1. NORMAN’S TRIBUTE
Norman Van Aken, the most prominent chef in Florida (Norman’s Orlando, etc.), and a close friend of Charlie Trotter since they both worked for Gordon Sinclair (yes, I interviewed him for my one-of-these-days book), talks about attending one of the Next dinners at Charlie Trotter’s in his Substack:
Before we entered, I could see Dylan [Trotter], pacing. I could see in the intervening years since we last saw him, he’d come to resemble his father so much more. If he wore the thin wire-framed glasses Charlie did, it would be even more the case. He saw us and quickly opened the door to greet us. Many times, we have been in that foyer. The ceiling there reaches two stories. So many past times, voices and laughter filled the air. This time it was just the three of us. Then I saw that Dylan had laid out a very special grouping of photographs across the small, elegant bar Charlie had built with his father. Once again, I wanted to stop time. Take it all in, let the spirit seep into me.
2. A BITE OF TROTTER’S
In other Trotter news, Grimod at Understanding Hospitality also went for the Trotter/Next dinner:
Arriving first is a dish titled “Osetra Caviar”—said to have been inspired by a recipe from Charlie Trotter’s Seafood and, for good measure, served on one of the restaurant’s original plates. The arrangement of the titular sturgeon roe, a few lobes of sea urchin, and some wasabi-flavored tobiko (i.e., flying fish roe) within swirls of daikon, vodka crème fraîche, and parsley juice is visually stunning. It really conjures a sense of eating jewels from the sea.
However, while these luxury ingredients strike the palate cleanly (exhibiting a fleeting creaminess and subtle “pop”), any resulting flavor is totally overshadowed. Yes, the peppery, somewhat bitter notes of the daikon and parsley remain firmly in the driver’s seat, negating any pleasing sweetness, nuttiness, or oceanic character I might expect.
He also writes about going to the new Fire, formerly Roister.
3. THE LADIES AND MISTER TIGER
Michael Nagrant reviews two newish places—one I’ve heard of and been to, Peter Vestino’s Bisous:
Being the 1960s, you’d expect some Brigitte Bardot or Jean Moreau types around, and on that note, there are plenty. Though they’re not dressing for that period. At least the night I visited, the current fashion was Gaultier-era Madonna, the lingerie slip as fashion dress augmented by strategically places SKIMS.
The room is full of verve. The cocktails are outstanding.
The “Olivette”, a nuanced offering for dirty martini lovers features Olive Leaf and Stray Dog gins, and Cartron vermouth. The quaff fulfills its menu description as saline and savory.
And one I have not (been to or even heard of), a Korean spot called Mister Tiger:
In Chicago, we have K-BBQ joints, a lot of burgeoning fast food-type concepts and national chains. Then we have the modern local spins like Perilla or the amazing fusion of Won Kim at Kimski. There’s also the old school rustic ajumma or grandma concerns.
Mister Tiger has a lot in common with the latter, probably because it’s inspired by the cuisine of Park and Lee’s grandmother. The offering is classic, all from the kitchen, no DIY necessary, nor are there any truffle garnishes.
I love this, because sometimes you want the easy staple comforts. You don’t want to be knocking over forties of OB or Hite spilling Korean lager all over the one hundred dishes of banchan.
4. JE NE PEUX PAS CROIRE QUE CE N’EST PAS DU BEURRE
The headline of this Louisa Chu Tribune review, about Petite Vie in Western Springs, is odd: “Petite Vie by Chef Paul Virant brings buttery French market priced potatoes near Chicago.”
I’m pretty sure you can get potatoes with way too much butter any number of places close to, or in, Chicago; Robuchon Potatoes, which are butter with a hint of spuds, are a common side dish at the Francophile high end. But what’s the market price thing?
At Petite Vie their aligot is about a third Gruyère cheese, suspended in soft clouds of russet potato, which needed a touch more salt, always a challenge when seasoning potatoes.
But why are they market priced?
Because what some might consider the lowliest root vegetable has historically been taken to culinary heights. Rather than simply reprinting the menu every time, Virant took each dish as an educational moment.
“We did the tartiflette,” he added about the iconic baked potato casserole, which they made with Alsatian wine, bacon and creme fraiche. “That was a higher-cost item than the aligot, so I knew the prices would change.”
Okay, Virant, who won Chef of the Year at the 2023 Banchet Awards, has long been a farm to table guy, so I guess it’s not surprising that he wants to make the lowly spud, the junior partner in steak frites, a star on the plate.
5. ABDUL KABULBUL AMIR
Steve Dolinsky visits one of the longest-lasting Afghan restaurants in the area, Kabul House:
Just because you see hummus, doesn’t mean it’s a Middle Eastern kitchen.
And a brightly colored salad of chopped tomatoes, onions and parsley could come from any number of countries. Rice? That’s Asian or Persian, right? The great thing about food from Afghanistan – which has been the mantra at Evanston’s Kabul House since 2001 – is that it borrows from several countries.
“I like to look at it as a fusion in that part of the world, because of the Silk Route. There’s a lot of influences from a lot of different countries. The main difference with us is how we marinate our food, and the different types of spices that we use,” said Akmal Qazi, owner of Kabul House.
6. ISTMOAXACA
Michael Nagrant went to Istmo, the new Oaxacan restaurant, and now so has Titus Ruscitti:
The inside of Istmo feels like a spot you might come across in a hip and happening Oaxaca City neighborhood. It’s modern and bright and a very nice place to meet up with friends and or family. Visit on the weekend and you’ll feel a very uplifting energy upon entering. Locals have very much shown up for the modern takes on Oaxacan breakfast classics like the Enfrijoladas ($19). This dish traces its origins back to pre-Columbian times in Oaxaca and is one of the most popular versions of enchiladas in all of Mexico. Silky black bean sauce is poured over handmade corn tortillas topped with queso and crema and served aside plantains and a fried egg. You can add grilled steak, chicken tinga or green chorizo made locally by Santa Masa Tamaleria though it’s a pretty perfect plate of breakfast as is.
By the way, last week Titus wrote about going to different Central Asian restaurants, including one in Mount Prospect called Donerka Alma-Ata, serving Kazakh doner. As it happens they have just opened one in the city, near Lincoln and Berwyn street. I popped in and tried the first thing on the menu, a mixed plate of chicken and lamb doner. The meat was a little dry but had pretty good flavor (not noticeably enhanced by Thousand Island dressing as a dip). There was also a rice pilaf, fries and a shredded carrot salad, typical of the region. It was all all right, not something to get overexcited about, but they did just open; I might check it out again soon to see what the best way to sample their Kazakh flavors is.
7. A LOCKAL PIZZA FOR LOCKAL PEOPLE
Dennis Lee’s Party Cut promised Balkan pizza. At last, I thought, someone has been to Rasmus Pizza, the mysterious Balkan pizza joint on north Elston. Nope; it’s one in Albany Park called Lockal Bar and Pizzeria (though by the sign, it should be Lokcal):
The cevapi pizza looks sparsely topped, which is a complaint some commenters were making on a Reddit thread about Lockal’s pies (for pizza they hadn’t even tried), but the cevapi is so flavorful and garlicky that any more would easily have gotten too distracting. Even though there’s some slices without sausage, there’s still onions underneath the cheese, which makes for a nice break between the sausage squares.
But what really sings is that sauce. It’s tart, tangy, and bright, with a little sweetness, and I appreciated how its acidity perked up each bite.
8. THE PIZZA FORMERLY KNOWN AS
The Infatuation checked out New York import Prince Street Pizza:
At the Prince Street location in Chicago, the lines are long, the inside is chaotic, and service is a crapshoot. Sometimes the slices are revitalized in an oven, sometimes they’re handed over at room temperature. Maybe they’re packaged all neat and tidy, or simply just thrown into the box with no respect to the slices’ dignity. But despite all of that, Prince Street’s round pies are tasty, and the takeout spot fills a by-the-slice void in Chicago’s most foot-trafficked neighborhood.
And they go to venerable Filipino diner Uncle Mike’s:
Uncle Mike’s Place started as an old-school diner with morning staples like eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee in a space that feels like you’re eating in a relative’s house. But eventually this decades-old West Town spot added Filipino dishes to their menu, and those are what you’ll want to focus on. The longanisa, tocino, and bangus breakfasts are serious platters alongside fragrant garlic rice and fried eggs. And when you throw in the complimentary bowl of lugaw everyone is served once they sit down, it’s not only delicious and filling—it’s a steal at around $20 or less.
9. CHECK PLEASE GUEST TO OPEN RESTAURANT
One of the questions about the Barack Obama presidential complex in Hyde Park is, how much will it actually benefit the African-American community around it? Well, some good news in that regard is the announcement about the planned food service at the library/museum/ziggurat. There is, not surprisingly, a big company that does concession projects like this, Palo Alto-based Bon Appetit, but they’re in collaboration with one of the most notable South Side chefs and entrepreneurs—no, not Erick Williams, but another chef I interviewed in this 2020 Fooditor piece, Cliff Rome, who has Peach’s on 47th and various catering and event spaces in Bronzeville. Eater:
While Rome isn’t ready to talk about menus, he does say the Obama Center’s offerings will be diverse, from casual to fine dining. He also realizes that food isn’t the centerpiece of the project. He calls the food the “backdrop or a byproduct of the experience,” but he’s also excited to deliver something uniquely Chicagoan.
Eater also has a list of approved caterers for the complex’s various event spaces (such spaces typically allow a choice of caterers, but only among ones they have pre-approved). One is Paramount Events, led by Jodi Fyfe:
While event booking will be done directly through the center, Fyfe says one of Avondale-based Paramount’s responsibilities will be to push clients toward the venue.
10. NOW ON TAP
In 2017 I hung out for a morning with Michael Quinlan, owner of Links Taproom, to offer insight into something we all know happens, but maybe not quite how it happens: the process of a beer rep getting the interest of a bar owner in his different offerings. Links, long popular in Wicker Park, closed down in 2020 when COVID hit—actually a day before everyone had to shut down—and Quinlan has been trying to reopen it ever since. Mike Sula tells the story of the new Links:
Last spring he started talking to Mark Legenza of On Tour about building out a kitchen in the West Town brewery and installing Links there. But before long, Legenza decided to exit the business altogether, offering to sell it to Quinlan.
There’s been a well-documented downturn in the craft beer industry in recent years. According to the New York Times, after a long period of explosive growth, the overall number of American craft breweries declined in 2024, with 339 closings, compared to 335 openings.
On the other hand, a turnkey operation can represent a valuable opportunity in the business. Quinlan plans to revive Links much as it was during its heyday, from the digital tap lines to the cheese curds to some of the staff: He’s brought on former general manager Ryan Mandernach as operating partner.
11. LISTEN UP
The Dining Table: David Manilow talks to the Perilla Steakhouse guys about a hidden handroll bar in the basement.
Joiners: Sarah Stegner, chef of Prarie Grass Cafe in Northbrook and a key figure in bringing farm to table to Chicagoans, as one of the folks who created Green City Market.
Culinary Historians: last week’s presentation on Chicago dining by Tony Mantuano and John Hogan is now up.
IN MEMORIAM
Convito Italiano (later Convito Cafe & Market), a gourmet shop in Plaza del Lago, an upscale shoppiing plaza in Wilmette, shepherded a generation of north shore cooks toward making finer Italian food. Nancy Brussat Barocci, who founded it in 1980, died in January in Evanston at 84. The Tribune:
So in 1980, Brussat opened Convito Italiano — the word “convito” is ancient Italian for “banquet” or “feast” — in a 1,550-square-foot garden-level shop at 1625 N. Sheridan Road in Wilmette, next to the Plaza del Lago complex. It was a retail food shop that also sold wine and a bit of prepared food, and also functioned as something of an education center for Italian food.
She also had shops on Chestnut Street (I used to hit that one for lunch in the early 90s) and in the Merchandise Mart at different times. And she had a blog about Italian food, which you can read here.
WHAT MIKE ATE
I usually keep an idea in my head of new restaurants I want to check out, but for some reason it’s been hard this year—keeping Mirra separate from Miru, and from Wazwan Cafe, that sort of thing. The only two new things that I think of if someone asks me where I want to go is, one, Mirra (got a reservation next month) and Void. So I went to Void last week.
For some reason I thought of Void as the new Warlord, which is partly logical (not far apart on Milwaukee, dark inside) but partly not really that similar. If anything, the food reminded me of somewhere like Johns Food and Wine—up to the minute American food, like the plate of carrots and striped beets with dabs of ricotta type cheese—with Italian influences (you’d expect that in gnocchi served with beef neck ragu, maybe a little less in a Frenchier, still earthy dish of braised pig head with lentils). In any case I liked the flavors of everything—even when I indulged in dessert and had the sundae which mixed peanut butter ice cream and raspberry sorbet (I ate them separately), drizzled with a malort caramel (which, like most malort things, tasted like Windex, but worth a try).
My wife was out of town and I didn’t know what I wanted for dinner—probably would have just ordered a pizza or Thai food, but I happened to see a picture of grilled eel in Japan, and suddenly I wanted Japanese food. I started searching Yelp for some place I hadn’t been, and found Omakase Shoji & Izakaya, which is on Chicago near Brasero and things like that. It’s been a while since I had a full-on sushi meal, so I went for that, snagging a 5:00 pm slot.
The front of the restaurant (facing Chicago Ave.) is the izakaya, and it’s slightly glitzy. I was led past it to a small white room with chairs set up along a sushi bar. Chef Shoji, who worked at Matsuya on Clark street in Lakeview for many years, greeted us and I started asking him about veteran sushi places. Did you know Katsu? Oh yes, you know Katsu? Going back to when he was at Yanase [a 60s-90s River North spot that felt like Don Draper just went to pitch a client in Tokyo]. Wow, you know Yanase. That was long time ago.
We started with some small bites, which honestly didn’t wow me—a piece of rubber sole-textured abalone, a square of tofu topped attractively, but not particularly flavorfully, with one edamame and one egg of salmon roe. I thought maybe I’d made an expensive mistake. But once we got to the nigiri, it was all very nice pieces of fish I know and like—three kinds of toro, amberjack, madai and so on. Nothing unusual or out there—no odd toppings—and by the end, that made me appreciate the first few things a little more—it was very classical sushi, like a place that had been around a while, like Yanase—or Matsuya. When he asked me which places I usually go to, I mention Kyoten, and then he was all about asking me about Kyoten and Kyoten Next Door, how much the latter was, how many people worked the counter. I felt like I was bridging a gap between sushi cultures.