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Tag: pilsen

  • After Seven Years, S.K.Y. Will Leave Pilsen for the North Side

    After Seven Years, S.K.Y. Will Leave Pilsen for the North Side

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    After seven years in Pilsen, S.K.Y. will close and move to the North Side. Stephen Gillanders announced via Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, reiterating what he earlier told food writer Ari Bendersky: the chef is bringing his first restaurant to the former Intro Chicago space, the restaurant he worked at when he first moved to Chicago nearly a decade ago.

    Intro, owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, was a restaurant that cycled through chefs and menus, giving the inexperienced a foundation so they could open their own restaurants. Gillanders joined the operation in 2015 and LEYE co-founder Rich Melman eventually elevated him to the restaurant’s first executive chef where Gillanders oversaw operations. Gillanders left in 2017 after deciding that Chicago, not LA, would be the home of his first restaurant. S.K.Y. (named after his wife). He would open in Pilsen later that year. Lettuce would later close Intro in July 2017.

    There’s no public date of when S.K.Y. will close in Pilsen and open in Lincoln Park. In an interview with Bendersky, Gillanders was complimentary of Pilsen, a neighborhood that didn’t welcome the restaurant with open arms back in 2017. The chef says about 70 percent of S.K.Y.’s customers live near the restaurant’s new home at 2300 N. Lincoln Park West inside the Belden-Stratford. S.K.Y. was also impacted in 2022 after the Jean Banchet Awards pulled a nomination for the restaurant’s sommelier, Jelena Prodan, following a controversial incident at the Pilsen restaurant. That move, quickly pushed by the awards’ former beneficiary (the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation), led the Banchet team — which annually honors Chicago restaurants — to part ways with the foundation and team with a new charity.

    S.K.Y. is hoping to leave that history behind. But still, popular dishes, like the lobster dumplings, should make the move north. The new version of S.K.Y. will have a private dining room dedicated to a tasting menu. Tasting menus are something Gillanders has been fond of, as Valhalla, his newly relocated Wicker Park restaurant, is built around the concept. Lettuce housed several restaurants inside the cavernous space, and Gillanders is planning to renovate the former Naoki Sushi space into a speakeasy-style bar. There are also plans for a 20-seat patio overlooking Lincoln Park Zoo.

    Beyond S.K.Y. and Valhalla, Gillanders has a South Loop restaurant, Apolonia, and he worked on the menu at Signature a sports bar owned by former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije. Gillanders, along with star pastry chef Tatum Sinclair, are also opening Haven, a cafe with a pastry gallery during the day and an “intimate chefs counter dessert tasting menu” at night in West Town.

    S.K.Y. 2.0, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, opening date TBD.

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    Ashok Selvam

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  • Residents displaced after Pilsen fire that caused house to collapse, spread to several homes

    Residents displaced after Pilsen fire that caused house to collapse, spread to several homes

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    CHICAGO (WLS) — A massive fire in Pilsen that spread to several homes remains under investigation Thursday.

    No one was injured in the massive fire, but the cause is still under investigation.

    The fire broke out at a home in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood at around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 1300 block of West 16th Street.

    Fire officials said the fire originated in a home that was under renovation before the flames spread quickly from one building to two others within minutes, causing some damage.

    One day you’re fine, and then the next day you just lose everything

    Vannessa Garcia, displaced resident

    What was once a home being rehabilitated is now a crater-sized pit of burned debris.

    The home’s owner said a contractor was in the process of fireproofing the property at the time of the fire.

    “It is what it is, there’s nothing I can do about it,” building owner Hafeez Shaka said. “I was really looking forward to making it a home.”

    Firefighters were able to get neighbors out of nearby homes safely before putting the fire out around 9:45 p.m. No one was injured.

    CFD said nearly 100 firefighters and 30 pieces of equipment worked to fight that fire.

    The fire left multiple people displaced.

    Vannessa Garcia stood in front of her apartment Thursday evening, showing ABC7 the damage to her home that she can no longer return to.

    “You could hear someone knocking, telling us to get out of the apartment,” Garcia said. “Our building kind of collapsed in a little.”

    Garcia raced outside with her 4-year-old cat, Shadow, and she was barely able to see through the thick smoke.

    You couldn’t even see it,” Garcia said. It was covered, like, the smoke was just spreading so fast. It was really windy.”

    From several vantage points in Pilsen, cameras captured the sight of the large flames.

    A photo showed what the home looked like before the fire, and work was being done to it hours before the fire broke out.

    “The city inspector said you have to fireproof that side, so we did that,” said Michael Kevorkian, Shaka’s home contractor. “We were going to be done with it… then now this happened.”

    Water now covers the floors in Garcia’s basement unit. Her furniture and belongings were all soaked and damaged by smoke.

    “Just feeling a little helpless, lost, confused,” Garcia said. “You know, one day you’re fine, and then the next day you just lose everything.”

    Garcia and her neighbors are now raising funds to help with housing.

    Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    Christian Piekos

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  • Dusek’s Gets a Replacement Inside Thalia Hall From the Taqueria Chingon Team

    Dusek’s Gets a Replacement Inside Thalia Hall From the Taqueria Chingon Team

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    Marcos Ascensio says Pilsen and nearby Little Village need more mariscos. The chef grew up in Little Village, and while La Vilita has plenty of Mexican cuisine, Ascensio says he became accustomed to driving to the North Side if he was in the mood for seafood.

    Now, Ascensio and his team from Logan Square’s Taqueria Chingon — including Obelix and Le Bouchon’s Oliver Poilevey — have an opportunity to rectify that problem. They’re taking over the ground-floor space inside Thalia Hall, partnering with owners 16” on Center and opening a new restaurant inside the former Dusek’s. The interiors have been gutted to make room for Mariscos San Pedro, which should open by early summer, 1227 W. 18th Street.

    With the churches in the area, and with St. Peter hailed as patron saint of fishermen, the name made sense for the team. Cynically, Poilevey, Asencsio, and new partner Antonio Incandela (a pastry chef at Obelix) say while some customers may complain when tacos aren’t cheap (something hear a lot in Logan Square at Taqueria Chingon), they don’t complain about the prices of mariscos.

    “We want to make it fun,” Ascensio says. Much like Obelix, folks can come in a few times a week, crush a few appetizers from the raw bar and a beer and head out. That’s also important for Thalia Hall visitors attending concerts. The venue, which was home to Dusek’s (a former Michelin-starred restaurant), also includes two bars, Punch House and Tack Room. The San Pedro team will begin its infiltration of Thalia Hall by unleashing a small bites menu at Punch House. That will also allow them to measure reaction and adjust San Pedro’s opening menu accordingly.

    After a decade, Dusek’s closed in December. 16” on Center, which is also behind Revival Food Hall and the Salt Shed, tried to breathe new life into the restaurant with new chefs and a fancier menu. Poilevey says they’ve been in contact with the company and that San Pedro was originally supposed to open in Logan Square, but a real estate deal fell through.

    Folks with a little bit more time on their hands can indulge with a bottle of wine and a whole fish (think snapper or a “baller” turbot) cooked in the hearth left over from Dusek’s. Unlike many mariscos restaurants, which may hone in on a region in Mexico, San Pedro will combine flavors and techniques. For example, they may use Japanese panko on snapper to ensure the fish gets extra crunchy.

    Beyond the fusion of techniques, Poilevey says the quality of fish will set them apart from other restaurants. They’re working with a variety of vendors and will steer away from frozen seafood.

    “We get a great product and treat it with great technique and, you know, serve with with great masa and a great salsa,” Poilevey says. “We’ll just kind of let it….”

    “Speak for itself,” Ascensio says, completing his colleague’s sentence.

    Some of the menu items from Taqueria Chingon, like duck carnitas and perhaps the octopus off the trompo, could make it to Pilsen. Much of the menu remains under development, but one dish they’re workshopping is duck tamales. Incandela, who worked at Spiaggia, jokingly calls himself “the random Italian” on the project. Like Poilevey, whose parents owned Le Bouchon and La Sardine, he grew up in the restaurant world. Incandela’s father owned Sicily Restaurant in Elmwood Park. He’s focused on seeing “how far I can take masa in a pastry” while maintaining respect for classic Mexican desserts.

    “I don’t want to stray too far away from what makes it classically beautiful,” he says. “But I also want to put our own spin that would match the daringness, I guess, of the rest of the menu.”

    They’re imagining the kind of towers or seafood platters that groups seated in the booths will quickly grab as soon as the plate hits the table. Fun cocktails with some element of interaction are also planned. They also want to accommodate Pilsen’s drinkers and make sure San Pedro has plenty of beer options. Logan Square’s Pilot Project Brewing could work on a collaboration.

    Before working in restaurants, Ascencio studied to be an engineer. He sees himself as MacGyver and Poilevey calls him their handyman. The team is excited to expand. In January, they were shortlisted by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Restaurateur.

    Mariscos San Pedro, inside Thalia Hall, 1227 W. 18th Street, planned for an early summer opening

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    Ashok Selvam

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