Here are some recent restaurant/bar openings and closings.
Open:
Tocco The new buzz-word among Chicago pizza (where were inexplicably always trying to improve upon the already perfect deep dish) is wood-burning oven as if thats supposed to make the pizza that much better. That said, this place is like Follia (from the same owners) only slightly less, shall we say, wallet heavy.
Wings Around the World The new incarnation of WATW (recently moved from its original Bronzeville location) boasts more than 50 different sauces from nearly a dozen countries, including the Canadian-inspired maple twist. So, I guess we can add that to the list of Canadas cultural contributions, just above Celine Dion but still well below Slap Shot.
35th Street Caf How did a place so classy get so close to the Cell? Just askin
Faith & Whiskey Tatoo, the bar that used to be housed here, was a really weird place. Faith & Whiskey has antlers for chandeliers and real motorcycles on top of the bathroom doors. So, there you go.
Closed:
Fajita Grill The food was fine, but the real draw was having guacamole made right in front of you, to your specifications. Mmmm. Homemade guacamole.
DeLaCosta Its better this way: We never knew if it was one word or three, what to capitalize and whatnot. Yes, we know were dorks. But were editors. We worry about these things.
Manginos Independently owned (and reasonably priced) lunch spots in the Loop are few and far between, and this was one of the better sandwich shops around. So, yeah, take your five dollars and go grab a crappy foot long at Subway. Thats exactly what the economy needs.
Check back here every Tuesday with more openings and closings (and snarky comments, of course). And be sure to check out Centerstage Chicago’s list of new restaurants and bars.
