly and nice.

And very likely were trained and worked under Pamela, which means the legacy will continue until they leave.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

CrazyC wrote:We went on Sunday and left with (among other things) a loaf of the raisin and nut bread. It was very good. I have not had this bread before when Pamela F was there, but we were impressed. The bakery section had 2 employees working and they were both very friendly and nice.

And very likely were trained and worked under Pamela, which means the legacy will continue until they leave.

Regards,

I'd say the legacy could continue, not "will."

=R=

Vital Information wrote:I don't mind a certain amount of luxury and luxury prices, but you would think that they'd off-set it with various Zabar-like gimmicks (say cheap smoked salmon).

Vital Information wrote:Oddly enough, the breads, the one great item, are not very expensive, and for the quality rather cheap.

Perhaps F&O's bread is Zabar's smoked salmon?

-Dan

Has anyone actually eaten brunch at the Bistro recently? If so, what's your opinion?

Also, the Groupon says it's good for groceries, cafe, bistro, and/or catering. Has anyone used it yet? Do you know if wine qualifies as "groceries?"

What a sad decline at Fox and Obel. I went there tonight for some special baking items and as always I managed to spend way more than I should have but it was a very depressing experience. The shelves are looted and half-empty. I went for high end cocoa and on a shelf tagged with 7 different items, only 2 were present. And none of them were what I wanted. That played out almost in every shelf and in every case in the store that once had me running around with a cart excited and thrilled to have so many choices to pick from.

And of course...the biggest difference is how very depressed and unhappy the people who work there seem. I remember under the previous ownership how very pleased everyone seemed to be -- they really wanted to help you -- they really wanted your opinions and wanted you to taste things. The Cheese Department people were particularly thrilled to help you. No more. It made the Jewel look friendly -- which is saying something.

The bakery, despite the recent departure of the lead baker, still looked like there was great product to be had. But the rest of the store -- it just made me so sad to be there. I was going to pick up a bag of ice and when I went to the ice freezer -- it looked as if it hadn't been turned over in months.

I won't be going back again -- not even for valrhona chocolate. Anybody got any idea of where I could find such a product in this town? Or even Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa?

Fox and Obel is not long for this world, I think.

earthlydesire wrote: Or even Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa?

Try Penzey's high fat baking cocoa. It's fantastic.

Since I've bought most of my meat and fish either at Fox and Obel or Costco (yes, it sounds bad but they really do have some quality stuff) it looks like I will need to find a new place to get high quality fish and meat. Any suggestion in the downtown/near north side area? Dominicks looks average at best for meat/fish. Is Whole Foods worth the price? Any other suggestion? I know there some places along West Randolph, but I'm not familiar with any of them.

earthlydesire wrote:I won't be going back again -- not even for valrhona chocolate. Anybody got any idea of where I could find such a product in this town? Or even Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa?

Treasure Island and Whole Fods both carry Valrhona chocolate.

earthlydesire wrote:
The bakery, despite the recent departure of the lead baker, still looked like there was great product to be had. But the rest of the store -- it just made me so sad to be there. I was going to pick up a bag of ice and when I went to the ice freezer -- it looked as if it hadn't been turned over in months.

I won't be going back again -- not even for valrhona chocolate. Anybody got any idea of where I could find such a product in this town? Or even Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa?

Fox and Obel is not long for this world, I think.

Even though the bakery product itself hasn't slipped, the continued decline of service and product availability makes shopping there an unpleasant experience unless you know exactly what you want off the shelf or from the dairy/takeout case.

In the lightning strikes twice category:
A little after you made that post, I went to the store to pick up some of that great seeded semolina bread they have. It's a little after 9, about an hour before the store closes, and there's nobody at the bakery counter. The prepared foods guy tells me to go to customer service and ask for someone trained on the slicer, but there's no customer service clerk. After a few minutes, I buy a few more things, still see nobody there, and finally decide to give up.

Then I'm in line at checkout, and I see an F & O employee running to the bakery counter. So of course I go back to the bakery section, only to find out he's not authorized to slice. Finally, after I make a comment about how the store is a ghost of its old self, the prepared foods guy gets up and slices the bread I wanted on their slicer. By that point, a few other folks noticed there was a live human at the bakery, and the prepared foods guy gets stuck there (and whomever is looking for help there is out of luck).

You might expect that kind of service at a 24-hour Jewel at 2 AM, but a grocery store in what's basically still prime time? The only good thing is that the bread's as tasty as ever, or I'd be another former Streeterville charter customer like DML (we've shopped there since the first week the store opened).

DML wrote:Chicagoist is reporting that Fox and Obel fired their head baker and that paychecks are bouncing. That's too bad. She was charming and her products made the place a destination. On New Year's Eve, the fish counter was nearly empty. It seems sad but inevitable that the place will not last.
Edited to add; I forgot to attach the link to the story. http://chicagoist.com/2012/01/02/fox_an ... checks.php

Another F & O story, also mentioning that at least one vendor is now COD:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... /302119979

(you might need a Crain's subscription to read it)

Another F & O story, also mentioning that at least one vendor is now COD:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... /302119979

(you might need a Crain's subscription to read it)

Brief synopsis, please, for we who don't care to subscribe?

sundevilpeg wrote:

Another F & O story, also mentioning that at least one vendor is now COD:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... /302119979

(you might need a Crain's subscription to read it)

Brief synopsis, please, for we who don't care to subscribe?

Sure - most of the article is recap of the Fox & Obel corporate history and mentioning how they've been superceded by local competition (Dominicks/Fresh Fields, the new Mariano's, and Whole Foods on Clyborn's flagship store). You can read most of that on this thread, so it's nothing new as such. However, they cite two vendors as examples of F&O payment issues.

One of them, from a Biscotti company in NY, is a supplier that now demands COD because they're not paid fast enough. But they also say that specialty foods in general are cutting back on orders, mentioning Dean & Deluca as an example, due to the economy.

They also mention a chocolate company in NY that has twice held back shipments because of payments "well past" past the usual 30 days.

Beyond that, there's a quote from Bill Bolton, who leads the private investors that bought F&O, reiterating that their bounced payroll checks were due to a system transition rather than cash-flow issues (even though they've been reported as owing $300K in rent payments). When asked about complaints of empty shelves, he's also claiming they've done "a lot in terms of inventory control" but haven't had vendors stop working with them after failing to receive payments. He also says that they're still considering opening a second store, but they've said that since Ari Fox & Ken Obel were actively involved.

Aside from a 'reservations are not a problem' comment about the sit-down bistro (nothing new again), the only other interesting thing in the article was about Mariano's planning to add up to five stores per year in the next few years in the Chicago area, and Whole Foods supposedly opening in Hyde Park in 2014.

The Health Department shut down the place today. Not sure when (or if) they will open again.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ent-issues

Hmmm ... they had just purchased a completely new POS system I think unless they only rearranged the front cashier counters? I only go there when I go to the big movie theater on the next block - it's always fun to pick up a snack in lieu of the junk the theater sells.

I stopped buying my morning croissant there a long time ago b/c their bakery's quality has been abysmal. However, I do get the occasional coffee there on my way to work. I was just there last week and there were several flies inside the bakery case (near the cafe, not the main bakery case). Revolting.

For muffins, croissants, etc. a far better option is Local Root, which is two blocks north on McClurg between Ohio and Ontario. Made in house every morning. Great coffee too.

Fox & Obel is closed with no word on when they'll reopen.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 9815.story

More details -- roaches in the bakery.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130715 ... eport-says

Just came home from 10 days in Jerusalem, Galilee and Tel Aviv to the news about the F&O health-related shutdown. If fruit flies, roaches, and sanitary issues with basic food prep on cutting boards and cooking equipment aren't the final nail in this once great store, I'm not sure what is.

I'll +1 the recommendation on Local Root as well.

Very sad. I have only been there once or twice and it seemed to have a nice ambience and good bakery.

OK, I almost posted right after July 4 but didn't. I ran out of gin on July 4 and by the time I went to get my favorite (Old Raj), Binny's was closed. So, I went to Fox and Obel and was SHOCKED at the state of their store. Many shelves throughout almost bare. I went to the liquor area, no Old Raj--they were out. No Junipero--out. Out of everything except a couple of bottles of gin I had not heard of. Then I looked for Q tonic and guess what--OUT. I saw a manager and said "It looks like you guys plan to close in a week or two--you're out of everything it seems." His reply? "We have plenty of wine, did you see that?" I wasn't there for wine; he elaborated that they only order more product when the current product has sold out (I guess meaning they cannot purchase on credit or what?)

Anyway, this has been coming a long time. Let's see if they reopen but I have my doubts. I hope they do because we need a store like this but gee, in its present state, its pretty lame.

More reports (this one from Crains).
They apparently have had a roach issue for a while.

Considering how much food I buy there, this is absolutely sickening.
This is not a cooling unit a few degrees off this. This is a serious management failure. Sounds like they just didn't care about keeping the place clean.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... e-numerous

We recently had an odd dining experience here during Sunday “brunch”. We were told there was a 20 minute wait, so we shopped around the store. Then, we were seated. A young couple was seated near us and they asked if they could move because the windows were so dirty.

We waited a long time for water and then for our food. I asked our waiter how things were going, he said he was exhausted. He had a late night coupled with having to take the train in to work that morning. I ordered tomato soup and a grilled cheese. I started on my soup. When I looked at the sandwich, I had to show it to my husband. I have never seen a grilled cheese sandwich where the cheese was not the least bit melted. When the waiter finally returned a long time later, I showed it to him. He said he would either take the sandwich off the bill or bring a new one. Because we were ready to go, he removed it from the bill.

I asked the hostess if they were some unusual circumstances that a.m. Waters were never refilled, no soda for my husband, etc. It was a complete lack of attention to service. She said nothing was unusual. I told her about our experience and she just kind of smiled and shrugged. I supposed if management doesn’t care then why should employees?

Wow, that's awful. Maybe they should just give up if this is the way they're going to operate.

Maybe they have. They haven't re-opened yet, I don't think. ??

ServiceMaster trucks have been parked outside for two days now. There were also vans (parked on McClurg) that I could not see clearly from my home but appeared to be the type used by mechanical contractors.

Looks like they are trying to fix the problems.

It will not be enough for me though. I'm not going back. The moldy pie I bought the same time as somebody else got sick, and the abundance of insects shows that management is just not dedicated to putting a fresh product in a clean place.

DML wrote:ServiceMaster trucks have been parked outside for two days now. There were also vans (parked on McClurg) that I could not see clearly from my home but appeared to be the type used by mechanical contractors.

Looks like they are trying to fix the problems.

It will not be enough for me though. I'm not going back. The moldy pie I bought the same time as somebody else got sick, and the abundance of insects shows that management is just not dedicated to putting a fresh product in a clean place.

This same exact problem has happened at least twice to one at our most beloved GNR Chinese places which I won't name. Stuff happens. I didn't for a second think that I'd never go back. You can find serious violations in three quarters of the kitchens in this city if you look hard enough. Once you piss off the inspectors, they'll find a way to teach you a lesson!

Evil Ronnie wrote:

DML wrote:ServiceMaster trucks have been parked outside for two days now. There were also vans (parked on McClurg) that I could not see clearly from my home but appeared to be the type used by mechanical contractors.

Looks like they are trying to fix the problems.

It will not be enough for me though. I'm not going back. The moldy pie I bought the same time as somebody else got sick, and the abundance of insects shows that management is just not dedicated to putting a fresh product in a clean place.

This same exact problem has happened at least twice to one at our most beloved GNR Chinese places which I won't name. Stuff happens. I didn't for a second think that I'd never go back. You can find serious violations in three quarters of the kitchens in this city if you look hard enough. Once you piss off the inspectors, they'll find a way to teach you a lesson!

Are numerous cockroaches common in most kitchens?
Do most kitchens put out moldy product?
Are out of code products a matter of routine?
I sure hope not.

In any case, when I passed by on the way home it looked open.
For the sake of the employees, I hope so.
But I sure as heck am not going back.