Oct 26, 2019
Eater Chicago | Naomi Waxman | October 23, 2019
Chicago Board Game Cafe will offer games, a bar and restaurant, and two escape rooms in Logan Square/Bucktown
The team behind Cards Against Humanity, the popular and gleefully offensive card game, is opening a full-service board game restaurant, bar, shop, and library near the border of Logan Square and Bucktown. Chicago Board Game Cafe should open in January in the same building as Margie’s Candies, the 98-year-old ice cream and candy shop at 1965 N. Milwaukee Avenue.
Margie’s won’t be affected by the new venue, according to a news release. The building will also soon be home to Marz Community Brewing’s second tap room and Wormhole 2, a ‘90s-style sequel to essential Wicker Park coffee shop the Wormhole.
Also on Thursday, Uber Eats announced the specifics behind its plan to run a virtual restaurant with Rachael Ray—called Rachael Ray to Go—which will operate in 13 North American cities from mid-October until December 13 to cross-promote her new book.
Reservations are already live on Tock with January 10 as the first available date. The release teased a menu designed to evoke Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mexican sidewalk cafes. Executive chef Aaron McKay (Schwa, NoMi, Le Lan) will team with chef de cuisine Evan Behmer (Mercat a la Planxa, North Pond). McKay described a few dishes to the Tribune including a crispy boneless chicken (rice vermicelli noodles, nuoc cham, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs) and lamb and beef kebab Halabi (Aleppo pepper tomato sauce). Patrons can also expect cocktails, beer, and wine at a full-service bar, or purchase a private table for $30 per person, which will then be applied to food and beverage purchases.
Cards Against Humanity’s Max Temkin released the game in 2011 with seven other Chicago-area high school friends. He’s expressed a passion for food and drink on social media and even weighed in on Twitter when Alinea’s Nick Kokonas tweeted an invitation to the Clemson Tigers in response to the fast-food dinner they received at the White House. He also hosted the launch party for comic book-style cooking guide Let’s Make Ramen! at Cards Against Humanity HQ near the proposed Lincoln Yards development. Kokonas is, of course, behind the Tock reservation portal which Temkin will use.
In the years since, Temkin has created new games, including Humans vs. Zombies and the intentionally eyebrow-raising Secret Hitler. According to his website, he also advises and designs for nonprofit organizations such as Emily’s List, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Obama for America.
The city is also home to other game cafes, though few have the size, full-service restaurant component, financial support, and scalability of Cards Against Humanity’s forthcoming spot. These include Relo’s Board Game & Dessert Cafe in Little Italy, Lakeview’s Bonus Round Game Cafe, and suburban Evanston Games & Cafe.
Unlike Cards Against Humanity’s claim in its news release, Chicago does have full-service gaming cafes. Bonus Round in Lakeview has a full waitstaff and silverware. Geek Bar, which opened in Wicker Park in 2014, was arguably Chicago’s first full-service gaming restaurant. Geek Bar closed in 2016 with the announcement of mega-popular pop-up diner Saved by the Max.
In addition to the hundreds of board games, Temkin said the space will also house two escape rooms crafted by House Theatre of Chicago. Artistic director Nathan Allen hopes that his experience telling stories through design will immerse customers in venue’s two escape room games the Last Defender, and its follow-up, Nova to Lodestar. The House debuted the former in Chicago in 2016 before taking it to Denver for 15 sold-out weeks of shows, while the latter is a brand new title created for Chicago Board Game Cafe. Each escape room will hold up to 16 people.
Despite January 10 being the first available reservation date, the news release didn’t specify an opening date, only stating that Chicago Board Game Cafe is slated to open in early 2020. Stay tuned for more news on the restaurant and venue.
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Oct 19, 2019
Food & Wine | Mike Pomranz | October 14, 2019
DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats all made ‘virtual restaurant’ announcements this month.
Online restaurant delivery services are flourishing, in large part, because they fill a void: an easy, one-stop way to order food from a variety of your favorite restaurants and have it brought directly to your door. But as the industry has matured, more and more, those services aren’t just delivering food, but also getting involved with the food they deliver. In the past week, the three largest brands—DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats—have all further expanded their business into ventures beyond simple delivery.
Last Thursday, Grubhub led the charge by announcing a collaboration with the chain Just Salad to launch a virtual restaurant—available for delivery only exclusively through Grubhub and Just Salad’s website—called Heath Tribes. Billed as a “digital-only concept [featuring] a variety of diet-specific recipes” for those following keto, vegan, gluten-free, and paleo diets, Health Tribes is definitely the culinary work of Just Salad, but that doesn’t mean Grubhub isn’t playing an important role. “By leveraging our data and insights across the platform, we were able to work with Just Salad to help strategically inform new concepts and menus,” Raleigh McClayton, VP & GM of business development/enterprise at Grubhub, said in the announcement, “and we see this as the first phase of innovation around their virtual restaurant concepts.”
Also on Thursday, Uber Eats announced the specifics behind its plan to run a virtual restaurant with Rachael Ray—called Rachael Ray to Go—which will operate in 13 North American cities from mid-October until December 13 to cross-promote her new book.
Then, today, DoorDash announced its own deeper entanglement with four of its restaurant partners. After taking lessons from a 2017 pilot program, America’s largest delivery service has opened DoorDash Kitchens, a DoorDash-run shared kitchen space in Redwood City, California, that “provides the infrastructure, maintenance, marketing, and last-mile logistics, offering an end-to-end solution that enables restaurateurs to focus on creating delicious meals.”
Fuad Hannon, head of new business verticals, said this was likely only the beginning of these kinds of broader ventures. “We’re constantly thinking about ways to innovate on behalf of our merchant partners to deliver a great consumer, merchant, and Dasher experience,” he told me. “With DoorDash Kitchens, we’re excited about the potential of a more cost-efficient way to help our merchants thrive while collaborating with them to grow their businesses in new, bespoke ways.”
Janelle Sallenave, head of Uber Eats U.S. & Canada, stuck a similar tone on future plans speaking with Bloomberg last week. “Combining Rachael’s passion for food with the infrastructure we have is the beginning of a pattern we’re excited to develop. With all kinds of restaurateurs,” she said. “We’re not waiting; we’re having conversations with different chefs and authors and restaurateurs.”
For the record, these recent examples aren’t the first time online delivery services have gotten involved in the world of “virtual restaurants” (also known as “ghost” or “cloud” kitchens) beyond simply bringing meals from point “A” to point “B.”
“Virtual restaurants are an exciting space and one we’ve been active in for years,” Grubhub’s McClayton told me via email. “For our restaurants, whether big or small, creating a virtual restaurant can give them the opportunity to drive more revenue from their existing space and experiment with new concepts. For instance, a restaurant that’s only open for dinner could create a delivery-only lunch concept, leveraging their existing space and food supplies. On our side, we have the ability to help launch and market a new brand concept to our more than 20 million diners—a challenge for restaurants to do on their own. In the end it’s a win-win as the restaurant sees more orders, and our diners have additional restaurant options to choose from.”
But the timing of all these announcements isn’t a coincidence: The restaurant delivery industry is reaching a turning point. What was once a patchwork of companies now appears to have coalesced around three names (with Postmates—the fourth largest service—targeting a slightly different market that includes things like groceries and even e-cigarettes). That simultaneously solidifies these brands’ ability to drive business, but also forces them to find new ways to one up their competition. And with increased presence comes increased scrutiny as places like New York City have put pressure on delivery services to cut down on what many see as excessive fees for restaurants, meaning these companies will surely want to look for new revenue streams and ways to increase margins.
To put it another way, we’re facing a perfect storm for delivery services to get their fingers into the food they’re delivering. (Not literally, of course!) Think of it this way: Amazon was selling you books long before they were selling you Amazon-branded products—but which are you more likely to buy now? Certainly, delivery services will still find a way to bring you the food you want, but if they can get a little vertical integration going along the way, well, for them that’s just good business.
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Oct 12, 2019
Time Out Chicago | Amy Cavanaugh | October 3, 2019
The best pies in Chicago range from fruity creations to seriously rich chocolate versions. Here’s where to get a slice.
Whether you like it lean and packed with apples and cinnamon or towering with swoops of toasted meringue, the best pies in Chicago are worth tracking down. You’ll find some of our favorite slices in obvious places—like the finest bakeries in Chicago—as well as some unexpected spots, including one of the best seafood restaurants Chicago has to offer. The bakers on this list fill their crusts with creamy key lime custard, spiced pumpkin purée, rich chocolate ganache and tart seasonal cherries. Celebrating Thanksgiving in Chicago? Be the hero of the holiday when you pick up one of the best pies in Chicago.
Best pies in Chicago
Spinning J Bakery & Soda Fountain – Humboldt Park
Hoosier Mama Pie Company – East Village
Bang Bang Pie Shop – Logan Square
Justice of the Pies
Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab – River North
First Slice Pie Café – Andersonville
Shaw’s Crab House – River North
Vanille Patisserie – Lincoln Park
Brown Sugar Bakery – Greater Grand Crossing
Blue Sky Bakery & Café – North Center
Bub City – River North
Sweet Mandy B’s – Lincoln Park
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Oct 5, 2019
Crain’s Tribune | Grace Wong | October 4, 2019
Whether it’s rolling up your sleeves and digging into crispy soft shell crab at Sunda’s Kamayan Feast or dining at one of the many Filipino restaurants in the Chicago area for the very first Filipino Restaurant Week, you can celebrate Filipino American History Month with delicious bites beyond the lumpia and pancit you already love.
Filipino Restaurant Week (Oct. 6 to Oct. 21) is a collaboration between The International Society of Filipinos in Finance and Accounting and the Philippine
Consulate General of Chicago. The event features special prix fixe menus from Filipino restaurants in the city and ’burbs, and diners will receive a stamp for each order off the special menu, which will enter them into a raffle to win prizes. SX Sky Bar will host the launch party and MORA Asian Kitchen in Bolingbrook will host a block party and raffle drawing.
Ravenswood’s Bayan Ko is also hosting a Kamayan dinner on Oct. 28 with two seatings, one at 6 p.m. and one at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person and guests should email raquel@bayankochicago.com for reservations.
Even if you miss Filipino Restaurant Week, there are other ways to celebrate through food. Free Rein’s chef Kristine Subido will serve up The Filipino Breakfast, with tocino (Filipino bacon), garlic fried rice, sunny side up eggs, and a vine-ripened tomato salad, every weekend in October for 20% off. Subido was born in Manila and ran Pecking Order, a Filipino-inspired restaurant in Uptown that she owned with her mother before it closed a few years ago.
Sunda will host a number of special events, including two dates for its Kamayan Feast and a charity benefit for owner Billy Dec’s documentary project “Food. Roots.” for PBS. The restaurant will also offer new menu items inspired by different Filipino regions.
The special menu includes empanadas made with longanisa (sausage), papaya, egg and garlic vinaigrette from Vigan; kare-kare, a Filipino stew with braised oxtail, bok choy, green beans, eggplant, peanut gravy, bagoong, crispy tripe and chiles from the Island of Luzon; ginataang mussels with coconut milk, lemongrass, turmeric, watercress, bagoong and chiles from the Bicol region; and lechon kawali, crispy pork belly and garlic vinaigrette from the Bulacan region.
Sunda’s charity event will include exclusive viewings of clips from the documentary that shows Dec learning family recipes, plus a tasting of the dishes inspired by these experiences. The benefit costs $100 and all funds raised will go toward production work, additional filming, marketing and community outreach. For tickets, email Stacey Efstathiou at stace@rocktiranch.com.
And finally, the Kamayan Feast will be held Oct. 19 and Oct. 29, featuring the traditional family style meal that is eaten with your hands. The 30-foot spread will include Cebu-style lechon, crispy soft shell crab, Pinoy-style barbecue chicken, whole fish, longanisa, dragon fruit, Manila mangos dusted with ichimi, steamed Chinese broccoli, roasted rainbow cauliflower with miso and more served on banana leaves. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased at sundanewasian.com.
“Food and culture across the Philippines is incredibly varied — there are 7641 islands that make up the country,” wrote Louie Yu, Philippines-born chef at Sunda, in an email. “Dishes and culture evolve from region to region, with influences from Spain, China & so many other amazing areas around the world, making Filipino food a constantly changing, dynamic and intriguing genre to explore.”
Filipino Restaurant Week participating restaurants:
Bacolod Chicken Haus, 6320 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Brew Lounge, 1062 Lee St., Des Plaines
Chicken Ati-Atihan, 9054 W. Golf Road, Niles
Finley Dunne’s Tavern, 3458 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Grand Cafe, 2205 E. Oakland Ave., Bloomington
Isla Pilipina, 2501 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago
Jennivee’s Bakery, 3301 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago
Kusina De Manila, 632 W. Algonquin Road, Des Plaines
Lola Tining’s Cuisine, 1141 Garfield St., Oak Park
Meat on the Street, 125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee
Mesa Manila, 2764 Aurora Ave., Naperville
Mora Asian Fusion, 24108 Lockport St., Plainfield
Mora Asian Kitchen, 201 Harrison St., Oak Park, and 627 E. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook
Pampanga’s Cuisine, 6407 N. Caldwell Ave., Chicago
Pinoy Grill Filipino Street Foods, 2324 E. Rand Road, Arlington Heights
Sky Bar at Hotel SX, 808 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Sunda, 110 W. Illinois St., Chicago
Uni-Mart One Stop Shopping, 2475 W. 75th St., Woodridge
Yelo Geneva, 17 N. 4th St, Geneva
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Sep 28, 2019
Crain’s Chicago Business | Dalton Barker | September 26, 2019
25 spots earned stars this year, up from 22 last year. Alinea retains its three-star rating, remaining the only spot in Chicago to earn that top honor.
Twenty-five Chicago restaurants earned a prestigious Michelin star in the 10th edition of the local guide.
That’s an increase from last year’s total of 22, with five new restaurants earning one-star status. The one-star list includes Kikko (chef Noah Sandoval’s new place), Mako, Next, Omakase Yume and Yugen, all in the West Loop, reinforcing the neighborhood’s reputation as a top culinary destination and reinforcing Japanese omakase as a dining trend.
Alinea retained its top Michelin rating of three stars, with Alinea chef Grant Achatz and partner Nick Kokonas adding Next to their list of Michelin-awarded restaurants. Next is known for its revolving menu with multiple themes throughout the year. It’s been a puzzling omission from the Michelins for many years.
“Our inspectors are especially impressed by the high-end Japanese cuisine available in the West Loop,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide.
Crain’s restaurant reviewer Graham Meyer noted the absence on the list of omakase restaurant Kyoten in Logan Square. “The chef at Kyoten has said baldly in interviews that he moved from Austin to Chicago because Chicago has a Michelin guide and he wants at least one star and probably two,” Meyer said. “He got zero. Restaurant critics Phil Vettel (of the Chicago Tribune) and Jeff Ruby (of Chicago magazine) have said they think Kyoten is the best of the omakase places. Why no star? I have no theories.”
Created more than a century ago by French tire manufacturers, the red Michelin guides select the best restaurants in 30 countries and four U.S. cities. Besides Chicago, Michelin reviews spots in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
In Chicago, Acadia, Smyth and Oriole (where Noah Sandoval is executive chef) all retained their two-star status. Dusek’s and Alinea Group’s Roister both lost their one-star ratings.
The chief North American Michelin inspector said a demotion occurs when a starred restaurant has negative marks from two individual inspectors.
Compared to other cities, Chicago typically outpaces Washington in overall restaurant quality but lags San Francisco and New York. Last year, 76 New York restaurants were deemed Michelin-worthy. The 2020 New York selections will be announced next month. The Michelin guide is online here.
“There is an energy and creativity that is very particular to Chicago,” said the chief inspector, who requested to remain anonymous.
Here is the complete list of Chicago restaurants recognized by Michelin (first-time Michelin winners denoted by an asterisk).
THREE STARS
Alinea – Lincoln Park
TWO STARS
Acadia – South Loop
Oriole – West Loop
Smyth – West Loop
ONE STAR
Band of Bohemia – Ravenswood
Blackbird – West Loop
Boka – Lincoln Park
El Ideas – Pilsen
Elizabeth – Lincoln Square
Elske – West Loop
Entente – Lakeview
Everest – Loop
Goosefoot – Lincoln Square
*Kikko – West Loop
*Mako – West Loop
*Next – West Loop
North Pond – Lincoln Park
*Omakase Yume – West Loop
Parachute – Avondale
Schwa – Wicker Park
Sepia – West Loop
Spiaggia – Gold Coast
Temporis – Noble Square
Topolobampo – River North
*Yugen – West Loop
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Sep 21, 2019
Eater Chicago | Ashok Selvam | September 19, 2019
54 restaurants made the list, including 14 newcomers
There’s huge turnover on the 2020 Michelin Bib Gourmand list in Chicago as the tire company removed 18 restaurants. The new list consists of 54 members with 14 newcomers. The newcomers include Eater National Best New Restaurant member Virtue. Cabra — Boka and Stephanie Izard’s Peruvian rooftop restaurant in the West Loop — also made the list, along with Cira, Boka’s restaurant on the first floor of the Hoxton hotel.
Inspectors appear intent on injecting new excitement into the 2020 ranking. Logan Square newcomer Flat & Point and County BBQ on Taylor Street join Smoque BBQ as the only barbecues on the list. County had been closed for an extended period due to fire.
Au Cheval, producers of possibly Chicago’s most famous burger, has been removed. Other notable removals include Andersonville’s craft brewpub Hopleaf and Dove’s Luncheonette in Wicker Park. Cumin and Sabri Nihari’s removals mean there is only one South Asian restaurant on the list (Mango Pickle). Four restaurants — Bohemian House, Jade Court, Mana Food Bar, and Quiote — fell off due to closures.
Last year, the tire company included a record 58 Chicago restaurants with nine newcomers.
The Bib Gourmands are known as the short list in the industry, recognizing value-driven restaurants. The more prestigious Michelin stars will be released for Chicago on September 26.
Check out the full listing below.
(* denotes a new restaurant)
Arami
Avec
Avlí Taverna*
Birrieria Zaragoza
Cabra*
Ceres’ Table
Chilam Balam
Cira*
County Barbecue*
Daguan Noodle
Daisies
DeCOLORES
Dos Urban Cantina
The Duck Inn
Etta*
Fat Rice
Flat & Point*
Frontera Grill
Funkenhausen*
Ghin Khao*
Giant
Gilt Bar
Girl & The Goat
GT Fish & Oyster
HaiSous
Herb
Ina Mae Tavern*
Jam
Kai Zan
Kie-Gol-Lanee*
La Josie*
Lonesome Rose
Longman & Eagle
Lula Cafe
Mango Pickle
Marisol
mfk.
Mi Tocaya
Mott St
Nella Pizza e Pasta*
Pacific Standard Time
Passerotto
Pizzeria Bebu
Pleasant House Pub
Proxi
The Purple Pig
San Soo Gab San
Smoque BBQ
Sol de Mexico
Table, Donkey and Stick
True Food Kitchen
TWO
Untitled Supper Club
Virtue*
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