JeffB wrote:

Ursiform wrote:A second location of La Gondola will be open for business in mid-November in the former Joey's Brickhouse Location.

La Gondola East
1258 W. Belmont
http://www.lagondolachicago.com/

Nice. This place (inexplicably to me) gets better and better. The tiny stripmall-storefront dining room is nearly comical, but still works in the current incarnation. Good to see things come full circle from the days when La Gondola was in a full sized space across Ashland. My replacement for the dear departed Stefani's might be close at hand. One has to respect the takeout pizza/red sauce place that keeps tripe Florentine and stracciatella on the menu as everyday items.

I'm excited about this new location, too. I liked La Gondola's food in its full-sized Ashland incarnation, but I never, ever wanted to eat in the strip-mall storefront. (I'm in that parking lot enough for buying groceries and ink-jet cartridges as it is.) And since I'd written off Joey's a long time ago, La Gondola going into that space is a win-win.

Yet another new Taylor St. spot.. this one a new farm-to-table Italian concept restaurant supposedly opening very soon.

Three Aces
1321-1327 W Taylor St
Chicago, IL 60607

http://www.nbcchicago.com/feast/Three-Aces-Nears-Opening-Heston-Blumenthals-Food-Induces-Tears-104773009.html

http://twitter.com/masterofthesun

Not sure if this is posted, but Tony Hu's new Chinese Tapas opens this Friday.

First post to LTH after lurking for years...

American Flatbread is opening their first Illinois location in Lincoln Square this coming April. They're planning to open in the Giddings Plaza space that until recently was supposed to house a Feast and Goddess & Grocer location (adjacent to Paciugo and across the plaza from Cafe Selmarie). I believe they're best known in Chicago for their frozen line that is sold at Whole Foods and Jewel (per their website -- I haven't seen or tried it).

The menu for their other locations (Vermont, Virginia, Oregon) seems to indicate they will focus on fresh salads and wood-fired "flatbread" pizzas with a focus on natural/organic/sustainable ingredients.

Previous reports indicated that Feast was planning to have sidewalk seating for 80, so the potential is there for adding yet another al fresco option to the neighborhood. Also, with the forthcoming addition of a HomeMade Pizza location in the former JackRabbit/Brioso space at Lincoln & Wilson, this should also shake up the pizza landscape in Lincoln Square. Hopefully this place and nearby Pizza DOC (one of my favorites) can coexist in harmony.

Details here:
http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news/coming-soon-to-lincoln-square-american-flatbread

Closed

Shuckin Grill - Oyster Bar and Restaurant
410 Circle Ave, Forest Park

Closed message on the phone number (708) 488-1603
Website Dead http://shuckandgrillthis.com

eat a duck i must wrote:Not sure if this is posted, but Tony Hu's new Chinese Tapas opens this Friday.

This (from the urbandaddy link) is some of the most affected, maudlin, jaw-droppingly hillaribad writing I have ever seen. It's brilliant, and I wish I wrote it.

You and Chinatown share a pretty rich history.

It’s been there when all you needed from life was a crispy Peking duck, a pair of chopsticks, some Riesling, red lanterns, Sunday morning dim sum to recover... okay, so that’s a lot of things. And Chinatown had them all.

But lately you’ve wondered if there’s any surprise left, something to grab this old relationship by the shoulders and shake some life into it. We’re here to tell you there is. That something is shrimp Jell-O.

Welcome to Lao You Ju, a dark, sultry, red-velvet-wrapped Chinatown den ready for sake-fueled romance and some insanely imaginative Chinese tapas, hoping to open as soon as this Friday.

True, it’s in the ground floor of a squat steel-and-glass office building called the Richmond Center, but things get infinitely more opium den-ish once you step inside. There’s sparkly chandeliers, an alabaster bar that lights up from within—better to see your Pineapple Margarita—and more red velvet than a Sexy Santa lingerie competition.

Anyone want to join me for a glass of Riesling when this opium hut opens?

Santander wrote:

eat a duck i must wrote:Not sure if this is posted, but Tony Hu's new Chinese Tapas opens this Friday.

This (from the urbandaddy link) is some of the most affected, maudlin, jaw-droppingly hillaribad writing I have ever seen. It's brilliant, and I wish I wrote it.

You and Chinatown share a pretty rich history.

It’s been there when all you needed from life was a crispy Peking duck, a pair of chopsticks, some Riesling, red lanterns, Sunday morning dim sum to recover... okay, so that’s a lot of things. And Chinatown had them all.

But lately you’ve wondered if there’s any surprise left, something to grab this old relationship by the shoulders and shake some life into it. We’re here to tell you there is. That something is shrimp Jell-O.

Welcome to Lao You Ju, a dark, sultry, red-velvet-wrapped Chinatown den ready for sake-fueled romance and some insanely imaginative Chinese tapas, hoping to open as soon as this Friday.

True, it’s in the ground floor of a squat steel-and-glass office building called the Richmond Center, but things get infinitely more opium den-ish once you step inside. There’s sparkly chandeliers, an alabaster bar that lights up from within—better to see your Pineapple Margarita—and more red velvet than a Sexy Santa lingerie competition.

Anyone want to join me for a glass of Riesling when this opium hut opens?

Sorry, I'm busy trying to track down a Sexy Santa lingerie competition. Preferably one with Pineapple Margaritas.

ucjames wrote:
Sorry, I'm busy trying to track down a Sexy Santa lingerie competition. Preferably one with Pineapple Margaritas.

When you do find it please be sure to post the info in the Events section!

Kman wrote:

ucjames wrote:
Sorry, I'm busy trying to track down a Sexy Santa lingerie competition. Preferably one with Pineapple Margaritas.

When you do find it please be sure to post the info in the Events section!

Last winter, I went to a post-SantaCon party that ended exactly that way.

A former co-worker of mine is opening a HoneyBaked Ham franchise on the North Side, just in time for Thanksgiving. They are doing a soft open beginning Friday, October 15 until their grand opening on Saturday, October 30.

Also tomorrow (Friday 10/15) from noon-7, they are offering free ham sandwiches and store tours.

HoneyBaked Ham and Cafe
2815 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago IL, 60657
773-880-8400

My vote for most improbable restaurant transition of the year:



That's the former Grocery Bistro, btw. It'll be interesting to see how Harold's does here, not only because of the neighborhood but because of the space/location itself--this part of Washington, even though the Randolph strip and Greektown are right nearby, is light on foot traffic.

Harold's ##
804 W. Washington

It looks like the new Five Guys is open at 816 Church in Evanston.

tem wrote:

rmtraut wrote:While walking down Leavitt to get my moring coffee at Red June, I noticed a storefront being gutted. I asked one of the workers what was up, and he said, "Some kind of Italian place.....suppoed to be real nice." He also mentioned they will build a patio out back.

Mystery Italian Restaurant
Leavitt and Armitage

if it's the big space on the SE corner, that's a true Location of the Damned. I can't remember once place that's lasted more than 6 months in that spot. It's gonna have to be REAL NICE.

The restaurant is opening on the west side of Leavitt a few doors south of Armitage. This will be a new project by Brad Schlieder, the old manager of A Tavola on W Chicago. Not sure when they are planning to open, but it has been slowly progressing for many months.

According to the Sun-Times:
The Brown's Chicken chain was sold for $585,000 to Pop-Grip LLC, an investment company. They said they'll invest in the 28 remaining stores (from a high of 150 before the Palatine massacre in 1993).

Interesting note: The name comes from "John and Belva Brown, who began selling fried chicken out of a trailer at 143rd Street and Wolf Road in the early 1950s. John partnered with Frank Portillo to expand the business. The first Brown's restaurant was in Bridgeview, on Harlem Avenue."

chezbrad wrote:It'll be interesting to see how Harold's does here, not only because of the neighborhood but because of the space/location itself--this part of Washington, even though the Randolph strip and Greektown are right nearby, is light on foot traffic.

Harold's ##
804 W. Washington

It's nice to see that someone is picking up the fried chicken mantle in the West Loop. It's been a fried chicken wasteland since Uncle Remus closed. If my office was still in the neighborhood, I'd be a frequent customer.

In & Out Pita
3918 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-329-7482

Opened about a week ago. My barber-the-landlord said "good food". The owner is a descendant of the Pita Inn clan.

I just found out that all the Max & Erma locations in the area are closed: Vernon Hills, Burr Ridge, and Woodridge. I know it is a chain, but I thought they did a very nice quick, inexpensive, and good lunch.

I especially like their tortilla soup and village salad.

D.

dodger wrote:I just found out that all the Max & Erma locations in the area are closed: Vernon Hills, Burr Ridge, and Woodridge. I know it is a chain, but I thought they did a very nice quick, inexpensive, and good lunch.

I especially like their tortilla soup and village salad.

D.

They did have a good tortilla soup. I never tried the village salad.

tarte tatin wrote:It looks like the new Five Guys is open at 816 Church in Evanston.

It's opening Monday

dodger wrote:I just found out that all the Max & Erma locations in the area are closed: Vernon Hills, Burr Ridge, and Woodridge. I know it is a chain, but I thought they did a very nice quick, inexpensive, and good lunch.

I especially like their tortilla soup and village salad.

D.

There is one in Warrenville also but I haven't been by there in a few months.

chezbrad wrote:My vote for most improbable restaurant transition of the year:



That's the former Grocery Bistro, btw. It'll be interesting to see how Harold's does here, not only because of the neighborhood but because of the space/location itself--this part of Washington, even though the Randolph strip and Greektown are right nearby, is light on foot traffic.

Harold's ##
804 W. Washington

Awesome, that's right around the corner from work.

eat a duck i must wrote:Not sure if this is posted, but Tony Hu's new Chinese Tapas opens this Friday.

Cool interior:

Except for the nightmarish bathroom!

As noted by jimswside in another thread, Meathead's Burgers has opened in Willowbrook at the Willowbrook Town Center development. Other restaurants in this shopping center include: Portillo's, Barnelli's Pasta Bowl, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Starbucks and Buffalo Wild Wings. Lassak Market & Deli, a Polish takeout deli, is also located in the WTC.

Meathead's Burgers
7137 S. Kingery Highway
(Southeast corner of Route 83 & Plainfield)
Willowbrook, Illinois 60527
630.325.6608 Phone
630-325-6604 Fax
11:00am-9:00pm every day
http://www.meatheadsburgers.com/

Haven't been, but Thirteen Pins Tapas + Bar (BYOB for now) recently opened
at 4202 W. Irving Park Rd. - just west of the Kennedy.

Panther in the Den wrote:Closed

Shuckin Grill - Oyster Bar and Restaurant
410 Circle Ave, Forest Park

Closed message on the phone number (708) 488-1603
Website Dead http://shuckandgrillthis.com

Panther,

You may be right about it being closed - I don't have any direct info. But surprised to see that the website you gave didn't match the spelling of the restaurant, I googled and came up with an active website for them at:

http://shuckingrill.com/indexx.html

As I dig a little deeper, I see that the website allows comments, and there are some near the bottom of the asking whether it's closed, so my guess is you're right about the fate of the restaurant.

a new breakfast place going in where violet used to be on southport. lulu belle's 3819 n. southport.

G Wiv wrote:

YelirNY wrote:"The Original Five restaurant will be opening in Fall 2010. Located at 1030 Taylor Street in Chicago, the restaurant offers All-American BBQ."

This makes 109 BBQ joints open in the last 7 months.

Somebody posted about this a few months ago, if I recall, claiming that it was from someone related to Smoque. I think the post was removed after Barry denied any association with the new place. They have Lamb Ribs on their menu which I've never had before. Is there a lot of meat on a Lamb's Rib?

radiator wrote:Is there a lot of meat on a Lamb's Rib?

No, but what is there is amazingly tasty.

News on Caldwell's (7201 Caldwell Ave., Niles): although the Opening Soon signs are still there and there seems to be logo signs in some windows, there is a sandwich board on Caldwell Ave. that says
A prpoperty hearing will be conducted regarding this property... I didn't catch the date or time but there's a phone number there.

Alexandra's, the restaurant next to Forest View Bakery (6454 N. Milwaukee, Chicago), appears to be closed. The tables are gone, as is the deli case, I believe; there's just a long folding table in the middle of the room.

WCIBN wrote:As noted by jimswside in another thread, Meathead's Burgers has opened in Willowbrook at the Willowbrook Town Center development. Other restaurants in this shopping center include: Portillo's, Barnelli's Pasta Bowl, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Starbucks and Buffalo Wild Wings. Lassak Market & Deli, a Polish takeout deli, is also located in the WTC.

Pei Wei is just about to open a location here as well(doubt Ill go with Katy's, LSC & others nearby).

I eat @ this Portillo's location quite a bit, but avoid the BWW, Chipotle Panera & Starbucks as a rule of thumb.

Lassak looks interesting and is on my list of places to check out for groceries.