Venue News Archive
10.30.09 1:12 PM
Ceres' Table: Italian Restaurant From a Former Boka Chef
Uptown restuarant Ceres' Table is scheduled to open on November 16. Chef-owner Giuseppe Scurato, formerly of Boka and Landmark , will offer a seaonal menu of items prepared with local ingredients. Dishes will include country-style paté made with pork and Sicilian pistachios, gnocchi with rabbit confit and arugula pesto, and flatiron steak with lemon-roasted potatoes and shallot fondue. The 78-seat venue will be available for full buyouts. —Jenny Berg
10.16.09 1:38 PM
Ajasteak to Change Name, Revamp Menu
Aja restaurant Photo: Hendrick Blessing
In River North's Dana Hotel , lobby restaurant Ajasteak is set to shorten its name to Aja next Thursday. The eatery also will get a revamped menu with lower price points and a focus on regional Asian cuisine prepared with local ingredients, according to chef Joshua Linton. (In the past, the menu offered Asian steak house fare.) bahn mi sandwiches served on baguettes and filled with Asian barbequed pork or catfish with chile mayo and mint. On the new dinner menu, sharable dishes will include iron-seared chicken teriyaki and suzuki sea bass with wok-flashed veggies. A snack bar will offer sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and crudo; and on the cocktail list, specialty drinks will include the "Saigon Collins" made with cucumber, ginger beer, and sake-infused vodka.
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09.16.09 12:47 PM
Cibo Matto's New Lunch Service Offers Grilled Lamb Burgers, Eggplant Panini
Cibo Matto Photo: Wayne Cable
Open for dinner since July, Cibo Matto , the Wit hotel's second-floor Italian restaurant, introduced lunch service on Tuesday. Chef Todd Stein's menu includes oven-cured tomato bruschetta with pesto and ricotta; a romaine and watercress salad with chicken, avocado, and prosciutto; and entrees such as a grilled lamb burger with minted yogurt and an eggplant panini with cow's milk mozzarella.—Jenny Berg
09.03.09 12:25 PM
Fall Preview: 7 of Chicago's Most Anticipated New Venues
The Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room Photo: Mark Ballogg/Lyric Opera of Chicago
Here's a look at a few restaurants and an eco-friendly event space set to open this fall.Logan Square Kitchen is an event space and shared-use commercial kitchen. Housed in a 1913 building with exposed brick walls, fixtures made from reclaimed wood, and eggplant-hued velvet drapes, the venue is certified for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. "The great thing about this space," said owner Zina Murray, "is that the hard-core foodies can host dinners here and bring in their own chefs. We have a restaurant-style kitchen with a walk-in cooler, big appliances—anything a chef would need to cook. The kitchen's not just for plating and reheating." The space will host sit-down dinners for 75 and receptions for 100.
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08.14.09 2:02 PM
Lincoln Park Bistro Will Serve Buttered Quail Eggs, Host Receptions for 150
Chef Jason Paskewitz Photo: Courtesy of Gemini Bistro
From chef Jason Paskewtiz and partner Ryan O'Donnell, Gemini Bistro is slated for a September 9 opening in Lincoln Park. With tweed banquettes, a gold marble bar, and South African wall sconces crafted from ostrich eggs, the restaurant will be available for full buyout and will host seated dinners for 100 and receptions for 150. Also available for rental, a patio on Dickens Street will seat 40.MORE >>
07.09.09 11:03 AM
Pedestrian Plazas Now Available for Events, Provide New Revenue for City
The crowded car-free zone next to Macy's Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash
FROM NEW YORK
After debuting in May, the car-free areas on Broadway are still in the development stages—lingering traffic cones cordon off some sections, and the lawn chairs in Times Square will soon be replaced with sturdier ones—but the city has already started renting them out for events and promotions. The move is a positive one for New York—the usage brings in an additional revenue stream—as well as for planners and producers, who value the added visibility. And according to The New York Times public promotion from VH1 .
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06.30.09 12:57 PM
Cibo Matto to Open Two Weeks Ahead of Schedule, Offer Private Dining Rooms
The interior of Cibo Matto Rendering: The Johnson Studio
Cibo Matto, an Italian restaurant on the second floor of the Wit Hotel , will open on July 7, two weeks ahead of schedule. (Of opening early, chef Todd Stein told Chicago mag: "We are ready. I'm bored. I'm antsy.") The 145-seat venue houses a private dining room that seats 14 at a communal table; a semiprivate area seats 24 and can be closed off from the main dining room with sliding doors. A chef's table, situated near the semi-open kitchen, can accommodate 12. —Jenny Berg
06.25.09 12:44 PM
Trump Tower's New Terrace Opens Tonight, Hosts Receptions for 150
Drinks from the bar at Terrace at Trump Credit: Courtesy of Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago
Tonight, the Terrace at Trump opens on the 16th floor of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago . Overlooking the Wrigley Clock Tower and the Tribune Building, the space also offers views of Navy Pier's fireworks shows, which take place on Wednesday and Saturday nights through Labor Day.MORE >>
06.12.09 1:10 PM
InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Unveils Two Ballrooms, Hyatt Regency O'Hare Updates 1,100 Guest Rooms
The new Artist's Wing at the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Photo: John Sutton
On Thursday, the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare announced the completion of its new Artist's Wing. With two new ballrooms, the addition has brought the hotel's total meeting space from 28,000 square feet to 53,000 square feet. Features of the new wing include hanging sculptures and painting displays, a green rooftop covered in soil and wheat grass, and wind-powered electricity.Hyatt Regency O'Hare recently completed a $64 million transformation that brought updated ameneties such as new workspaces and 37-inch LCD TVs to its 1,100 guest rooms and suites. The property also includes a two-year-old 20,000-square-foot conference center. —Jenny Berg
06.05.09 1:11 PM
New Pair of Restaurants to Bring Mango Guacamole, Zigzag Bar to River North
Slated to open in River North in midsummer, Mercadito Chicago will mark the fourth location of the New-York-based chain. Spanish for "little market," the Mexican restaurant's menu will offer traditional and mango guacamole, six kinds of ceviche, and tacos stuffed with pork, shrimp, or beer-battered mahi mahi. With a maximum capacity of 120, the venue will house a tequila lounge that seats 35 and a lantern-lit communal table that can accommodate 14.Elate will occupy the ground floor of the Hotel Felix . Serving dressed-up American fare—burgers topped with creamed leeks and bacon, for example—the 80-seat restaurant will have a zigzag bar as its focal point. A patio will provide seating for 54 guests. —Jenny Berg
