Parachute Attempts to Pump Up the Volume in Avondale

Welcome to the Scene Report, a new column in which Eater Chicago captures the vibe of a notable Chicago restaurant at a specific moment in time.

Parachute HiFi opened without fanfare, and that’s not what folks would expect from James Beard Award-winning chefs Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim. Parachute was a tour de force, a stunning restaurant that showed both Korean flavors in a different light to Chicago and the rest of the country.

But a decade after opening along Elston, and igniting Avondale as one of the hottest dining neighborhoods in America, Kim and Clark have shifted gears. Parachute HiFi marks their latest attempt at reinventing themselves. While they hope to eventually bring back Parachute in all its fine dining glory to a Downtown Chicago space, their focus right now is to bring back some fun to Elston. Parachute HiFi opened in early September at the former Parachute space, 3500 N. Elston Avenue.

The Wait: Parachute was a fine dining restaurant and thanks to its Michelin-star status and notoriety in the Korean community, finding a table without a reservation was nearly impossible during its peak. HiFi moves away from that with more of a local community feel — they don’t take reservations. Don’t have plans? Find a barstool with your name on it. Need a quick weeknight dinner? Just walk in and grab a table.

The Vibe: In some way, Clark and Kim’s restaurant down the street, Anelya, provided a blueprint for the next iteration of Parachute. Anelya serves Ukrainian comfort food and the Ukrainian music is essential in creating an environment that elevates a country’s culture that hasn’t been showcased too much in Chicago’s restaurant scene.

Clark admits he’s a bit of an audiophile, having collected vintage speakers and visitors will see some of those pieces on display, and he’s ventured as far as exotic locales like Peoria to source. There’s a DJ booth at the front of the bar. Kim and Clark have no prior experience spinning records, but they planning on hosting themed music nights. But the couple isn’t handling all the music. In recent nights, DJs have played soul, funk, Japanese pop, French yeyé, and more.

There’s a tradition of Korean pubs with tall beers, small plates, and karaoke. That’s something the Chicago area has been recently introduced to, with places like Miki’s Park in River North, and New Village Gastropub in suburban Northbrook. Parachute HiFi captures the casual nature of these pubs and it may remind customers of another Avondale institution across the street. Irish pub Chief O’Neil’s has been around since 1999 and possesses a come-as-you-are atmosphere. The original Parachute was family-friendly, an oddity for Chicago’s fine dining restaurants. HiFi, somehow even as a bar without a children’s menu, is even more so. It’s a throwback, like those Chicago pubs of yore, when children were taught that local bars were safe spaces, places they could find shelter if they were in danger and needed support. It’s Chicago tavern culture, don’t argue with it.

What to Eat: They’re not pigeonholing themselves at Parachute HiFI. The menu features a mash-up of Korean, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and more. The chefs have avoided talking about the food too much because they want to pique people’s interest without spoiling any surprises or having cynical folks making knee-jerk conclusions. While different from Parachute’s original menus, Korean food can often be misunderstood, and Kim remains sensitive to those conclusions, whether it’s complaints about prices or Koreans complaining that the food tastes different from what they grew up eating.

HiFi’s menu is tidy. The must-try starter is the salmon nigiri. It’s nice, light, and taste. A great snack. There’s a burger on the menu. It’s a double-griddled patty made with beef from Slagel Family Farm, well seasoned and ground with short rib. It comes sliced with bacon in a shallow pool of comte fondue. These types of fondue burgers seem to be enjoying a popularity surge, and thanks to the pickles, this one is a winner.

Since our visit fell on a Wednesday, the bing bread — one of Parachute’s most beloved items, and a menu item of great consternation for the owners when it comes to labor and expenses — is back. The fabled items were removed from Parachute’s menu in 2022, but it’s back once a week at HiFi on Wednesday. It’s as good as fans will remember. Rice cakes get the deluxe treatment with a Thai tweak. The tteokbokki pad Thai — get it with shrimp — was stellar. The french fries, which come with banana ketchup, are also some of the better crispy spuds in town.

What to Drink: There’s not a huge N/A menu, but plenty of wine — Kim and Clark made an investment in good wine at Wherewithall, and it’s apparent that commitment has spilled over to their other projects. There is also a nice selection of sool and sake. House cocktails include the Whisky Apple made with Granny Smith apples, and the Blueberry Pancakes made with brown butter mezcal, blueberry maple, and egg.

Mind you, Kim says the menu has gone through some tweaks, so don’t be surprised to find a few changes.

The Verdict: Kim and Clark badly want to give Avondale something locals will appreciate. The execution of their food is high level — here’s another reminder that Parachute was a Michelin-star winner. It was early in the night, so I can’t be certain, but it feels like HiFi needs to let its hair down a little bit and embrace the bar side. Confidence comes with experience. For example, a recent visit to New Village Gastropub showed a much more energetic vibe inside a much larger suburban space. Parachute HiFi packs a lot inside a tiny footprint, and the restaurant was open only for a few weeks when I went. Once the crew stops playing it safe and leans into its weird side, HiFi could be a home run. For now, it’s an intriguing experiment in rebooting a dining destination into a casual haunt.