Marshall K wrote:They closed the resturant 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.

This may have been mentioned, but Hema's is moving from Oakley to the 2400 block of Devon.

Hema's

The Far East Restaurant on the 500 block of Diversey has a sign on its door thanking the neighborhood for its years of patronage.

riddlemay wrote:The Far East Restaurant on the 500 block of Diversey has a sign on its door thanking the neighborhood for its years of patronage.

That place was never the same after they had a fire that burned down the original restaurnat. At least sister restaurant Pekin House is still open for some of the best egg rolls in the city (order nothing else. You've been warned).

Pekin House
2311 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 465-1630

There's newspaper covering the windows at Nazalik and a sign posted saying, "Coming Soon: Late Nite Thai."

Nazarlik
1650 W. Belmont

stevez wrote:At least sister restaurant Pekin House is still open for some of the best egg rolls in the city (order nothing else. You've been warned).

Pekin House
2311 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 465-1630

I can't believe the Pekin House is still there! I was there in 1973. (When it was all the rage--probably the best Chinese restaurant for miles around at the time--or the best one anyone knew about.)

Cool.

The old Bacala space on Milwaukee in Wicker Park is under construction. I checked out one of the permits and it said some thing like "The Rockin Morroccan".

Uh .... ok ....

tem wrote:The old Bacala space on Milwaukee in Wicker Park is under construction. I checked out one of the permits and it said some thing like "The Rockin Morroccan".

Uh .... ok ....

GREEEEEEAT. That's just what the crotch* needs, an ersatz Moroccan joint.

"The crotch" is a term used for the intersection of Damen/Armitage/North. TimeOut claims they coined it, but since my coworkers and I were using it before TimeOut even existed, I have to call shenanigans on that one.

bananasandwiches wrote:"The crotch" is a term used for the intersection of Damen/Armitage/North.

Haven't heard that term before, but seems like it'd make more sense for the Damen/North/Milwaukee intersection. Or is more of a description for the area along Damen between North and Armitage?

I believe the esteemed BS actually meant Milwaukee, not Armitage.

tem wrote:The old Bacala space on Milwaukee in Wicker Park is under construction. I checked out one of the permits and it said some thing like "The Rockin Morroccan".

Uh .... ok ....

I hope they correct the spelling to "Moroccan" before they have an expensive sign made. This is the name of a cocktail that's been on the Tizi Melloul menu for as long as I can remember. Perhaps the owners of TM are part of this venture. Unfortunately, it also sounds similar in concept to the horrible Angels & Mariachis Rock Cantina, which is nearby.

Kennyz wrote:Unfortunately, it also sounds similar in concept to the horrible Angels & Mariachis Rock Cantina, which is nearby [on Division].

After stopping in for lunch on Division at-a-place-to-remain-nameless one Sunday afternoon, and noticing the meatmarket that most of these Division Street restaurants are, I wondered aloud, when did this part of Division become like the other part of Division? I know others may disagree, but it is a stain on the near NW side, at the very least, a culinary stain.

nicinchic wrote:One more off the loop rotation, closed....

Mallers Deli
5 S. Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60603

Bummer. One of my favorite lunch spots.

I have it on good authority (my daughter is an employee) that I Cream is opening today at 1537 N. Milwaukee Ave.

deesher wrote:I have it on good authority that I Cream is opening today.

Is that really their name?

According to Centerstage, at iCream you can

Design your own custom ice cream and yogurt. Pick the type, flavor and add-ons you want, then watch them mix it before your eyes with liquid nitrogen. So cool!

From an urbandaddy.com email dated Friday August 15th:

So grab a bottle of gewürztraminer and head to Urban Belly, your new BYOB noodle-and-dumpling hideaway opening Tuesday in Logan Square.

Nestled in a middle-of-the-block mini mall—adjacent to a laundromat, no less—no one would suspect what's inside. And we don't just mean the seared pork belly and soaring pitched ceiling.

Star chef Bill Kim (Le Lan, the nascent Seoul in Mundelein) and his wife have created nothing less than the culinary version of the Batcave for their quick-serve alter egos.

You'll order at the counter, grab some chopsticks, then sit down at one of the four amazing communal tables, 200-pound slabs of Chinese elm with cubed seats hewn from Thai railroad ties.

The streamlined menu is both simple and decadent: noodles (like Somen with Shellfish and Coconut), dumplings (Lamb with Hoisin-and-Brandy Vinaigrette) and fried rice (aka, the land of pork belly).

If you run low on gewürztraminer, ask for one of the exotic Korean fruit drinks likeBon Bon or Sac Sac.

Then break out the vodka.

Urban Belly, 3053 N. California Ave (between Barry and Nelson), 773-583-0500

Lamb dumplings! Lamb dumplings! Lamb dumplings!!!
::ahem:: I'm excited about lamb dumplings.

stevez wrote:

riddlemay wrote:The Far East Restaurant on the 500 block of Diversey has a sign on its door thanking the neighborhood for its years of patronage.

That place was never the same after they had a fire that burned down the original restaurnat. At least sister restaurant Pekin House is still open for some of the best egg rolls in the city (order nothing else. You've been warned).

Pekin House
2311 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 465-1630

You hate to see any place that has been around for 40+ years close. Thank god all the banks are having trouble now so they can't buy the lease.

The unfortunately named iCream is indeed open. But based on our experience, they should have waited a few days and spent more time training their staff. At least they were nice enough to give us a refund for a coffee flavored soy-based ice cream that was inedible (they also offered to remake it, but we'd waited long enough by then). I still think it's a very cool concept, though. With luck, they'll have their act together next time we go.

Cogito wrote:

deesher wrote:I have it on good authority that I Cream is opening today.

Is that really their name?

sounds more like a porno for the "I'm a Mac" set.

Definitely goes in the business name Hall of Shame.

I was driving down California (3000 block?) north of Belmont, east side of the street and saw "urbanbelly" (yet another bad name) in a strip mall...not open yet, but looks like its close. I hadn't heard anything about it yet, but asked an industry friend who said former chef from le lan was opening a noold place there...anyone know anything more?

I just noticed a brand new, huge Oberweis Dairy on Lincoln Ave, just north of Devon in Lincolnwood.

I saw Urbanbelly last week and it looked to me like it's going to be a convenience store.

Attn: Lola and Senorita P: Posted just above your posts, re: Urban Belly:

So grab a bottle of gewürztraminer and head to Urban Belly, your new BYOB noodle-and-dumpling hideaway opening Tuesday in Logan Square.

Nestled in a middle-of-the-block mini mall—adjacent to a laundromat, no less—no one would suspect what's inside. And we don't just mean the seared pork belly and soaring pitched ceiling.

Star chef Bill Kim (Le Lan, the nascent Seoul in Mundelein) and his wife have created nothing less than the culinary version of the Batcave for their quick-serve alter egos.

You'll order at the counter, grab some chopsticks, then sit down at one of the four amazing communal tables, 200-pound slabs of Chinese elm with cubed seats hewn from Thai railroad ties.

The streamlined menu is both simple and decadent: noodles (like Somen with Shellfish and Coconut), dumplings (Lamb with Hoisin-and-Brandy Vinaigrette) and fried rice (aka, the land of pork belly).

If you run low on gewürztraminer, ask for one of the exotic Korean fruit drinks like Bon Bon or Sac Sac.

Then break out the vodka.

Urban Belly, 3053 N. California Ave (between Barry and Nelson), 773-583-0500

So grab a bottle of gewürztraminer and head to Urban Belly, your new BYOB noodle-and-dumpling hideaway opening Tuesday in Logan Square.

Urban Belly, 3053 N. California Ave (between Barry and Nelson), 773-583-0500

A tangential question, purely for my own edification and with no agenda (snarky or otherwise): Is 3053 N. California actually considered "Logan Square"? I tend to think of the LS neighborhood as including territory no further north than Diversey, if even that far north. But I could be out of touch with how most people think about this, and I wouldn't mind finding that out if I am.

riddlemay wrote:

So grab a bottle of gewürztraminer and head to Urban Belly, your new BYOB noodle-and-dumpling hideaway opening Tuesday in Logan Square.

Urban Belly, 3053 N. California Ave (between Barry and Nelson), 773-583-0500

A tangential question, purely for my own edification and with no agenda (snarky or otherwise): Is 3053 N. California actually considered "Logan Square"? I tend to think of the LS neighborhood as including territory no further north than Diversey, if even that far north. But I could be out of touch with how most people think about this, and I wouldn't mind finding that out if I am.

Technically, it's Avondale. But I'm sure many people refer to it as Logan Square.

On the web: Urban Belly. Not much there, yet.

Everyblock.com states : on August 14, 2008, URBAN BELLY was issued a business license of type "Retail Food Establishment."

In the land of Mr. Pollo and my frequent breakfast spot Clara and James--I anxiously await this AVONDALE retail food establishment.

Proud to live in Avondale--the new Logan Square--and still nuts about food,
FN

From the stew today http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/
Bill Kim's Urban Belly eatery opens
Posted by Monica Eng at 10:15 a.m. CDT

Urban Belly (3053 N. California Ave.; 773-583-0500) the long-awaited dumpling and noodle eatery by Bill Kim (Le Lan) and family, finally opens this morning (Tuesday, August 19) at 11 a.m. When we called Monday night we heard some hammering in the background but were assured by Mike Kim, Bill's brother, that they'd be ready to serve lunch service the next day. He even reeled off a preview of the menu, which is broken down into three categories: Dumplings ($6-$8; duck and pho spices, lamb and brandy, chicken and mushroom) and noodles ($10-$13; pork belly, shiitake mushrooms in a Vietnamese beef broth; oyster mushrooms in blue crab broth) and rice ($7-$9; pork and pineapple, shortribs and scallions). Yummmmmm

This is very much next on my list!

Email from Tapas Las Ramblas this afternoon:

Well we did it! I'm happy to announce that after three weeks of renovations, we are officially open beginning tonight (Tuesday, August 19th) at 5:30 p.m. for dinner service. We will be mostly in "soft open" mode as we launch our new concept. We hope you will enjoy our new menu and interior changes and we look forward to seeing you soon!
All the best,
Nannette

www.tapaslasramblas.com
5101 north clark
chicago

Walked by Tapas Las Ramblas last night and noticed a very large table of diners in the main dining room. I assumed it was a run-through for friends and family, and that the opening would be soon. Thanks for the heads up that they're opening tonight. I live less than a block away so I'll likely check it out soon.