New Restaurants
New Nightspots
Coming Soon
Chalkboard
New American eats from chef Gil Langlois (formerly of Tank Sushi and Rushmore) are coming to the onetime Tournesol space in Lincoln Square (4343 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-477-7144) later this month.
Convito Café & Market
Convito Italiano, Wilmette's popular Italian take-out market, is moving across the Plaza del Lago shopping center into the former Bêtise space (1515 Sheridan Rd.), where it will reopen early next year with a new name and the addition of a full-service cafe.
Tavern at the Park
Millennium Park (130 E. Randolph St.) will be home to this moderately priced, family-oriented New American entry from the Keefer's crew (with John Hogan as executive chef), opening early next year. Rooftop dining will show off the spectacular setting.
Good Deals and Other News
Cupcake Crazy
More all-cupcakes concepts are coming to town, with Lincoln Park's new Swirlz Cupcakes (705 W. Belden St.; 773-404-2253) baking off against the existing Cupcakes (613 W. Briar Pl.; 773-525-0817), and a Gold Coast outpost of Beverly Hills import Sprinkles Cupcakes in the works.
Gourmet Junk Food
Perhaps you can't get a foie gras burger anymore, but you can console yourself with Rockit Bar & Grill's $18 Kobe beef foot-long hot dog; Tavern's $10 potato chips (ok, they're sprinkled with three flavors of tobiko – wasabi, ginger and chile – plus onions and crème fraîche); or Barcello's $100 caviar-topped pizza.
A seasonal, all-apple cocktail menu has been introduced at this Loop American, offering $9 tipples such as hazelnut apple pie (house-infused apple vodka and Frangelico with a rock candy swizzle stick); spiced apple cider with Sailor Jerry rum and cinnamon schnapps; and a caramel apple martini (vanilla-infused vodka with butterscotch liquor and apple cider in a caramel-drizzled glass).
Through November 30th, this Lincoln Park New American is celebrating fall with a special three-course "bacon and beer" dinner menu featuring a frisée salad with boar bacon paired with Stella Artois; seared diver scallops with porchetta (a Tuscan rendition of suckling pig tenderloin) served with Allagash White, from Portland, Maine; and an empanada of kurobuta pork (heavily marbled, it's the most highly prized pork in Japan) with guajillo mole and fire-roasted corn pico de gallo matched with Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale from Eureka, California ($28 for three courses; beer pairings are an additional $17; 773-248-3331).
This Northwest Side Vietnamese staple has opened a Lincoln Park locale (2723 N. Clark St.; 773-868-4888) with an abbreviated version of the original menu.
This pricey Gold Coast Italian has introduced a wild game menu that's available through the end of the year, with à la carte dishes including ricotta cavatelli with venison sauce ($35); a half-rabbit braised in white wine with root vegetables and wild mushroom polenta ($48); and seared venison tenderloin with roasted figs, blood-orange demi-glace and rosemary potatoes ($48).
A more casual offshoot of this formal seafooder has opened in Deerfield in the former Masck space (483 Lake Cook Rd.; 847-412-4800).
Both locations are holding a "Mom's Best Soup Recipe Contest," with entries accepted from November 1st–25th. The winning recipe will be served at the restaurants throughout December, and the winner will receive both dinner for four and a day in the kitchen with chef Colin Turner. Entry forms are available at the restaurants (Oakbrook Terrace, 630-279-0808; Tinley Park, 708-532-0200).
Is now serving breakfast to Loop denizens, with selections like eggs Benedict "surf 'n' turf" (poached eggs, smoked pork loin, petite crab cakes and pesto hollandaise on brioche served with pommes frites; $11), a tostada of crispy corn tortillas, white beans, carne asada, roasted tomatoes, avocado salsa, eggs, cheddar and chipotle béarnaise ($11) and eye-openers such as Irish coffee with Irish whiskey and whipped cream laced with crème de menthe ($6).
Having closed for dinner, this Uptown Eclectic now puts its head under its wing after breakfast and lunch (3 PM Wednesday–Monday; closed Tuesday).
This Streeterville New American noshery has ditched its small-plates concept with the arrival of chef Stephen Chiappetti (who recently departed Oak Park's Café le Coq), though lighter fare will continue to be offered in the bar.
- Bêtise
- A Bistro on the Lake