In re Chipotle - in certain contexts, there simply is no better Mexican food, and it definitely scratches the itch, without making you feel ill.

One of those contexts is, sadly, most of Manhattan. I can say without hesitation, that in Midtown at least, there is no better Mexican food.

Habibi wrote:In re Chipotle - in certain contexts, there simply is no better Mexican food, and it definitely scratches the itch, without making you feel ill.

One of those contexts is, sadly, most of Manhattan. I can say without hesitation, that in Midtown at least, there is no better Mexican food.

I don't completely agree. I haven't sampled all of Manhattan's Mexican food for sure, but when I was there about a year ago I really enjoyed my meal at Toloache. I don't want to derail this topic, but for contemporary mexican food in Midtown I really enjoyed it.

bjackson wrote:

Habibi wrote:In re Chipotle - in certain contexts, there simply is no better Mexican food, and it definitely scratches the itch, without making you feel ill.

One of those contexts is, sadly, most of Manhattan. I can say without hesitation, that in Midtown at least, there is no better Mexican food.

I don't completely agree. I haven't sampled all of Manhattan's Mexican food for sure, but when I was there about a year ago I really enjoyed my meal at Toloache. I don't want to derail this topic, but for contemporary mexican food in Midtown I really enjoyed it.

I spent $30 (well, my client's $30) on the most bland, lifeless, ketchup "salsa" mexican food I have ever had from Toloache. For serious.

Construction on Wilmette Five Guys to begin soon
By John P. Huston TribLocal reporter Nov. 11 at 4:38 p.m.


Construction on the upcoming Five Guys restaurant in Wilmette is expected to begin this month.

The burger-and-fries chain anticipates a mid-February opening, said Chris Obligato, Five Guys’ district manager.

The restaurant will fill three units at Edens Plaza, 3232 Lake Ave., including the former eBay store. Omaha Steaks is leaving the shopping center, and Men’s Wearhouse is relocating from its previous location to suite 192 – just north of the Starbucks, said Lucas Sivertsen, Wilmette’s business development planner.

Plans filed at Wilmette Village Hall show the restaurant will feature 48 indoor and 12 outdoor seats.

Building construction work will be limited, Sivertsen said.

“They’re not really changing anything on the exterior, even the entrances from the previous stores,” Siversten said.

Five Guys is a Washington D.C.-based fast food chain, created in 1985. It is known for its limited menu – offering burgers, hot dogs and a vegetable sandwich – as well as fries and soft drinks.

In other restaurant news, Chick N Rib Joynt closed its doors at 3217 Lake Ave. recently, making way for a Subway, Sivertsen said.

“I guess they (Subway) wanted to go in there for quite a while, but the owner was hesitant to have another food use in there,” Sivertsen said. “Parking is pretty tight.”

Subway is anticipating a mid-February opening, he added.

Habibi wrote:

bjackson wrote:

Habibi wrote:In re Chipotle - in certain contexts, there simply is no better Mexican food, and it definitely scratches the itch, without making you feel ill.

One of those contexts is, sadly, most of Manhattan. I can say without hesitation, that in Midtown at least, there is no better Mexican food.

I don't completely agree. I haven't sampled all of Manhattan's Mexican food for sure, but when I was there about a year ago I really enjoyed my meal at Toloache. I don't want to derail this topic, but for contemporary mexican food in Midtown I really enjoyed it.

I spent $30 (well, my client's $30) on the most bland, lifeless, ketchup "salsa" mexican food I have ever had from Toloache. For serious.

I haven't been in a few years but I have had several memorable meals at Zarela, including a great tuna with a pepita sauce. Although this is rapidly becoming a "Mexican in NYC" thread.

saluki9 wrote:The Claim Jumper in wheeling is closed as the company goes through a chapter 11 restructuring

Other area locations remain open


Claim Jumper
781 N Milwaukee Ave
Wheeling, IL 60090-3026
(847) 520-9922

The Claim Jumper is Wheeling is the worst performing Claim Jumper in the franchise. This is kinda surprising to me because all the times I've been in there, it hardly seemed that business was slow.

http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Land ... nts/124261

Ttowa in Morton Grove is now Bap & Grill.
No more dumplings.
They still have (not very) spicy wings, but the menu is more "Traditional Korean" -- something I can get at a dozen places between my house and Morton Grove.

More comments in the Ttowa thread.

The Double- an Urban Tavern,
is opening where Hotti Biscotti used to be on West Fullerton in Logan Square.

Stopped by Chicago's Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oak Park today.
Met the manager, very nice guy. They hope to be opened by 12/02.

JoelF wrote:Ttowa in Morton Grove is now Bap & Grill.
No more dumplings.
They still have (not very) spicy wings, but the menu is more "Traditional Korean" -- something I can get at a dozen places between my house and Morton Grove.

More comments in the Ttowa thread.

Wow, that was quick! I drove by Saturday and it was still TTOWA!

Pie Lady wrote:

JoelF wrote:Ttowa in Morton Grove is now Bap & Grill.

Wow, that was quick! I drove by Saturday and it was still TTOWA!

The sign out front still says "Ttowa" -- they said they haven't gotten the permit for a new sign.
The server also said they've been under new ownership for about two weeks.

No dumplings at all! Who's ever heard of a Korean restaurant with no mandoo on the menu?

Sign added this week in window of former Cafe Blu space:

Red Lion Lincoln Square opening December 2010 (we hope)

Construction has been ongoing for several months. It looks as though they have four storefronts, about twice the space for Cafe Blu. No liquor license application in the window yet.

They have a Metromix listing already.

4749 North Rockwell
Chicago 60625

A new sign on the old Wolf Camera location (616 Davis) caught my eye as I drove down the holiday-deserted streets of downtown Evanston today. It announced the opening of Tiny Dog Cupcakes. A Google search didn't turn up much more info--other than it's scheduled to open in November, and yes, these are cupcakes for people, not tiny dogs. There appeared to be a couple of people working inside today.

They hope to be opened by 12/02.

Ha! Good luck, guys. At the rate they've been going, I'm half expecting the world's nicest chicken and waffles spot.

Vitesse98 wrote:

They hope to be opened by 12/02.

Ha! Good luck, guys. At the rate they've been going, I'm half expecting the world's nicest chicken and waffles spot.

At the rate they've been going, the first time I looked at that I read it as hoping to be open by February of 2012...

Anyone know what's going in at the former Hamilton's/Jasper's on Waukegan in Glenview?

MC Bistro, a Vietnamese place that also serves burgers and steaks (according to the menu taped to the window), has opened on the corner of Ashland and Blackhawk, just north of Division. The space formerly housed La Brochette, a short-lived Moroccan-style restaurant that closed in March 0f 2009 and the space has been empty until now (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15939&hilit=la+brochette)

MC Bistro
1401 North Ashland Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

Taxco Restaurant, which has frontage on both Elston and Montrose, has been closed for repairs for several months. Now there is a for rent sign in a window on Montrose.

ekreider wrote:Taxco Restaurant, which has frontage on both Elston and Montrose, has been closed for repairs for several months. Now there is a for rent sign in a window on Montrose.

I find this distressing as it was among the best "beans and rice" Mexican joints around. It was no fly-by-night establishment either, having been there for about 25 years; one of those places you got so used to being there that it hadn't occurred to you that one day it wouldn't be.

Café Matou (1846 N. Milwaukee Ave) closed a week or two ago.

Jameson's Charhouse is taking over the former Boston Blackie's spot inside the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie. Scheduled opening sometime in December.

Dave148 wrote:Jameson's Charhouse is taking over the former Boston Blackie's spot inside the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie. Scheduled opening sometime in December.

That space should not have real signage. Everything needs to be on chalkboard or dry-erase. Maybe even Etch-a-Sketch for menus. On the plus side, it's probably keeping the sign business afloat on the North Shore.

I vote to have a guy in a monkey suit twirling a giant arrow sign around.

spinynorman99 wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Jameson's Charhouse is taking over the former Boston Blackie's spot inside the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie. Scheduled opening sometime in December.

That space should not have real signage. Everything needs to be on chalkboard or dry-erase. Maybe even Etch-a-Sketch for menus. On the plus side, it's probably keeping the sign business afloat on the North Shore.

How about Post-it Notes? By a coincidence, the Boston Blackie's sign is coming down today.

Drove by 6606 W. North Avenue last night and saw a sign up for a place called Just Turkey that appears to be going in at some point. Guessing it's another outpost of this place: http://www.justturkeyrestaurant.com

P.S. Should add some interesting competition to the Oak Park turkey polish scene....

The canopy is up at Aegean Isles and the COMING SOON signs are down, and I saw some people leaving, but it's still pretty dim in there and I see no OPEN signs.

ok. i gotta bite. what is a turkey rib?

is this like an actual cut? or is it something along like a "chicken nugget" or a "McRib?"

The place that was Y2K Chinese Restaurant at 714 W. Diversey, and then changed its name to become a "pan-Asian" place (can't remember the name), is now going to be Barrio, An Urban Taqueria. (Saw the new owners hanging the "coming soon" banner as I walked past about fifteen minutes ago.)

Dave148 wrote:spinynorman99 wrote:
Dave148 wrote:
Jameson's Charhouse is taking over the former Boston Blackie's spot inside the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie. Scheduled opening sometime in December.


That space should not have real signage. Everything needs to be on chalkboard or dry-erase. Maybe even Etch-a-Sketch for menus. On the plus side, it's probably keeping the sign business afloat on the North Shore.

How about Post-it Notes? By a coincidence, the Boston Blackie's sign is coming down today.

Thanks for the heads up, for me it's 10 minutes closer than the Arl Hts location so I am very happy to hear the news. If anyone is going to break the streak of busts in that space, I would bet a good amount of dough that Jameson's will be the outfit to pull it off. Their formula is a proven success and I'm pretty sure each location (the original in Mt Prospect, Arlington Hts, Bloomingdale, Crystal Lake, and any others I may be forgetting) turns in consistently brisk numbers.

The ownership down the road at EJ's can't be happy with this news.

One of those contexts is, sadly, most of Manhattan. I can say without hesitation, that in Midtown at least, there is no better Mexican food.

it's not in midtown, but have you ever tried gabriela's (688 columbus, between 93rd and 94th, i think). i've always been fond of that place. justjoan