nr706 wrote
" Might be a Carson's Ribs in there, as well."

That could make sense.

Although I wasn't a fan, I know that their previous Skokie location was very busy.
It would provide a mid-point store between the Deerfield and Downtown locations.

Going to 11 City Diner tonight, we saw a new Indian place next door that looks nearly open. It's called The India Grill, I think. Very big space with a decadent design. Looks interesting.

Two other South Loop updates: There's a coming soon sign for Lou Malnati's in the building nearing completion on the southeast corner of State and 8th. And Flaco's Tacos finally opened next door to Hackney's. I'll try them again, but my first visit suggests that they're just another so-so restaurant (we already had four of them!) on Dearborn between Polk and Harrison.

Looks like there is a new cupcake bakery coming to Naperville. Driving by yesterday on Chicago Ave, couple of doors east of Rosebud Italian restaurant, saw sign in window, "something"( maybe Suger?) Monkey Cupcake Shop.

John's Place in Roscoe Village, which has been threatening to open for awhile, has a date posted on its windows: Wednesday, September 17. Open for lunch 11-3 PM, dinner 4:30, brunch Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 to 2.*

The restaurant is opening in the space previously occupied by La Mora.

Love,
John

*These hours are from memory, so I may not be exactly right.

John's Place
2132 W Roscoe
Chicago, IL 60618

Saw the other day that "La Cabaña de Don Luis," a Mexican restaurant, will be opening soon in the space one door south of "Crema" at Foster and Lincoln.

ChgoMike wrote: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...

This place is now open. I'm going to wait a bit before trying it, since I just ate at D's Irie Kitchen and want to savor the memories before they're obliterated by the inevitable disappointment of the Evanstonized rendition.

an "opening soon" sign for an outpost of El Llano Colombian chicken place is on Elston, just north of Irving - right next door to Rapa Nui, formerly Latin Sandwich Cafe.

Flapjaws Cafe seems to have gone on a very lengthy vacation. They hadn't been open too long in their location in the new Loyola building after their former location on Pearson was torn down. I always liked Flapjaws tuna melt.

Flapjaws Cafe, 840 N. Wabash

Koryo, the Korean joint on North Broadwayin Lakeview, was closed on Friday night (no explanation) and closed tonight with a sign in the door promising that they will open early on Sunday. They seem to be closed more often than they are open these days. They also lost their liquor license a few months back, so at least you can BYOB if you happen to catch them open.

Oddly, Crisp, right down the block was also closed at 9 pm tonight despite a sign in their door indicating that they are open until 11 on Saturdays. It's a nice addition to a somewhat bland neighborhood. Hopefully, it was a temporary thing.

It looks like the 94th Aero Squadron, the restaurant that is basically on the grounds of Palwaukee, er, Chicago Executive Airport, has reopened. I've never been there, I don't know if it was good or not, or what the circumstances were when it closed or re-opened. I just live down the street and thought it was interesting.

Saw a sign for Butterfly Sushi opening on Chicago Ave (about 1400 west). Not sure if it is a second location or moving their operation from Grand Ave.

Lemon Grass-a thai place in downtown Winnetka's Laundry Mall. Prices look reasonable. Will try when the fridge runs out. There is a sushi shop a few doors south next to Lan's=they share the entrance off the street. Not a sushi fan so can not comment.

Elfin wrote:Lemon Grass-a thai place in downtown Winnetka's Laundry Mall. Prices look reasonable. Will try when the fridge runs out. There is a sushi shop a few doors south next to Lan's=they share the entrance off the street. Not a sushi fan so can not comment.

I have a menu from this place sitting on my desk, where it has remained unopened for the past 2 months or so. I really need to check this place out.

=R=

Has anyone seen or heard anything about Publican? I can't wait to go!

KSeecs wrote:Has anyone seen or heard anything about Publican? I can't wait to go!

Menupages has Publican's menu:
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... ntid=54692

Looks good. Unclear, however, when they'll finally be opening. Menupages says October.

abe_froeman wrote:It looks like the 94th Aero Squadron, the restaurant that is basically on the grounds of Palwaukee, er, Chicago Executive Airport, has reopened. I've never been there, I don't know if it was good or not, or what the circumstances were when it closed or re-opened. I just live down the street and thought it was interesting.

I don't know why they closed, however I used to go there probably 15-20 years ago and it was an excellent place, especially for a brunch. It was fun to watch the airport traffic as well. I'm not sure why we stopped going there. It just happened. If you try it out, please start a thread on it.

KSeecs wrote:Has anyone seen or heard anything about Publican? I can't wait to go!

Walked by the location after lunch at the paramount room this past Sunday and the widows are still papered over. Peaked inside - - looks pretty close to done. Lots of construction type machines still out on the floor etc., but most things appeared to be done from a finished room perspective - but who knows about inspections, licenses, staffing menu etc?

REB wrote:Menupages has Publican's menu:
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... ntid=54692

Looks good. Unclear, however, when they'll finally be opening. Menupages says October.

Belgian beers and charcuterie, count me in.

On a somewhat related note, The Bristol opened last night, 2152 N. Damen. I'm hoping to check it out this weekend.

Attrill wrote:On a somewhat related note, The Bristol opened last night, 2152 N. Damen. I'm hoping to check it out this weekend.

In case anyone's interested, the Bristol does not accept reservations.

Went to the Bristol last night....everything was good, but nothing really stood out. To be fair, I'll point out the pros and cons of our meal:

-Okay, I hate to start with a downer, but everyone at my table agreed about this and this probably bothered me the most about the restaurant: the uniforms. I know that seems like such a stupid thing to fret over, but if the entrees on your menu are over $10, I expect at least a black button-down. I know this isn't the first pricier restaurant to go for a casual feel, but the black shirt with the sports bar-esque logo and jeans look does not really mesh with the rest of the atmosphere. The layout of the restaurant is low-lighting and simple, elegant fixtures that seems to clash with the wonky music selection (which, by the way, needs to be turned wayyy down) and then these uniforms.

-Waitstaff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. I had lingered by earlier in the afternoon looking like a sweaty mess and the owner/manager was really talkative and inviting, which made me want to come back later with others. The waitress we had was also very friendly and attentive. Also liked that our waters were always filled without being pushy about it.

-The fritters stood out as probably our favorite appetizer of the three we ordered, and possibly the whole meal.

-Corned beef wrapped pickles was also an interesting selection, though not our favorite as the recipe could use a bit of tweaking. The corned beef definitely tasted a bit more brisket-ish and the pickle was more of a slightly pickled cucumber (would done better if it was seedless or gerkins). Otherwise, delicious idea.

-Impressive cocktail and drink list! I was a huge fan of the fact they carried Goose Island Matilda on tap, being that I really haven't seen that on tap anywhere else. But maybe it was a little too impressive? The novel-sized drink menu seems to dominate over the dining menu. We wanted to order drinks, but faced with a drink list long enough to combine the entire size of stock at Bin 36 and the Map Room, it became too distracting when trying to figure out what to eat and what to pair it with. Also, our cocktails took quite a long time to arrive, but I'll cut them some slack for opening night.

-Cuts of meat were seasoned really well, and the prawns were cooked perfectly. Overall they were good — not great, but good. But the entree sizes are a killer. Wayyyy too small. $16 for 4 or 5 prawns with no side dish?! Really?! The strip steak was $18 for 6 small cuts and tiny blue cheese ravioli. Perhaps if I was really wowed over by the preparation or there was something very unique about it, I might be more favorable, but honestly the entrees seemed like a waste of time. I feel like this restaurant does better tapas style with a few appetizers than bothering with their entrees.

-The desserts confused me the most. It seems like most restaurants really try to salvage themselves with desserts and frankly I feel like all the desserts were a huge disappointment and a waste of time, which upset me a lot because I was really looking forward to it. Much like the other portions at this restaurant, dessert was incredibly small and cost $6. The biggest rip seemed to be the "nutter butters" which looked like a snackpack with two cookies, which I gather was the point, but it didn't really strike me as tasting significantly better than the significantly cheaper and more economically-sized original. The biggest waste of time was the mixed seasonal fruit with "English cream." I think there might have been 2 small globs of English cream, but mostly it was a dish of berries and squares of shortbread. And the biggest disappointment was the pistachio tart with poached pears. This seems salvageable though if they get rid of the poached pears and add more pistachio filler. The poached pears kind of tasted like make-up to me. I can't really think of a better descriptor than that. The pistachios and the crust were definitely very good though — if only there were more!

After this rant about the uniforms and dessert and portion size, it probably seems like I hated it — which I didn't. I don't mean to be a downer when it just opened, but I just hope someone from the restaurant can take these into consideration because I think it has potential for being a really great restaurant, I just know that given how much we spent and still walked away slightly disappointed, I wouldn't really consider dining there for anything other than possibly stopping in at the bar.

Republic Pan-Asian Restaurant & Lounge in River North has closed. Owners plan to reopen it as an "American restaurant with a sushi bar."

I'll miss the off-menu soup dumplings.

Farmerie 58
58 E. Ontario St

A little more detail on Farmerie 58, from Dish. Sounds promising.

“It wasn’t doing poorly,” says Brian Newman, the general manager. “We just felt there were better concepts to really utilize this space.” Such as one that employs a former farmer who is dedicated to sustainable, organic products, and dishes such as a duroc pork loin with roasted garlic crushed potatoes, wild mushrooms, sauce all’ arrabbiata, and garlic chips. Farmerie 58’s chef, Billy Alexander (Emeril’s, Commander’s Palace), is an Alabama native who grew up in a farming and restaurant family. “I started working in the family restaurant at age ten,” he says. “It was that or working the potato shed on the farm. . . . I’ve always been interested in getting back to the farm. Food does not come from a grocery store: It comes from a guy out in the field with a hoe, tilling the soil.”

Dammit! I saw it first!

Also noted that BB's Bagels seems to be back up and running like nothing ever happened, as well as the kosher bakery a few doors west...

Mhays wrote:

tarte tatin wrote:The Evanston Roundtable (2/20) reports that the Bravo chain of Italian restaurants may be opening a restaurant in the space vacated by Wolfgang Puck at Church and Maple in downtown Evanston. Bravo currently has one Illinois location--in the Glen at Glenview.

I apologize if I missed this elsewhere, and am repeating information, but this location is apparently opened on the 25th.

I stopped by a few days ago for lunch (I work in the area). Had a decent chicken sandwich, although the grilled chicken breast was just a tad bit over done IMO. Service was good. Nothing terribly exciting, but I'll probably go back.

What's the deal with Frohman's? They've been closed for a couple of months, but no signs indicating if it's temporary or permanent and everything is still in place in the store front.

YourPalWill wrote:Koryo, the Korean joint on North Broadwayin Lakeview, was closed on Friday night (no explanation) and closed tonight with a sign in the door promising that they will open early on Sunday. They seem to be closed more often than they are open these days. They also lost their liquor license a few months back, so at least you can BYOB if you happen to catch them open.

They appeared to be closed last night, too. Although I don't go there regularly, I'll be disappointed if they close for good. Their dol sot bi bim bop is a great cold-weather, stick-to-your-ribs dish when I want to go someplace in the hood!

chgoeditor wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:Koryo, the Korean joint on North Broadwayin Lakeview, was closed on Friday night (no explanation) and closed tonight with a sign in the door promising that they will open early on Sunday. They seem to be closed more often than they are open these days. They also lost their liquor license a few months back, so at least you can BYOB if you happen to catch them open.

They appeared to be closed last night, too. Although I don't go there regularly, I'll be disappointed if they close for good. Their dol sot bi bim bop is a great cold-weather, stick-to-your-ribs dish when I want to go someplace in the hood!

I looked in the window today. They appear to be done for good. The signage in the front window has been partially removed and is sitting on a table in the dining room.. The quality had really fallen there in recent history and the employees just didn't seem to care anymore.

Has anyone noticed if Johnny's Uncle Jim's Diner has reopened anywhere? I was told that "Uncle Jim" is related to the Billy Goat Tavern folks, but am not sure if that is actually true. But if anyone knows them or stops in there, you might inquire about it?

gleam wrote:A little more detail on Farmerie 58, from Dish. Sounds promising.

“It wasn’t doing poorly,” says Brian Newman, the general manager. “We just felt there were better concepts to really utilize this space.” Such as one that employs a former farmer who is dedicated to sustainable, organic products, and dishes such as a duroc pork loin with roasted garlic crushed potatoes, wild mushrooms, sauce all’ arrabbiata, and garlic chips. Farmerie 58’s chef, Billy Alexander (Emeril’s, Commander’s Palace), is an Alabama native who grew up in a farming and restaurant family. “I started working in the family restaurant at age ten,” he says. “It was that or working the potato shed on the farm. . . . I’ve always been interested in getting back to the farm. Food does not come from a grocery store: It comes from a guy out in the field with a hoe, tilling the soil.”

I can't say for sure...but I just got of the red line after running into a former classmate of mine that said "Farmerie is doing a soft opening tomorrow" which means today Oct 1 I would believe. He says it's pretty hectic and some don't even know the full menu but they're doing their best to get it done.

On a side note...Billy Alexander (chef at Farmerie 58) is the former dinning room chef at Kendall College's dinner Dinning Room. He's a talented guy that puts a lot of detail and work into his food. I'll be very interested to see what he puts out at this 'new restaurant'. Count me in after a month or two of breaking in the new menus.

edit: after posting I found this little clip (I'm not sure if this has been posted before but I figured I'd link it in anyway) http://www.thrillist.com/archives/2008/09/farmerie_58_chi_chicago_drinks_food_river_north.html