dddane wrote:in more promising news, a new banh mi shop is opening in the space just north of Equinox at Broadway/Roscoe. according to metromix in addition to banh mi options will be "chicken soup" (is that supposed to be a dumbed down explanation of pho, metromix?), spring rolls, vn coffee. expected to be open around May

Bun Mi Express
3409 N Broadway
http://bunmiexpress.com

I'm not going to get my hopes up too high, but this is only a block from my house. I work from home and pretty much the only place I go for lunch during the workweek is Ba Le. If I could get great bahn mi without getting in the car, I would be in heaven.

JoelF wrote:

mkess wrote:Hackneys in Wheeling is closing at the end of April; verified via phone.[/url]

Here's my guess: Underperforming unit + good-sized shrinkage + nice-sized piece of property = that's what they close.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that that property, perhaps with Le Francais next door, becomes a strip mall.

I doubt there will be any rush to put a new restaurant there: the bloom seems to be off the Wheeling Restaurant Row rose with closures at Claim Jumper and Don Roth's.

If the Hackney's in Lake Zurich doesn't clean up their act, they need to shut as well.

Ram4 wrote:

John Danza wrote:I saw tonight that Sage Grill in Highwood has closed. I don't know when it happened, but it was there two months ago when I was last in Highwood.

That corner is cursed for restaurants. Kind of a shame since it's a pretty good location.

Talk about cursed corners: how about Route 12 and Route 22 in Lake Zurich- The American Table, then Omega. Same building, restaurant has been shut for 6-7 years now, no sign of life there.

GT Fish & Oyster, a new seafood restaurant from the BOKA group, has opened in the former Tizi Melloul space.

I stopped in last night to check out the menu and the interior. Apparently it opened over a week ago and has been busy according to the Yelp reviews.

The menu is similar to Fish Bar in Lakeview, but a bit more expensive and diverse.

531 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 929-3501
http://gtfishandoyster.wordpress.com/

Playbook Chicago, a new sports bar/eatery opening up a lot closer to home than I'd like at 6913 Milwaukee Ave., is now hiring. In the section that details how to apply and when, it requests that applicants bring a photo. Is there another reason to bring a photo to open applications other than the one I'm thinking?

Pie Lady wrote:[url=http://www.playbookchicago.com/]...it requests that applicants bring a photo. Is there another reason to bring a photo to open applications other than the one I'm thinking?

OK, I'll bite. What reason were you thinking?

Twisted Q Barbeque and Bakery coming to Homewood

A new business coming to downtown Homewood promises to satisfy those sweet and savory food cravings.
Twisted Q Barbeque and Bakery is expected to open in May or June at the site of the former Nielsen’s Bakery, 2053 Ridge Road.

The owners of Nielsen’s Bakery, the Ehlebracht family, decided to lease the space to Doug Brown, owner of Twisted Q in Steger, and Tim Donohoe, the former chef at Glenwood Oaks Restaurant. Donohoe’s wife was the pastry chef at Glenwood Oaks Restaurant and will be managing the bakery portion of the new restaurant.

EJ's Kosher Pizzeria has been open for a couple months. They're on Gross Point Road near Church Street in Skokie. This makes the 5th Kosher dairy restaurant in Skokie. (Main St., Malibu, Bagel Country and Slice of Life round out the rest.)

http://ejspizzeriaskokie.com/
9149 Gross Point Road
Skokie, IL 60077
224-534-7215
(Note: They'll probably be closed during Passover - believe me you won't want matzah pizza.)

Aladdin's Eatery on Diversey just east of the Clark/Broadway intersection closed on April 13 after 8 years in business, as the sign posted on the door proclaimed. Chain though it may be, I loved this little place and its rolled & stuffed pitas.

Simple Sandwich food truck has hung up his keys.

The Simple truck will not be coming back out this Spring. Thank you to all of our customers, fans and followers who made our first Summer such a success and SOOOO much fun! Please stay tuned as Simple is working on something new & delicious. Check out http://tinyurl.com/4h7snuv for a little more info…..

sandman wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:[url=http://www.playbookchicago.com/]...it requests that applicants bring a photo. Is there another reason to bring a photo to open applications other than the one I'm thinking?

OK, I'll bite. What reason were you thinking?

That they plan on hiring people based on their attractiveness or whether they have a lot to offer in the T&A department.

It's so funny Pie Lady, but as we drove by there this very morning (and without any knowledge of the "photo" requirement for applications,) we actually were commenting that this looks like it's going to be that type of place....just a vibe the look of the structure gives (and the name).....

I was hoping against that, but the video they posted on the site told me otherwise. I'm really not looking forward to this place opening in my 'hood.

amyliz wrote:Aladdin's Eatery on Diversey just east of the Clark/Broadway intersection closed on April 13 after 8 years in business, as the sign posted on the door proclaimed. Chain though it may be, I loved this little place and its rolled & stuffed pitas.

I'm with you on this--the chicken sambusek and combo dip plate were pretty darn good--and they delivered. I wonder if the one in Evanston is still open?

boudreaulicious wrote:

amyliz wrote:Aladdin's Eatery on Diversey just east of the Clark/Broadway intersection closed on April 13 after 8 years in business, as the sign posted on the door proclaimed. Chain though it may be, I loved this little place and its rolled & stuffed pitas.

I'm with you on this--the chicken sambusek and combo dip plate were pretty darn good--and they delivered. I wonder if the one in Evanston is still open?

Long gone! Replaced at one point by Al's Beef--now also gone. This may have the makings of a "cursed" location....

Calypso Cafe, the final Hyde Park repository for the good Dixie Kitchen grub, will close permanently in June 5; there are no plans to relocate, and the other Dixie Kitchen locations will remain open.

It appears that Smashburger in Bolingbrook is now open... It's listed as an open location on their website too


Smashburger
Bolingbrook
N Weber Rd. & W. Boughton Rd.
137 N. Weber Rd.
Bolingbrook, Illinois 60490
630-759-2781
10AM-10PM

Caponie's Express in Edison Park will soon be Armando's Pizza.
6694 North Northwest Highway
Chicago, IL 60631-1306

abe_froeman wrote:The former Arby's at Dundee Rd. and Rt. 83 in Wheeling (?) is now a Mexican restaurant. I don't know anything else about it.

It's called Cinco de Mayo. I don't know much else about it either, except that so far it has never looked very crowded. Although I expect it will be for at least one day in a couple of weeks.

UB Dogs has opened on Franklon near Lake. Reviews to come later today....

A new Asian buffet has opened in Wheeling in the shopping center with the Carniceria Jimenez. It is located in the former space of a run-of -the-mill Chinese buffet next to Mark Drugs. Have not been there yet, but it looks encouraging. The brochure on the door shows shushi, sashimi, lots of seafood options as well as hibachi grilled meat. $15.95 all day on weekends, less during the week for dinner and lunch.

Hibachi Grill
548 W Dundee Rd
(between Mchenry Rd & Wheeling Rd)
Wheeling, IL 60090

(847) 229-1330

Forest Park is getting a Vietnamese restaurant on Madison Street next to the Starbucks called Saigon.

Went to Smashburger in Bolingbrook Tues 4/19 - very satisfied. Great burger, fantastic prices, friendly staff. They have beer (including Goose Island) and that funky new Coke machine where you can mix up all the flavors.

Gracie's lucky burrito III
5430 West 127th Street
Alsip, IL 60803
708 389-0722 ‎
Right across the street for the Southwest Ice Area in Crestwood.

Very good tacos, had the pork,BBQ,chicken,steak and flank steak so far...all were top shelf GOOD!

Two tacos with tax is $3.50...great deal for some nice tacos, free chips and salsa with eat in orders.

CBOT recommends!!
Link to menu pic >> https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yiLXPeKgBX4/TVBnbVLAx7I/AAAAAAAAAAU/mt2Mk7EgXWY/menu%2Brestaurant.jpg

Elia, the Greek place that replaced the Italian place at the corner of Milwaukee and Dempster in Niles (whose name I'm blanking on right now), is now called Kalyva.

I assumed Elia closed and this place replaced it, but according to the reviews on Yelp, they just changed the name and maybe revamped the menu. Don't know what the whole story is, though.

Kalyva
8808 N Milwaukee Ave
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 795-9111

Caponies Express in Edison Park, Chicago was sold to Armand's Pizza. The original Armand's on Grand Ave. in Elmwood Park closed, and has been franchised out to family friends. They have a new location on North Ave. in Elmwood Park, a second location in Chicago on Western Ave., a Naperville location, and now this new location in Edison Park. I've only ate at the new location in Elmwood Park on North Ave.

I've always loved Armand's pizza. Their sausage is homemade, and is some of the best thin crust pizza sausage I've ever had. The new location in Elmwood Park is every bit as good as the old location, at least when it comes to thin crust pizza with homemade sausage. If the pizza recipe changed even a tiny bit, no one from the "old neighborhood" would ever go there again, only because Armand's was an institution on Grand Ave. So, many of us expect the same out of their new locations. However, this particular location in Edison Park may have problems. It seems every restaurant in that particular location fails. Hopefully, Armand's will finally break the trend and succeed.

Pasta Shoppe & Cafe
116 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park
(708) 763-0600

Closed

The latest to sign a lease at the reimagined Randhurst is Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza. It'll be across from the new (smaller and fewer, but better apportioned theaters - now with controversial bar!) AMC movie barn.

Source: Mount Prospect Journal

According to the Tony Sacco's website, they have other locations in Florida, Michigan and Indiana. Not exactly a convincing pizza pedigree.

Are we burning real coal in the oven?
Yes we are! We only burn pure anthracite coal from Pennsylvania. It creates twice the energy per pound as wood, and burns cleaner.

Original Five BBQ
1030 W. Taylor Street (Little Italy)
(312) 929-2084
http://www.theoriginalfivebbq.com/

Opened at the beginning of April. Initial tasting was pretty unimpressive, with an ill-conceived "five sauces to choose from!" gimmick. Tips were fatty and low on meat, without much smoke. Links were boring, bland kielbasa. Steep prices and small portions, as well.

I hope I caught them at a bad time.

Emil's by the Lyric Opera House has closed. Not sure what's going in there or future plans, but I wouldn't be surprised if the construction helped kill off their business.

101 N. Wacker
Chicago, IL