Tour Sal’s Trattoria, Another Attempt to Impress Southport with Italian Food
Ashok Selvam | Eater Chicago | June 14th, 2017 The chef behind Butcher & The Burger in Lincoln Park hopes his new Italian restaurant will solve an enigmatic corner in Lakeview that’s struggled to keep tenants. Sal’s Trattoria, 2834 N. Southport Ave., opens tonight...
Tapster Makes Drinking More Communal (and Creative)
Peter Ranvestel and Bettina Chang | Chicago Magazine | June 19th, 2017 Don’t assume that Tapster (2027 W. North Ave., Wicker Park), the self-service drinking hole without bartenders, removes the human element from a business. If our recent visit is any indication,...
POLL: What Will Have The Largest Economic Impact On Lunchtime Restaurant Business
The Modern Food Court: Food Halls Set To Grow Sharply In Chicago
Samantha Bomkamp | Chicago Tribune | June 16th, 2017 Chicago has always been a food town. Now, it's becoming a food hall town. Food halls — the modern, upscale, urban reincarnation of the humble mall food court — have opened in the Loop and nearby neighborhoods in...
12 Chefs and Restaurateurs on the Biggest Sources of Conflict in the Industry
Daniela Galarza | Eater “Conflict and Change” was the topic of yesterday’s fourth-annual Welcome Conference, a hospitality summit created by restaurateur Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park and Anthony Rudolf, founder of the educational community Journee. Its goal is...
From Magazines to Menus, Time Out Plans to Open Gourmet Food Hall in Fulton Market
Ryan Ori | Chicago Tribune The media group that publishes Time Out entertainment magazines and websites plans to open a gourmet food hall in Chicago's Fulton Market district, after the concept drew more than 3 million visitors in Portugal last year. Time Out Market is...
How Next in Chicago Transforms Your Favorite Movies Into Edible Art
Hillary Dixler | Eater Next, the Chicago restaurant that reinvents itself around a new theme multiple times a year, is currently dedicated to Hollywood. That means guests arrive on a “step and repeat,” as at a red carpet premiere. It also means that each course in the...
Cubs Add Pop-Up Menus From City’s Top Chefs, Starting With Stephanie Izard
Ariel Cheung | DNAinfo | May 24, 2017 WRIGLEY FIELD — Some of Chicago's top chefs will dream up new takes on their favorite ballpark eats for a pop-up series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are first teaming up with Stephanie Izard, the newly crowned Iron Chef who won the...
Mom-and-Pop Joints Are Trouncing America’s Big Restaurant Chains
Leslie Patton | Bloomberg | May 16, 2017 There’s a limit to unlimited breadsticks after all. Americans are rejecting the consistency of national restaurant chains after decades of dominance in favor of the authenticity of locally owned eateries, with their daily...
What Happens To Lettuce Entertain You Without Rich Melman?
By Peter Frost | Crain's | May 6, 2017 Rich Melman founded what would become the country's biggest independent restaurant group, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, in 1971. When it's time, he plans to hand it over to his children, R.J., Jerrod and Molly. That time is...
How Do You Replace A Beloved 54-Year-Old Restaurant?
Natalie Escobar | Chicago Magazine | May 1st, 2017 Danny Gutierrez Jr. can recall every moment of December 2, 2015. He had been sleeping on the sofa in the second-floor apartment above his family’s Pilsen restaurant Nuevo León, shortly after closing it for the night....
Attention Hipsters: Don’t Miss These Chicago Bars
Claire Volkman | April 24, 2017 | PASTE It may not hold a flame to Brooklyn or Portland in terms of sheer volume, but Chicago certainly has its share of flannel wearing, beard-donning, ironic mustache grooming hipsters. However, unlike a few years ago, that term no...