Pie Lady wrote:

Craig B wrote:Progress from the Randhurst re-invent.....on the southside of the property there is now a strip mall that was previously the breakfast place (name escapes me know)...

Monica's? (RIP)

No, The Egg Factory.

Thanks Abe I couldn't think of the name

Now open:
Infusion Cafe, 6120 N. Lincoln Ave.
Alcatraz Mexican, 6320 N. Lincoln Ave. http://www.centerstagechicago.com/restaurants/alcatraz.html
Lincolnwood Wines & Spirits, 7300 something Lincoln Ave, east side of the street.

Noticed neither of these were posted:

First, looks like a soul food spot is opening on Division. Couldn't get the deets down as I was passing by, but super stoked if this is the case.

Second, Chava Cafe just opened up in Edgewater. They were going around passing out bags with single samples of Intelligensia and tea to promote their grand opening. Looks pretty cute.

Chava Cafe
www.chavacafe.com
4656 N Clark
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 942-6763

tarte tatin wrote: The site of the erstwhile Taylor Street restaurant (Central Street at Lincolnwood Drive) in Evanston now has a sign in the window saying, "Coming Soon/Bonsai Cafe/Sushi and PanAsian Cooking."

According to a man who answered the phone today, Bonsai Cafe will be opening Monday 9/21. I will try to get there soon to check it out.

Bonsai Cafe
2916 Central St.
Evanston, IL
847/866-7498

Meisa Cafe appears to have closed. I noted the closing in the main Meisa thread, which I have linked to in this post.

Here's a little nugget I discovered while stocking up at Fox & Obel:
Coming in October: "The Atrium at F&O." it's described as dinner and dessert destination with a wine bar, featuring a changing menu of seasonal dishes.

~M@

There is a new burger place opening up in Wicker Park on North Ave just West of Damen. It looks kind of bar-ish with some TVs mounted, tall tables, etc. I popped my head in last Thursday and the owner was working in the space, he said it will be opening this week or the next and explained it's going to be burger joint. It's in part of the space where the grocery shop W Crossing used to be (before it moved across teh street and become W Grocer).

K.D. wrote:There is a new burger place opening up in Wicker Park on North Ave just West of Damen. It looks kind of bar-ish with some TVs mounted, tall tables, etc. I popped my head in last Thursday and the owner was working in the space, he said it will be opening this week or the next and explained it's going to be burger joint. It's in part of the space where the grocery shop W Crossing used to be (before it moved across teh street and become W Grocer).

I believe it's called "J.P. Wellington's" or something close to that and the awnings advertise burgers, etc (detail escaping me now) and it will be BYOB. Sorry, I can't remember the writing exactly, but I've been drinking some wine this evening.

A new place in Roscoe Village--in the old, failed Sweet Thang storefront...

A sign in the window announces 'Nohea Cafe'. It looks pretty good, promising prepared food sandwiches, wraps, charcuterie and the like. I'm hopeful.

Which is more than I can say about the place across the street in the former ice cream parlor. Their hand lettered sign has been promising that it's coming 'oh so very soon' for about three months now. What's up with that? (Rumor has it. it's a Volo/Kitch'n connected enterprise). Clue me in.

And. last, but certainly not least Kaze has papered their windows and disappeared for a bit. There seems to be a rent hike dispute. Maybe Chef Chan can make the ice cream parlor work.

Co-Si-Na, a Mexican restaurant seeming to focus heavily on different kinds of moles, opened a couple weeks ago on Foster about a block west of Ashland. Haven't made it over yet, will probably try it for lunch in the near future. Their menus can be found on their facebook page.

Co-Si-Na
1706 W Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL, 60640
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/Cosina-Grill/124492748080?v=wall&viewas=0

Which is more than I can say about the place across the street in the former ice cream parlor. Their hand lettered sign has been promising that it's coming 'oh so very soon' for about three months now. What's up with that? (Rumor has it. it's a Volo/Kitch'n connected enterprise). Clue me in.

I don't think it's related to Volo/Kitch'n, there was older guys in there painting the other day that had their kids with them. I also think the Volo/Kitch'n people have deeper pockets then to have the renovation go on so long (also are smarter then opening an ice cream parlor/gelato place in late fall). They have a big sign that says "Gelato". Personally I really can't see the difference (after all the work they've done) from the previous place.

Limner wrote:Co-Si-Na, a Mexican restaurant seeming to focus heavily on different kinds of moles, opened a couple weeks ago on Foster about a block west of Ashland. Haven't made it over yet, will probably try it for lunch in the near future. Their menus can be found on their facebook page.

Co-Si-Na
1706 W Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL, 60640
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/Cosina-Grill/124492748080?v=wall&viewas=0

I've seen that twice in a week, going by it. I hope it's good, will try soon. my fiancee hates mole, so I might be going it alone.

Spoke to someone at Kaze who told me they're just closed for repairs through mid-to-late October.

I was looking at Opentable.com and see that Jacky's Bistro on Prairie is accepting reservations as of October 7th-looks like they have a new chef. I don't know anything more than that.

The Cupcake Gallery - 1319 W. Wilson Ave. scheduled to open by Columbus Day weekend.
http://www.cupcake-gallery.com/index.html

The Cupcake Gallery - 1319 W. Wilson Ave. scheduled to open by Columbus Day weekend.
http://www.cupcake-gallery.com/index.html

Jeez! There has been a whirlwind of activity lately near the Wilson/Clark intersection huh? Blue Ocean and Chava Cafe (or something close to that) opened right next door to each other last week or so. Now this! I must say I am excited, however upset I might be with the behemoth that is the cupcake trend. Nice to see new, hopefully promising places open up near home.

~M@

Diane wrote:I was looking at Opentable.com and see that Jacky's Bistro on Prairie is accepting reservations as of October 7th-looks like they have a new chef. I don't know anything more than that.

They do have a new temporary web front page up.

Hopefully this new version of "Jacky's" moves things up a notch. Even though this place is within walking distance from my house the last version never inspired me to go back.

http://www.jackysbistro.com/

ab wrote:Noticed a "Sweetwater" sign has gone up in the old Bennigans location at South Water/Michigan. Looked like a similar setup to the Bennigans. It won't have to do much to be a better option.

edit: looks like they are the folks behind Boundary in Wicker Park.

Here is the Thrillist post about it:

Soft-opening this week and grand opening Monday along Michigan Ave, Sweetwater is the downtown bar/grill counterpoint of Wicker Park's Boundary featuring a similar blend of comfort and luxury -- tall brown and creme leather booths, dark woods, and a wavy ceiling that recalls the bar's name (now it's your turn Grandma Flo). Menu wise they're turning out many Boundary faves like the Fiesta burger (pepperjack/jalepenos/guac/chile aioli) with a few new tricks like the Sunnyside Up, a cheddar/mozz/bacon burger kicked with a fried egg, pepperjack/bacon wrapped Cajun shrimp, and for the less cheese-enthused an ahi tuna wrap with crispy wontons and Chinoise dressing, something you're more used to enjoying with all those fetish peep cams. For thirst quenching purposes there's a nearly 70-strong selection of craft beers from familiar suspects like Bell's, Great Lakes, Unibroue, and Half Acre (Christopher Robin subdivided the crap out of that wood!).

Since an evening of egg-topped-burgers and lager can sometimes leave one craving calories, they're rocking a massive skillet cookie for the dessert-minded that's ideal for sharing, but go for it on your own, and your worry will be helped by all the noise and hurry.

SweetWater Website (under construction)
SSDD

Mattkrc wrote:

The Cupcake Gallery - 1319 W. Wilson Ave. scheduled to open by Columbus Day weekend.
http://www.cupcake-gallery.com/index.html

Jeez! There has been a whirlwind of activity lately near the Wilson/Clark intersection huh? Blue Ocean and Chava Cafe (or something close to that) opened right next door to each other last week or so. Now this! I must say I am excited, however upset I might be with the behemoth that is the cupcake trend. Nice to see new, hopefully promising places open up near home.

~M@

yeah well they're finally tearing out all the old decrepit stuff that has been marring that section of Clark forever. New condos going up, and those people are paying a pretty penny (we've checked into them). So I'm sure they want good places to eat in the area.

Plus they get a great view of the bikers and barflys shuffling out of Carol's at 4am. Not to mention all the late night partiers staggering into El Ranchito for tacos after a night of heavy boozing!

kates wrote:Spoke to someone at Kaze who told me they're just closed for repairs through mid-to-late October.

So what is up with badly handwritten signs in the windows? I thought the chef is/was capable of better than that. It seems like someone is upset. (Witness the bags of garbage tossed on the sidewalk)

Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Restaurants don't generally close for weeks for "repairs". At least, not voluntarily.

elakin wrote:Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Restaurants don't generally close for weeks for "repairs". At least, not voluntarily.

In the pursuit of fairness: Hot Doug's (yes, we all know--same neighborhood, but different) closed for, what? Two years?

Speaking about being closed for a few years...

Kenny's Ribs & Chicken
6427 North Ave, Oak Park
(708) 660-9939

Re-Opened about a month.

Attractive specials on some days... Monday = Mini Tip $3, Thursday = Mini Tip and Link $5. Coming very soon = Screaming (Jerk) Chicken and Super Turkey.

Stopped by today (@ 5:00 pm) for the Thursday Special.

-- Tips mostly tough, sliced uniformly (not really chopped) and the mild sauce was on the sweet side without any tang or heat. Not much smoke.
-- Fries soggy and limp
-- Link, no smoke or color. Looked like it was boiled and finished on the flattop. A bit of heat with a smooth texture. Very juicy though with the unbroken skin.

They do have a large smoker and I was chatting about smoker timing and the guy behind the counter mentioned that if things are slow they will turn down the heat on the smoker to give them some more time.

In my mind a BBQ place should smell of smoke. Nope.

Smokin' M's is in good shape.

Panther in the Den wrote:Speaking about being closed for a few years...

Kenny's Ribs & Chicken
6427 North Ave, Oak Park
(708) 660-9939

Re-Opened about a month.

Huh. I'll have to stop by and see how things compare to prior to closing - my wife and I started hitting Kenny's pretty regularly in Hyde Park back around 2001 or 2002 as a preferred alternative to Harold's for chicken, and then moved on to the Oak Park branch when we moved there. Overall we just found the chicken itself to be consistently better, and preferred the sauce at Kenny's to that of Harold's.

Never did enjoy anything else there though, aside from occasionally picking up a dessert. Thanks for the heads-up though - bad day at work today for the wife and she needs some cheering up, and I think the return of Kenny's just might do it as long as the chicken/sauce haven't changed

Evanston Update:

1) Bonsai Cafe is indeed open. Will investigate further over the weekend.

Add-on: stopped in for a menu on the way home; no website listed. It's BYOB, and they do both carry-out and delivery; cuisine is a pan-Asian mix of Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and a little bit of Vietnamese. Interesting item: house-made ginger ale, which also comes in tangerine and pomegranate variations. Will try out ASAP.

2) The window ads for the long-promised market on Asbury and Oakton are now gone, and the lights are off. I didn't have time to investigate further. How long has that presumably quite desirable piece of real estate sat empty now? Three years? Four? Longer? Seems like it was a CVS for about 20 minutes. Any Evanstonians have any further info?

LTH,

Chatting with Tony Hu over rice and house pickled string beans at Lao Sze Chuan it seems Tony Gourmet Group is adding another arrow to its quiver of restaurants, a yet to be named "Chinese Tapas" restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown Square. Estimated to open January 2010.

Enjoy,
Gary

Lao Barcelona?

Five Guys opens Monday in Orland Park
15825 S. LaGrange Road, Orland Park
(708) 403-2210
http://www.fiveguys.com/