Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised wunderkind behind Aquavit and Riingo, is readying another restaurant. But this one won't be in New York, it'll be in Chicago.
The chef and his Townhouse Restaurant Group partner Håkan Swahn are set to open the as-yet-unnamed eatery (a call to Townhouse couldn't "confirm or deny" that the new name will be C-House) in the upcoming Affinia Chicago Hotel in early 2008. The 110-seater will not only serve breakfast, lunch and dinner but will handle food operations for the entire hotel. The food concept is still being settled on.
And that isn't all that Townhouse is up to: Two restaurants are planned for Stockholm, and Merkato 55, Samuelsson's Ethiopian entry, is expected to open in New York's Meatpacking District later this fall.
Whew. That not enough Samuelsson for you? The chef keeps a blog too.