After all the Beard news and Chicago mag’s 50 best, it’s kind of a light week (and even lighter when you can’t access a certain paid subscription). But here’s what there is:
1. NO ONE COULD BE FINA
The Tribune has a profile of the restaurant industry’s beloved Jewish grandmother, Ina Pinkney. And if I could actually log in to my paid subscription, I would link to it for you and quote it!
2. WHEN I WAS GOING TO THE IVES
Michael Nagrant’s The Hunger has two new pieces. First, Nagrant goes to a new place in an old location, with a new but familiar chef. The Ives in the CAA Hotel, which begins (like the short-lived Le Select) with a relish tray:
The relish used here is more of descriptor for how you will feel about chef Chris Pandel and his team’s rolling cart service tiny food fetish. I can only describe it this way because instead of just offering single dish appetizers, Pandel has voluntarily ratcheted up the level of difficulty in a way that is almost hard to fathom, especially if you have any empathy for chefs.
…There are 13 dishes in this selection in total for a mere $38 dollars per person. The relish cart is almost like a high-end tasting menu by itself with technique and precision to match.
Then he hosts friend (and Friend of Fooditor) Lisa Shames, to talk about Beaumont, formerly the Beaumont Tavern, a venerable Lincoln Park space now “a 200-seat tavern-driven American restaurant” under chef Johnny Besch (ex of Bistro Monadnock):
Focusing on approachability and price points was key, along with creating a menu with dishes folks would want to eat on a routine basis. “The concept is rooted in timeless classics,” says [co-owner Paul] Abu-Taleb. “Johnny and I have this similar orientation toward restaurants, which isn’t to just create for creation’s sake.”
There’s the coal-roasted rainbow trout paired with an absinthe cream sauce and topped with shaved fennel and herbs. The shrimp and grits features a Spence Farms grits cake paired with smoked ham hock, prawns and creamed sherry and topped with caramelized raclette cheese. “It eats very Southern and French Creole, so there’s that through-line back to my cooking pedigree of mostly French cuisine,” says Besch.
3. ORIOLE’S NEW YEAR
Grimod returns to Oriole to see how it is in mid-2026:
My last meal at Oriole (back in March) left me feeling that the restaurant was undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. Indeed, while all the foundations of success were there—an unrivaled setting, a sense of journey throughout the space, slick service, and a beverage program geared toward exceptional value—the cuisine was at a point of transition.
…March’s experience undermined what I consider to be the pillar of Oriole’s identity: a degree of reliable decadence and unquestionable luxury that distinguish it from (and, for many, elevate it above) those other places touting one or two or even three Michelin stars in Chicago.
Much more follows.
4. GATES OPENS
What else to do near the Obama library/museum/thing will be the question of the year, and Daniel Hautzinger has a piece at WTTW about Han Cha and Yunomi, respectively a tea salon and a cocktail bar in the Stony Island Arts Bank from Hyde Park entrepreneur and artist Theaster Gates:
The Arts Bank doesn’t just hold the new tea salon and its compact partner bar and lounge, Yunomi; it also banks art, by Gates himself and friends. Gates’ ceramics and works drawing on archives like the Johnson Publishing Library housed on the second floor of the Arts Bank surround and even exist in Han Cha and Yunomi: The serving ware for Han Cha was crafted by Gates and his Dorchester Industries, as were the pieces on display at Yunomi, which is named for a handleless ceramic Japanese cup. Both hospitality concepts are new ventures from Gates and creative force Heiji Choy Black that bring food, drink, and hospitality directly into the gallery space, serving as their own kind of art projects with the bank as their frame. Museum cafes these are not.
Gates’ work and “art in general really asks you to unplug, and be thoughtful, and not be afraid of the quiet,” says Choy Black. “I really wanted that to be a part of the hospitality of this concept. Tea is one of those ways that you can bring that quiet there.”
5. LOVE LUCY’S?
At The Party Cut, John Carruthers subs for Dennis to talk about Lucy’s, a burger and chicken sandwich joint with a location in Uptown:
Lucy’s is, grumpy middle aged guy stuff aside, a pretty great story.
It’s an immigrant-family-owned mini chain (there’s one in Humboldt Park too!) that started off as a food truck and still makes everything from scratch. I won’t name any local burger spots that compromised like hell in a bloodthirsty quest for expansion, but it rhymes with Paul Wall… Cheval. Nice to see a place doing it the other way.
6. LA SHUK UP
If I’m downtown in the Loop for a doctor’s appointment or whatever, I usually try to something new (hence recent visits to Seedo’s and Fatback), but the first thing I have to do is not just go straight to La Shuk in the Sterling Food Hall; like Galit, they’ve basically achieved perfection in creamy hummus, and grilled chicken swimming the same is a hard one to top in the area. Anyway, here’s Nick Kindelsperger:
The hummus bowl starts with the aforementioned best-in-the-Loop hummus, before getting the topping of your choice. I recommended the thin and juicy slices of chicken shawarma. Get it drizzled with nutty tahini, smoky baba ghanoush, and slightly spicy zhug, and you have one of the area’s most satisfying lunches.
7. MR. MOTTO
The Infatuation checks out the new Logan Square version of Jinsei Motto:
Jinsei Motto is a truffle-sprinkling, noteworthy sushi restaurant disguised as a neighborhood spot. The location: a sea of Logan Square two-flats. The scene: roommates from down the street, pregaming a night out with tempura maki, parents teaching their kids Chopsticks 101, and couples who walked in sharing sake at the bar. But thanks to Jinsei Motto’s tasty, dry-aged fish and reasonably priced omakase, this sushi spot is much more exciting than another “round-the-corner” place.
8. BEAR BITES
The Bear is in its final season, and at WTTW, Courtney Kueppers looks at some of the places that it’s made famous around town, by accompanying one of the tours which takes you ar0und town to see them.
Meanwhile, Eddie Lakin posts a 13th chapter in his ongoing series on why he hates The Bear.
9. NORTHERN BITES
But no bears this time. Kevin Pang looks at two places in Northbrook that have lasted a while, if not as long as Del Rio or Meier’s Tavern: Sarah Stegner’s Prairie Grass Cafe and Francesca’s Hole in the Wall:
Prairie Grass Cafe, opened in 2004, serves the type of modern American fare that feels like a Midwest version on San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe.
Chef and owner Sarah Stegner has two James Beard Awards, was formerly chef at The Ritz Carlton in downtown Chicago, and a former president of the Green City Market. She could’ve opened anywhere; she chose Northbrook.
10. SOUL ‘MEN
The first time someone mentioned Soul Ramen I assumed it was Seoul Ramen, but actually the idea of working soul and African flavors into ramen is pretty interesting; I’m going to try to check it out soon. In the meantime, here’s Jamie Nesbitt Golden at Block Club:
McDuffy said she planned to feature a different “Soul Bowl” each month, with flavors like gumbo and lemon pepper — the latter a nod to the South Side’s love for the spice. This month’s featured bowl, Seafood Boil Mazemen, evokes the flavor of New Orleans with a thick udon and Cajun shellfish reduction, gulf shrimp, andouille, corn ribs, baby potatoes, and Old Bay butter joining scotch bonnet chili oil, scallion and fresh herbs.
11. FRAGGLE ROCKY
Ever had Frajolaki? Have any idea where such a thing might come from? You probably would not have guessed Saskatchewan, as Sandwich Tribunal explains:
According to local lore, the sandwich was invented sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s at one of the many Greek-owned family restaurants that dominated the Saskatoon dining scene at the time. It quickly spread and became a local favorite. Though small details may differ from one specific example to another–one may have Swiss cheese while another has feta, some have the bread rolls spread with garlic butter before being toasted, some are served with tzatziki, others without sauce, and I’ve seen one on our friend Sandwich Dad‘s page that used Thousand Island dressing instead–the core of the sandwich remains the same–marinated, grilled meat, usually butterflied chicken breasts or thin steaks, layered with tomato and onion in a toasted French roll.
12. LISTEN UP
David Manilow has a rerun—an interview from two years ago with a soon-to-be-restaurant-owner named Jake Potashnick. If you listened to it back then, it’s fun to hear about how the future Beard winner’s mom corraled Manilow at a party to get him to interview her son.
Joiners talks to Nate Chung of Mott Street.
The Chef’s Cut separates fact from fiction in how The Bear portrays the food scene.
WHAT MIKE ATE
Two weeks ago I was driving around Wisconsin, mostly living on burgers for lunch and fairly heavy dinners at supper clubs and the like. Back in Chicago I spent last week detoxing, making vegetarian-ish soup and pasta with fresh peas (okay, some pancetta in that one). I have a few reservations ahead after the 4th, but then it was Friday night, where could I pop in quickly that was pretty close?
A friend had mentioned a place in Logan Square called Spice by CMB, located in the old Yusho space on Kedzie and the restaurant outgrowth of a catering business (after being involved with setting up catered dinners for my wife’s legal organization, I could have told just from the inevitable short rib entree). The name stands for Spice by Chef Mychael Bonner, whom an Eater piece from a month or so ago calls a veteran without mentioning anywhere he worked (which, it turns out, was mostly Lettuce Entertain You), and the cuisine is said to be “African-Caribbean.”
So I went in openminded though my expectations were pretty modest—but, I’m happy to say, they were thoroughly exceeded. Everything was seasoned and prepared to a fine point. I started with a cucumber gimlet, the glass rimmed with za’atar. Then crispy fried green tomatoes with a remoulade, roasted chicken with Berbere spice (would have liked it better if it weren’t all boneless chicken breast—another sign of catering—but the flavor was very good), served with jollof rice; gooey braised oxtail with gnocchi-like dumplings made of cassava, and a terrific peach cobbler to end the evening I was very happy with pretty much everything, and i suspect the easy Friday night seating won’t last long.
Speaking of crowds, the hot thing right now is pastry places with long lines—Bad Butter and Guillotine all seem to have hour-long lines running down the street and, more importantly, to quickly be out of many things. And don’t forget the sudden wave of private equity-backed bagels. I had just read a Reddit post saying that the secret of going to one of the pastry places was to be there by 7:20 am—well, to hell with that. I decided I was better off trying pastry places that don’t have fanatical followings—so poking around, I remembered a place called Avondale Coffee Club, at Belmont, California and Elston. The retro-modernist logo on the outside suggests what you’ll find inside, a place whose wood paneling and retro furnishings brought back the 60s—not the hippie 60s but the midcentury modern decor of doctors’ offices, department stores and other businesses of the era. Anyway, I had a very tasty and ample cranberry-white chocolate scone, a nice cup of joe, and no waiting on the sidewalk to get in. Try it!