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  • ‘Food brings you together.’ Chef Alisa Reynolds reimagines soul food with her Mid-City restaurant

    ‘Food brings you together.’ Chef Alisa Reynolds reimagines soul food with her Mid-City restaurant

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    Celebrity Chef Alisa Reynolds is looking to inspire the next generation of chefs in honor of Women’s History Month.

    Reynolds has cooked for President Barack Obama and many A-List stars. The chef is about to open her third restaurant and just released a documentary on soul food from around the world.

    My 2 Cents on Pico Boulevard in Mid-City has been delighting guests with its reimagined soul food for over a decade. Reynolds honors her Southern roots with a healthy twist. Driven by her love for food, the chef says it took hard work and determination to get here.

    “It’s like stepping into a hug or stepping into your grandmother’s house in a modern way. The food speaks for itself. I put my love into the menu,” said Reynolds. “Being a woman, being an African American, Black woman, you don’t see often, you don’t see thousands and millions of Black restaurants.”

    It’s a huge accomplishment for Reynolds as she reflects on where she started her journey more than 25 years ago.

    “I want people to understand that if you are passionate about something to follow your dreams, and that’s what we do here at My 2 Cents every day, it’s very hard but it’s so rewarding,” said Reynolds.

    Reynolds released her eight-series documentary “Searching for Soul Food” last summer, which explores connections cultures share when it comes to food.

    “Food brings you together, and I think that if we sit down and start to talk more, we can inspire us to be great,” said Reynolds.

    Chef Reynolds was nominated for a James Beard Award for the Best Chef in California category just as the second My 2 Cents location opens on Friday, March 16.

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    Tracey Leong and Missael Soto

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  • Where to Enjoy Easter Sunday Brunch in Houston in 2024

    Where to Enjoy Easter Sunday Brunch in Houston in 2024

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    With Easter coming up on Sunday, March 31, it’s time to make your holiday brunch plans. These Houston restaurants are ready to make Easter special with classic plates and morning cocktails, egg hunts, live jazz, family-friendly brunch buffets, prix fixe affairs and more.

    Artisans, 5745 Westheimer
    The newly reopened Galleria-area restaurant will offer a five-course pre-fixe meal for $99 per person starting at 11 a.m. Indulge in French specialties such as corn chowder, savory crepess, filet mignon, lobster and beignets.

    Backstreet Cafe, 1103 South Shepherd
    The homegrown classic will offer a special three-course Easter brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring live jazz and courses such as chilled creamy artichoke soup, braised lamb shank, steak and eggs, and carrot cake. Cost is $56 per person, $16 per child, plus tax, gratuity and beverages.

    Brennan’s of Houston, 3300 Smith
    Reservations can be secured for one of three family-friendly Easter weekend gatherings by calling 713-522-9711. First up is a Brunch with the Bunny on Friday, March 29 with seatings from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., where families can get their picture with the Easter Bunny and enjoy a festive three-coursse brunch for $67++ per person. On Saturday, March 30, A Very Hoppy Brunch offers brunch alongside live bunnies from Boling Bunny Farms, with seatings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Easter Sunday Brunch will feature a three-course meal of seasonal Creole fare for $72 per person, with seatings from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    The Capital Grille    , multiple locations
    Enjoy chef-prepared brunch specials such a freshly baked blueberry bread, dry-aged NY strip and eggs, butter-poached lobster frittata and more. A children’s brunch menu will also be available.

    Caracol, 2200 Post Oak
    Caracol’s bounteous Sunday brunch buffet will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Easter, featuring brunch favorites, a carving station, seasonal plates and specialty Easter desserts. Cost is $55 per person, $15 per child, plus beverage, tax and gratuity.

    Cocody, 1971 West Gray
    In addition to its expansive brunch menu, Cocody will offer a three-course Easter menu for $95 per person, available from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Feature include pan-seared scallops served with english pea velouté, herb-crusted Colorado double lamb chops au jus with crispy pommes anna and glazed candied beets and Cocody Easter chocolate eggs.

    CRÚ, 2800 Kirby, 9595 Six Pines
    Enjoy a Napa-style wine country Easter Brunch with a la carte items and three-course prix fixe ($45) menu, plus $6 mimosas, bellinis and ciprianis along with discounted prices on Domaine Chandon Rose and Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label by the glass. Highlights include smoked salmon deviled egg toast, goat cheese beignet, crab cake benedict, steak and eggs, and butter toasted lemon pound cake. Brunch runs from 10 am to 3 pm.

    Dario’s Steakhouse & Seafood, 14315 Cypress Rose Hill
    Enjoy Easter Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with eats from red snapper in brown butter sauce to steak and eggs Benedict.

    Eddie V’s, 2800 Kirby, 12848 Queensbury
    Enjoy a prix fixe two-course brunch menu from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live music starting at 4 p.m. Highlight include warm apple cinnamon scone butter-poached Maine lobster quiche Florentine, steak and frittata, and Bloodys and Belliniss. A children’s brunch menu is available as well.

    Etoile Cuisine et Bar, 1101-11 Uptown Park
    Etoile Cuisine et Bar is celebrating Easter with a special brunch menu from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., available for  $68++ per adult and with a kid’s menu available for $32++. Dine on dishes such as spring vegetable risotto, smoked salmon eggs benedict and meyer lemon tarte with raspberry sorbet.

    Eugene’s Gulf Coast Cuisine, 1985 Welch
    Easter brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with features including Boudin and Tasso Benedict, Shrimp and Grits and Eugene’s homemade French Toast. Folks can also meet the Easter Bunny from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Galiana’s Tex Mex & Agave Bar, 24110 US-290 #500
    Easter Sunday brunch runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with features from menudo to carne asada con huevos.

    Guard and Grace, 500 Dallas
    Enjoy brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with specials including “Churro” Monkey Bread, G&G Deviled Eggs, Crab Cake Benedict and Lobster Cavatelli.

    Hamsa, 5555 Morningside
    Hamsa has recently rolled out its Sunday brunch, offered from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Easter brunch dishes include lamb hummus, shakshuka, omelettes, lamb chops and Easter dessert specials in collaboration with Badolina Bakery. Kids brunch options are offered as well.

    Heights & Co., 1343 Yale
    The neighborhood spot invites guests to enjoy Easter Sunday on the patio, with an eggs benedict special in addition to its regular brunch menu and half-off bottles of bubbles and rose for the holiday. Brunch is offered from noon to 3 p.m.

    Hugo’s, 1600 Westheimer
    For Easter Sunday, Hugo’s will serve its famous Sunday brunch buffet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guests will find their usual brunch favorites as well as a carving station, some new seasonal items and specialty Easter desserts. Cost is $55 per person, $15 per child, plus beverage, tax and gratuity.

    click to enlarge

    Easter Sunday brunch comes with a visit from the Easter Bunny at Hungry’s.

    Photo by Julie Soefer

    Hungry’s, 2356 Rice, 14714 Memorial
    The Easter Bunny will be hopping from table to table at both locations this Easter, while guests enjoy brunch specialties like the crab cake eggs Benedict, French omelet sandwich and chocolate chip waffles.

    Jane’s Dine Inn
    Chef Jane Wild will offer Easter Sunday brunch at her communal dining experience, with each table filled with baskets and platters inspired by seasonal ingredients from local farms. Cost is $95 per person with two drinks and there are two seatings available: 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.

    Kenny & Ziggy’s, 1743 Post Oak
    The deli will be open and serving sky-scraping sandwiches, entree salads, smoked fish, comfort foods like stuffed cabbage and Hungarian goulash; and desserts from cheesecake to fresh-made cookies, cakes and pies.

    Marvino’s Italian Steakhouse, 24002 Northwest Freeway
    Enjoy Easter Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with options like classic eggs Benedict, fluffy French toast, chicken and waffle, mimosas and bloody Marys.

    Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, 7 Hope
    Moody Garden’s Easter Sunday brunch buffet will be held in the Frances Anne Moody Ballroom, with reservations from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Enjoy breakfast classics; seafood, pasta and carving stations; holiday favorites like leg of lamb; and traditional cake and pies.

    Ouisie’s Table, 3939 San Felipe
    Ouisie’s special Easter Brunch menu will be a la carte, with reservations beginning at 10 a.m.

    Perry’s Steakhouse, multiple locations
    Perry’s will offer an Easter Sunday ham special, available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for $49. Enjoy a choice of pear salad or carrot-ginger soup followed by a sliced, double-smoked, triple-glazed ham served with whipped potatoes and green bean almondine. Add an additional serving of white chocolate cheesecake for an additional $9.

    Picos, 3601 Kirby
    Pico’s will be offering a special Easter brunch buffet featuring a chef’s carving station with belly porchetta, prime rib and picanha, a raw bar with oyster shooters, oysters on the half shell, ceviches and aguachiles; an omelet and waffle station; and dessert bar with Easter themed treats.

    Prego, 2520 Amherst
    Prego will be open at noon for brunch with its regular menu plus daily specials including veal chops, halibut and lamb chops.

    Rainbow Lodge, 2011 Ella
    The Lodge will be offering a special three-course Easter menu for $60 per person, plus beverage, tax and gratuity; with a $35 kids’ menu. Brunch highlights include fried green tomatoes with shrimp and crab salad, smoked duck gumbo, grilled spring lamb loin, rainbow trout, steak and eggs, and a seasonal dessert trio. Easter brunch will be served 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    Rockhouse, 6025 Richmond
    The Southern kitchen’s Bread & Butter buffet brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Easter specials prime rib, smoked oxtails, fried chicken and catfish, french toast and waffles alongside live music.

    Savoir and Patton’s, 1344 Yale
    From 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., guests are invited to partake in a curated three-course Easter Pre-Fixe menu at $45 per person. Choices include Vova Purgatorio, Beef Tartare, Beef Debris Benedict and Smoked Salmon Tartine, plus desserts including Cronut and Chocolate Tart. A two-course kids menu will also be available for $20.

    Seasons 52, multiple locations
    Seasons 52 is serving a la carte Easter Brunch featuring seasonal ingredients, offered in the dining room from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. Enjoy selections such as crab and cheddar quiche, apricot-glazed spiral ham and wood-grilled shrimp and grits. .

    State of Grace, 3258 Westheimer
    Open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (with a special visit from the Easter Bunny), guests are invited to a festive brunch featuring cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, chicken fried chicken and crawfish benedict, among other highlights.

    Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, 6401 Woodway, 1140 Eldridge
    Sylvia’s will be bringing back its Sunday brunch buffet just for the holiday, offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The buffet is filled withTex-Mex classics and more for $29.99 plus tax, gratuity and beverages ($12 for kids under age 12).

    Toro Toro, 1300 Lamar
    Enjoy brunch classics with pan-Latin flair, with Easter offerings including a seafood and sushi station,  carving station with prime rib and cedar plank salmon, Texas charcuterie, breakfast favorites, a grand dessert display and kid’s station. Cost is $165 for adults and $65 for children 12 and under, with reservations required from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Truluck’s, 5350 Westheimer
    Opening at noon, guests can enjoy Truluck’s regular menu and seasonal accompaniments, plus a special kids menu offered for the holiday. All locations will also feature the Spring Fling cocktail ($17), served March 29-31 in celebration of the Easter holiday and featuring guava, Spanish liqueur Licor 43 and notes of vanilla and Valencia orange.

    URBE, 1101 Uptown Park
    URBE will be offering a multi-course Easter Menu which includes choice of starter and entrée and a dessert buffet for $49 per adult and $15 for kids, plus beverages, tax and gratuity. The in-house bakery will be making special Easter pastries and cookies. Brunch will be served 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    The Warwick, 5888 Westheimer
    The Warwick will be serving Easter Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering specials from smoked ribeye and garlic mash to grilled cedar plank redfish alongside regular classics like tres leches french toast, smoked oxtail hash and carrot cake.

    Xochi, 1777 Walker
    Xochi’s famous Sunday brunch buffet will be offered on Easter from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. alongside live music by Sol y Son. Cost is $55 per person, $15 per child, plus beverage, tax and gratuity.

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    Brooke Viggiano

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  • Peek Inside Stunning La Serre, an Ode to Saint-Tropez in Fulton Market

    Peek Inside Stunning La Serre, an Ode to Saint-Tropez in Fulton Market

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    The owners of Bar Siena, Fioretta, and Lyra are about to open their sixth restaurant in the West Loop and Fulton Market area. La Serre, which should open mid-March, is a French-Mediterranean restaurant from DineAmic Hospitality Group with a unique all-season ledge room and guillotine windows overlooking Fulton Market.

    Ownership describes the menu as coastal French-Mediterranean cuisine, something DineAmic’s team has experience in. Lyra partner Athinagoras Kostakos, the former Top Chef: Greece champion, has cooked in Monaco, home of legendary chef Alain Ducasse. Chef Nikitas Pyrgis has cooked at La Guérite, a restaurant in Cannes, France that’s only accessible via boat.

    “Once we started talking about this, we thought, ‘Wow, you guys have a lot of background in [French cooking], we should do something with that,’” says DineAmic co-founder David Rekhson.

    La Serre will break away from heavier brasserie fare and focus on the south of France, Saint-Tropez, and Provence in particular. Rekhson calls the “the Napa Valley of France” where a bounty of quality ingredients exists. Of course, being DineAmic, Rekhson and fellow DineAmic co-founder Lucas Stoioff blend all these ideas to create a restaurant that they think will appeal to local Chicago customers.

    “Ours is a distinctly coastal French brand and fare, as opposed to a lot of the more inland Parisian classic brasseries that have opened up in the last couple of years,” Stoioff says, referring to a certain restaurant that opened in River North without mentioning its name.

    Stoioff and Rehkson mention several tableside preparations and opportunities to splurge. A 44-ounce, double-cut beef ribeye cote du boeuf is cooked over hardwood charcoal before being trotted out on a tray outfitted with a satellite burner. The steak is sliced tableside while the sauce is prepared and finished Au Poivre or truffle Diane style (Stoioff is a big fan of the latter). An Old Fashioned uses truffle-washed bourbon and served with black truffles shaved tableside. A drink called the Caspian uses dill olive oil and is paired with a bronze bunny statue holding a small bowl of caviar. There are a few others that the duo wants customers to discover at the restaurant and be surprised. A raw bar and a menu of one-bite starters are also served in the French amuse-bouche tradition.

    Located on the second floor of a new building on the corner of Green and Fulton Market, the space is light and airy with the kitchen in the back and a large bar greeting visitors at the front. The terrace, a ledge that flows along Fulton Market, features overhead heaters and the aforementioned windows which open vertically. DineAmic wants diners to feel like they’re in southern France, even when temperatures dip. Stoioff says the space looks like “an old provincial greenhouse that’s been here for 100 years.” The greenhouse design and the resources invested in the HVAC system will allow the restaurant to keep its windows open even on cold fall nights.

    “When you come inside, it feels like it’s summertime in the south of France, and you’re overlooking Fulton market, and our heating, engineering, and capabilities give us the ability to have the windows open a lot longer than we would normally have because of all of our heat we’ve installed,” Stoioff says.

    Not to be forgotten is a companion restaurant that will soon open. Bar La Rue is separate from La Serre. Look for more details in the coming weeks. But for now, take a walk through La Serre before it opens next week and enjoy photos of a few of the food and drink options.

    La Serre, 307 N. Green Street, opening Monday, March 11, reservations available via OpenTable.

    A dining room with a blue wallpapered wall.

    With an open kitchen in back, this is what greets guests as the walk past the host stand and look left.

    The space is modeled off a vintage greenhouse.

    Aquamarine booths with greenery above.

    These booths on the terrace have heaters above as the guillotine-style windows open up to Fulton Market.

    Gnocchi in a plate with pine nuts.

    Gnocchi Parisienne (basil pistou, semi-dried cherry tomato, parmasean, pine nuts)

    Five thin sliced pieces of raw tuna in a broth.

    Tuna Crudo (yuzu, caviar)

    Escargot served with toasted bread.

    Roasted escargot (herb-garlic butter, gruyere, grilled sourdough)

    Steak frites.

    La Serre will seve a variety of steaks using Linz Black Angus beef and cooked on hardwood charcoal.

    Dover Sole Meuniere for two is deboned table side and served with lemon-caper brown butter and brioche croutons.

    The bar will offer several unique cocktails.

    A cocktail served in a bronze bunny dish with caviar.

    The Caspian is part of the “Haute Cocktails” section and served with kaluga caviar.

    A cocktail in a perfume container.

    Smoke & Spice (mezcal, eucalyptus, lemon, black pepper)

    A white pourer pouring a foamy cocktail with hints of pink.

    Bourdeaux Sour (Jefferson’s Very Small Batch, pear, lemon, hibiscus, Bordeaux, egg white)

    A spritzy pink cocktail in a wine glass with rose petals on the glass.

    St. Tropez Spritz (gin, blood orange liqueur, elderflower liqueur, lemon, strawberry, rose petal, Prosecco)

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    Ashok Selvam

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  • Things to do in Denver this weekend, March 8-11 | Denverite

    Things to do in Denver this weekend, March 8-11 | Denverite

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    By Cassidy Ritter, Special to Denverite

    Get out and support local restaurants by participating in Denver Restaurant Week. The celebration ends on Sunday.

    Other weekend happenings include goat yoga, several new art exhibit openings, and home games for both the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets.

    Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Sunday.

    Whatever you get up to, make it a great weekend!

    Notes: Events with an * are taking place virtually or outdoors.

    Friday, March 8

    Kids and family

    Paper Flower Craft. Illiff Square Library, 2253 S. Peoria St., Aurora. 11 a.m-noon. Free.

    Paint a Pot. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 9898 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. 4-5 p.m. Free.

    Indoor Goatflix & Chill (Pete’s Dragon). The Shops at Northfield, 8246 Northfield Blvd., Suite 1690. 6-8 p.m. $20. All ages.

    Comedy and theater

    Ari Shaffir. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $40.

    Arts, culture, and media

    Nomadic Daydreams. Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave., Unit A. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

    No Man’s Land Film Festival. MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany St. 5 p.m. $30. (Read more about the festival here.)

    Opening Celebration – Women In Their Infinite Forms. Denver Milk Market, 1800 Wazee St. 6:30-8 p.m. Free.

    Spring Exhibit Opening Party. MCA Denver, 1485 Delgany St. 7:30-10 p.m. $30.

    Music and nightlife

    Chelsea Cutler. Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. 7:30 p.m. Prices vary.

    Sports and fitness

    *Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. Watch on NHL Network or Altitude. 7 p.m. Prices vary.

    Saturday, March 9

    Just for fun

    St. Patrick’s Day. Town Center at Aurora, 14200 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora. Noon-4 p.m. Free.

    Get Lucky Bingo. The Source Hotel, 3330 Brighton Blvd. 7-9 p.m. $5.

    Kids and family

    The Learning Lab: Colorado Ballet. Ross-Broadway Branch Library, 33 E. Bayaud Ave. 10:30-11 a.m. Free. Ideal for ages 6 and under.

    Children’s Second Saturday Extravaganza. Ross-Broadway Branch Library, 33 E. Bayaud Ave. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Idea for ages 3-6. 

    Little U: Soccer Start with Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer. Hadley Branch Library, 1890 S. Grove St. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Ideal for ages 5 and under.

    The Rock and Roll Playhouse: Music of Talking Heads + More For Kids. Bluebird Theater, 3317 Colfax Ave. 11:30 a.m. $18.75. All ages.

    Beyond the Bookshelves: A Girl’s Inc. STEM Extravaganza & Community Celebration. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St. 12:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Advanced registration is required. Ideal for ages 10-17.

    Egg Carton Flower. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St.  1-2 p.m. Free. Ideal for ages 5-12, when accompanied by an adult.

    Comedy and theater

    Ari Shaffir. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:45 p.m. $40.

    Art, culture, and media

    Free Days. Denver Botanic Gardens – Chatfield Farms, 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Advanced registration required.

    Fazal Sheikh: Thirst | Exposure | In Place Member Preview. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members only). Advanced registration required for timed entry.

    Nomadic Daydreams. Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave., Unit A. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

    28th Annual Denver Jewish Film Festival. The Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 Dahlia St. 7:30 p.m. $15-$17 (individual film tickets for in-person and virtual showings), $140 (10-pack pass), $290 (all-access festival pass).

    Lumonics Immersed. Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 E. 73rd Ave., Unit 11. 8-10 p.m. $20-$25.

    Eat and drink

    Pop-Up Bake Sale. Reunion Bread at The Source Hotel, 3330 Brighton Blvd. 9 a.m.-noon. No cover.

    Wine School: The Wide Range of German Riesling. Noble Riot Wine Bar, 1336 27th St. 3:30-4:30 p.m. $49. Advanced registration required.

    Music and nightlife

    Queen City Rovers. Town Center at Aurora, 14200 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora. 2:30 p.m. Free.

    Darshan Dance Tribe. Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 E. 73 Ave., Unit 11. 7 p.m.-12:15 a.m. $25 (in advance), $30 (at the door).

    Nocturne’s Golden Anniversary. 1330 27th St. No cover. Reservation times vary.

    Wildermiss. Bluebird Theater, 3317 Colfax Ave. 9 p.m. $20.

    Sports and fitness

    Rainforest Yoga. Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster. 7:45-8:45 a.m. $10 (members), $12 (non-members). Advanced registration required. 

    Baby Goat Yoga. The Shops at Northfield, 8246 Northfield Blvd., Suite 1690. 10-11 a.m. and noon-1 p.m. $27.

    *Colorado Mammoth vs. Toronto Rock. Watch on ESPN+. 3 p.m. Prices vary.

    Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle. Watch on Altitude or listen at 92.5 FM. 7 p.m. Prices vary.

    *Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids. Watch on Apple TV. 7:30 p.m.

    Sunday, March 10

    Just for fun

    Good Times Adventure Sled Dog Adoption. Denver Beer Co. – Platte Street, 1695 Platte St. 11 a.m. No cover.

    Kids and family

    DreamLab Birthday Party. Girl Scout DreamLab, 63 North Quebec St. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. All ages.

    Comedy and theater

    Louis Johnson. Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Place, Greenwood Village. 7 p.m. $14.

    Nick Swardson. Comedy Works Downtown, 1226 15th St. 9:15 p.m. $35-$45.

    Art, culture, and media

    28th Annual Denver Jewish Film Festival. Locations vary by showing 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. $15-$17 (individual film tickets for in-person and virtual showings), $140 (10-pack pass), $290 (all access festival pass).

    Eat and drink

    Drag Bingo Brunch. Denver Milk Market, 1800 Wazee St. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. No cover.

    Music and nightlife

    I Dream of a World – Songs of Love and Unity. OvationWest Performing Arts at Wellshire Presbyterian Church, 2999 S. Colorado Blvd., Unit 6607. 4:30 p.m. $12 (student), $24 (senior), $28 (adult).

    Sports and fitness

    Backlight Goat Yoga. The Shops at Northfield, 8246 Northfield Blvd., Suite 1690. 7-8 p.m. $27.

    All Weekend

    Comedy and theater

    Hairspray. Buell Theatre, 1350 Curtis St. 7:30 p.m. (Friday and Saturday), 2 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday). $35-$120.

    Art, culture, and media

    Space Explorers – The Infinite. Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St., Aurora. 2-7 p.m. (Friday), 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (Saturday) and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sunday). Prices vary. Advanced registration required for timed entry.

    Wild Color. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members, children ages 2 and under), $19.95 (guests ages 3-18), $21.95 (seniors ages 65 and older), $24.95 (adults). All ages. Advanced registration recommended. 

    Danielle SeeWalker: But We Have Something to Say. History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members and children 18 and under), $15 (adults). (Read more about the artist and exhibit here.)

    Have a Seat. Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free (members and guests ages 18 and under), $15 (seniors 65+ and Colorado students), $18 (Colorado residents), $19 (non-resident adults and college students), $22 (non-resident adult).

    Museum of Illusions Denver. 951 16th Street Mall. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Sunday). $20 (children ages 5-12), $22 (seniors and active military), $24 (adults). Advanced registration required for timed entry.

    The Museum for Black Girls. 500 16th Street Mall. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. $30. (Read more about the museum and its creator here.)

    Eat and drink

    Denver Restaurant Week. Locations vary. Times vary by restaurant. $25, $35, $45, $55. (Read more about the event here.)

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    Outside Contributor

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  • Man who murdered waitress at Roseville restaurant sentenced 55 years to life

    Man who murdered waitress at Roseville restaurant sentenced 55 years to life

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    (FOX40.COM) — A man who walked into a Placer County restaurant and murdered his ex-fiancé who worked there as a server was sentenced on Monday.

    In June of 2021, 48-year-old Johnnie Jordan entered House of Oliver and shot 51-year-old Vita Joga, according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office. Next, he drove to the South Placer Jail and turned himself in.

    “The relationship started like any other, with a coffee date that led to a romantic relationship,” prosecutors said. “Unfortunately, Jordan had a violent history with a record of possessing a firearm as a felon, criminal threats, and more that Joga was not aware of.”

    The district attorney reported that the relationship progressed into an engagement, but the victim decided to part ways. The split led to jealousy, stalking, and continued domestic violence. Jordan reportedly had a “history of strangulation.”

    On Monday, Judge St. Evans sentenced Jordan, now age 55, to 50 years to life in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for first-degree murder of Joga.

    “Today was about Vita and her loving family and friends. No one should have to experience or endure intimate partner violence on any level.” said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire. “Our office stands committed to empowering our victims and survivors- to strengthen their voice, to educate our community about risk factors and warning signs, and to help survivors re-write their story and escape toxic environments before it’s too late.”

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    Veronica Catlin

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  • OC man arrested in fatal stabbing at Dave’s Hot Chicken in Long Beach

    OC man arrested in fatal stabbing at Dave’s Hot Chicken in Long Beach

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    LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — A suspect has been arrested in Sunday’s fatal stabbing at a restaurant in Long Beach, police announced Monday night.

    The stabbing was reported around 1 a.m. Sunday at Dave’s Hot Chicken on 2nd Street and Covina Avenue. Officers found a 20-year-old Long Beach man with a stab wound to his upper body at the scene and he later was pronounced dead at the hospital. His name has not been released pending identification by the coroner’s office.

    Details about what led up to the stabbing were unclear, but authorities say the preliminary investigation suggests there was a physical altercation between the victim and suspect. During that altercation, the suspect stabbed the victim and ran from the scene.

    Detectives interviewed witnesses and obtained surveillance video in the area which led them to identify Brandon Nguyen, 29, of Huntington Beach as the suspect. They found and arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. He was booked for murder and was being held without bail. A search warrant was also served on his home.

    The video in the player above is from our initial report on the stabbing.

    The case will be submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of filing charges later this week.

    “We will not tolerate acts of violence in our community and we will commit all available resources to ensuring that those responsible for crimes like this are held accountable,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. “Within a matter of minutes, our officers were there to render medical aid and secure the scene. In addition, Homicide detectives responded to the scene and worked around the clock with our Special Investigations Division to identify, locate, and safely apprehend the person believed responsible for this crime.”

    Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

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  • Parachute, Chicago’s Pioneering Modern Korean Restaurant, Is Closing After a Decade

    Parachute, Chicago’s Pioneering Modern Korean Restaurant, Is Closing After a Decade

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    Parachute, a pioneer that’s hailed as one of the best modern Korean restaurants in America, is closing its doors.

    The restaurant served as a vehicle for chef Beverly Kim to channel her family’s heritage into something Chicago has never seen before. In May 2014, Kim and her husband chef Johnny Clark opened a destination-worthy restaurant on a quiet stretch of Elston, one of the first to bring upscale dining to Avondale. Nowadays, the neighborhood is grouped as one of the best dining districts in the country with restaurants like Thattu, Smoque Steak, and Honey Butter Fried Chicken.

    Parachute presented Korean cuisine in a way few have ever seen in Chicago. “Upscale” and “elevated” can be heard as restaurant cliches. But Parachute helped educate the average Chicagoan who had little knowledge surrounding Korean cuisine a decade ago save familiarity with Korean barbecue. Parachute earned a Michelin star from 2014 to 2021. In 2019, Kim and Clark won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Both have been active in community endeavors. They founded the Abundance Setting, a group that supports working mothers in the hospitality industry.

    The restaurant at 3500 N. Elston Avenue will close on Saturday, March 23, according to a news release.

    Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark at the 2022 James Beard Awards.
    Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

    “Every story has a beginning and an end. And while this chapter of Parachute is closing, it is not the final page,” reads a statement posted to the restaurant’s Instagram page. “We expect to bring something new and exciting to the space under the Parachute umbrella in the not-so-distant future.”

    Kim and Clark, who own a second restaurant Anelya — just a few doors from Parachute — say in a news release that they plan on renovating the space and opening a new restaurant. They add they’re also searching for a larger space in Downtown Chicago that could house Parachute.

    When the restaurant opened in May 2014, the menu featured items like bing bread, more skewed toward Korean American tastes. The restaurant would temporarily close during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Kim and Clark would reopen the restaurant two years later in 2022 after the space underwent a light renovation. Kim made big changes to the menu, including saying farewell to that bing bread, in favor of a more traditional Korean menu.

    During the pandemic in March 2020, the couple hung tough and were one of the first fine dining restaurants to adapt their menus for takeout and delivery as the state kept dining rooms closed. It was unheard of for a Michelin-starred restaurant to offer a takeaway option.

    Kim and Clark weren’t immediately reached for comment, but stay tuned for details about what they plan next in Avondale and Downtown Chicago.

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  • Your 2024 guide to Easter pre-order meals, holiday reservations in Charlotte

    Your 2024 guide to Easter pre-order meals, holiday reservations in Charlotte

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    Table & Twine is offering preorder brunch and dinner packages for Easter.

    Table & Twine is offering preorder brunch and dinner packages for Easter.


    Table & Twine

    It’s time to make holiday meal plans for your Charlotte gatherings — before the Easter Bunny arrives with all that chocolate and diverts your attention.

    This year, Easter is Sunday, March 31, and we’ve rounded up a list of offerings from local Charlotte restaurants and meal services so you’ll have choices to browse for brunch and dinner.

    Here are places to consider for your Easter holiday meals in Charlotte, whether you choose to stay home with a pre-ordered meal package or dine at a restaurant in person with your peeps. (Or would that be Peeps in this case?) And keep checking back — we’ll update this story as more restaurants release their plans.

    A La Minute

    Location: Online delivery service via The City Kitch, 9545 Pinnacle Drive Charlotte, NC 28262

    A La Minute will be delivering Easter favorites including ham, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, plus appetizers and desserts. The meals will come ready to reheat in oven-safe containers.

    Menu

    How to order: Online

    Deadline: Sunday, March 24

    Price: Varies, as items are a la carte. The Family Feast is $35 per person.

    Delivery: Saturday, March 30, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

    Angeline’s

    Location: 303 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28202

    Angeline’s Easter Brunch will take place 8 a.m.–2 pm., with the choice of an entrée, plus a shared toast board of toppings, freshly baked pastries and croissants, a tossed salad of local greens, house-made zeppoles and cannolis.

    Entree options will include a choice of:

    • Angeline’s Breakfast with eggs, crispy potatoes, breakfast meat and toast
    • Steak and Eggs with grilled NY strip, eggs, crispy potatoes, roasted tomato and pistou
    • Easter Vegetable Hash with eggs, roasted butternut squash, gnocchi, kale, tomatoes, avocado and pecorino
    • Brunch Pizza with roasted mushrooms, crispy Prosciutto, sunny side up egg and herbs
    • French Toast with Nutella whipped cream and fresh strawberry
    • Pesto Pasta with strozzapreti, spinach pesto, pecorino, pancetta and spring peas
    • Spinach Frittata with robiola, asparagus, Romesco, and grilled ciabatta.

    Kids’ menu options offer a choice of:

    • Yogurt and fruit bowl
    • French toast with fruit, maple syrup
    • Lil’ Angie’s Breakfast with scrambled egg, bacon and breakfast potatoes
    • Pasta Pomodoro
    • Cheese pizza.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online via OpenTable.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $45 per person. Kids 12 and under are $20.

    The Ballantyne

    Location: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28277

    Easter at The Ballantyne Hotel will include a tea and a ballroom buffet, along with brunch and dinner options. An egg hunt will also take place for hotel and restaurant guests only.

    Menu

    How to order: Call (704) 248-4330 or reserve dining online; call (704) 248-4000 for egg hunt reservations.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: Tea is $49 for adults or $69 with sparkling wine and $29 for kids 12 and under. Buffet price is $99 per adult plus tax and service charge and $48 per child 12 and under, plus taxes and service fee. Gallery dining prices are a la carte.

    The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, is offering multiple Easter dining options.
    The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, is offering multiple Easter dining options. The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel

    Church and Union

    Location: 127 N Tryon St #8, Charlotte, NC 28202

    Church and Union and its sister restaurant, La Belle Helene, will offer Easter buffet service from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with a complimentary bloody Mary or mimosa for adults. Regular dinner service will begin at 5 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $70 per person and $35 for children 12 and under.

    La Belle Helene

    Location: 300 S Tryon St Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28202

    La Belle Helene and its sister restaurant, Church and Union, will offer Easter buffet service from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with a complimentary bloody Mary or mimosa for adults. Regular dinner service will begin at 5 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $70 per person and $35 for children 12 and under.

    Metro Diner

    Location: 8334 Pineville-Matthews Rd Suite 110, Charlotte, NC 28226

    Location: 14211 Reese Boulevard, Huntersville, NC 28078

    Location: 10412 E Independence Blvd #400, Matthews, NC 28105

    Metro Diner is offering heat-and-serve Easter Feasts to serve one, four or eight people that are available for curbside pick-up or delivery. The feast includes your choice of roasted turkey or baked ham, plus:

    • Mashed potatoes and gravy
    • Green beans
    • Cornbread stuffing, macaroni and cheese or street corn
    • Cranberry sauce
    • Hawaiian dinner rolls.

    Add-ons such as garden salad and bread pudding are also available.

    Menu

    How to order: Online by location.

    Price: A feast for one is $16.49, for four is $61.99 and for eight is $119.49.

    Deadline: Friday, March 29

    Pickup: Before 6 p.m. Easter Sunday

    North Harbor Club

    Location: 100 N Harbor Pl, Davidson, NC 28036

    North Harbor Club will be serving Easter brunch and dinner from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Call (704) 896-5559 for reservations.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: Varies, as items are a la carte.

    Table & Twine

    Location: 2600 Youngblood St., Charlotte, NC 28203

    Table & Twine offers multiple Easter meals to choose from that come ready to reheat. Packages serve six or 10 people, with options including brunch, as well as Spiralized Brown Sugar Ham or Chicken Florentine. Drinks and desserts are available to add on.

    Menu

    How to order: Online

    Deadline: Tuesday, March 26

    Price: Brunch for eight is $99; ham for six is $239.99 or $349.99 for 10; and chicken for six is $219.99 or $319.99 for 10.

    Pickup: Items will be available for pickup or delivery on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

    Table & Twine’s Easter dinner package.
    Table & Twine’s Easter dinner package. Table & Twine

    Heidi Finley is a writer and editor for CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer. Outside of work, you will most likely find her in the suburbs driving kids around, volunteering and indulging in foodie pursuits.
    Support my work with a digital subscription

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  • Your 2024 guide to Easter pre-order meals, holiday reservations in Charlotte

    Your 2024 guide to Easter pre-order meals, holiday reservations in Charlotte

    [ad_1]

    Table & Twine is offering preorder brunch and dinner packages for Easter.

    Table & Twine is offering preorder brunch and dinner packages for Easter.


    Table & Twine

    It’s time to make holiday meal plans for your Charlotte gatherings — before the Easter Bunny arrives with all that chocolate and diverts your attention.

    This year, Easter is Sunday, March 31, and we’ve rounded up a list of offerings from local Charlotte restaurants and meal services so you’ll have choices to browse for brunch and dinner.

    Here are places to consider for your Easter holiday meals in Charlotte, whether you choose to stay home with a pre-ordered meal package or dine at a restaurant in person with your peeps. (Or would that be Peeps in this case?) And keep checking back — we’ll update this story as more restaurants release their plans.

    A La Minute

    Location: Online delivery service via The City Kitch, 9545 Pinnacle Drive Charlotte, NC 28262

    A La Minute will be delivering Easter favorites including ham, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, plus appetizers and desserts. The meals will come ready to reheat in oven-safe containers.

    Menu

    How to order: Online

    Deadline: Sunday, March 24

    Price: Varies, as items are a la carte. The Family Feast is $35 per person.

    Delivery: Saturday, March 30, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

    Angeline’s

    Location: 303 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28202

    Angeline’s Easter Brunch will take place 8 a.m.–2 pm., with the choice of an entrée, plus a shared toast board of toppings, freshly baked pastries and croissants, a tossed salad of local greens, house-made zeppoles and cannolis.

    Entree options will include a choice of:

    • Angeline’s Breakfast with eggs, crispy potatoes, breakfast meat and toast
    • Steak and Eggs with grilled NY strip, eggs, crispy potatoes, roasted tomato and pistou
    • Easter Vegetable Hash with eggs, roasted butternut squash, gnocchi, kale, tomatoes, avocado and pecorino
    • Brunch Pizza with roasted mushrooms, crispy Prosciutto, sunny side up egg and herbs
    • French Toast with Nutella whipped cream and fresh strawberry
    • Pesto Pasta with strozzapreti, spinach pesto, pecorino, pancetta and spring peas
    • Spinach Frittata with robiola, asparagus, Romesco, and grilled ciabatta.

    Kids’ menu options offer a choice of:

    • Yogurt and fruit bowl
    • French toast with fruit, maple syrup
    • Lil’ Angie’s Breakfast with scrambled egg, bacon and breakfast potatoes
    • Pasta Pomodoro
    • Cheese pizza.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online via OpenTable.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $45 per person. Kids 12 and under are $20.

    The Ballantyne

    Location: The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28277

    Easter at The Ballantyne Hotel will include a tea and a ballroom buffet, along with brunch and dinner options. An egg hunt will also take place for hotel and restaurant guests only.

    Menu

    How to order: Call (704) 248-4330 or reserve dining online; call (704) 248-4000 for egg hunt reservations.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: Tea is $49 for adults or $69 with sparkling wine and $29 for kids 12 and under. Buffet price is $99 per adult plus tax and service charge and $48 per child 12 and under, plus taxes and service fee. Gallery dining prices are a la carte.

    The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, is offering multiple Easter dining options.
    The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, is offering multiple Easter dining options. The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel

    Church and Union

    Location: 127 N Tryon St #8, Charlotte, NC 28202

    Church and Union and its sister restaurant, La Belle Helene, will offer Easter buffet service from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with a complimentary bloody Mary or mimosa for adults. Regular dinner service will begin at 5 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $70 per person and $35 for children 12 and under.

    La Belle Helene

    Location: 300 S Tryon St Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28202

    La Belle Helene and its sister restaurant, Church and Union, will offer Easter buffet service from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with a complimentary bloody Mary or mimosa for adults. Regular dinner service will begin at 5 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Make reservations online.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: $70 per person and $35 for children 12 and under.

    Metro Diner

    Location: 8334 Pineville-Matthews Rd Suite 110, Charlotte, NC 28226

    Location: 14211 Reese Boulevard, Huntersville, NC 28078

    Location: 10412 E Independence Blvd #400, Matthews, NC 28105

    Metro Diner is offering heat-and-serve Easter Feasts to serve one, four or eight people that are available for curbside pick-up or delivery. The feast includes your choice of roasted turkey or baked ham, plus:

    • Mashed potatoes and gravy
    • Green beans
    • Cornbread stuffing, macaroni and cheese or street corn
    • Cranberry sauce
    • Hawaiian dinner rolls.

    Add-ons such as garden salad and bread pudding are also available.

    Menu

    How to order: Online by location.

    Price: A feast for one is $16.49, for four is $61.99 and for eight is $119.49.

    Deadline: Friday, March 29

    Pickup: Before 6 p.m. Easter Sunday

    North Harbor Club

    Location: 100 N Harbor Pl, Davidson, NC 28036

    North Harbor Club will be serving Easter brunch and dinner from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

    Menu

    How to order: Call (704) 896-5559 for reservations.

    Deadline: ASAP while space remains.

    Price: Varies, as items are a la carte.

    Table & Twine

    Location: 2600 Youngblood St., Charlotte, NC 28203

    Table & Twine offers multiple Easter meals to choose from that come ready to reheat. Packages serve six or 10 people, with options including brunch, as well as Spiralized Brown Sugar Ham or Chicken Florentine. Drinks and desserts are available to add on.

    Menu

    How to order: Online

    Deadline: Tuesday, March 26

    Price: Brunch for eight is $99; ham for six is $239.99 or $349.99 for 10; and chicken for six is $219.99 or $319.99 for 10.

    Pickup: Items will be available for pickup or delivery on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

    Table & Twine’s Easter dinner package.
    Table & Twine’s Easter dinner package. Table & Twine

    Heidi Finley is a writer and editor for CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer. Outside of work, you will most likely find her in the suburbs driving kids around, volunteering and indulging in foodie pursuits.
    Support my work with a digital subscription

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    Heidi Finley

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  • An Upcoming Taiwanese Noodle Shop Spotlights a Culture’s Fading History

    An Upcoming Taiwanese Noodle Shop Spotlights a Culture’s Fading History

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    An upcoming Taiwanese restaurant in Andersonville will champion beef noodle soup — a Taiwanese staple that has been embraced by many as the country’s national dish.

    Taiwan-born chef Rich Wang has worked at award-winning restaurants like Boka in Lincoln Park and Fat Rice in Logan Square. His first solo project, Minyoli, is aiming for an early April debut at 5420 N. Clark Street. It’s the former home of Korean-Italian hit Passerotto, and more recently, an outpost of Loop restaurant Land & Lake Kitchen. He will present a traditional beef noodle soup with a deep and herbal broth infused with warm spices like cardamom and cinnamon; springy noodles made on-site and cut by hand each day; and melt-in-your-mouth cuts of beef shank — “the cherry on top,” he says. He’ll also serve lu wei (or lou mai in Cantonese), which Wang roughly translates to mean braised snacks.

    The menu allows Minyoli to pay homage to juàn cun, Taiwan’s distinctive and fast-disappearing cultural enclaves. Wang was born at one of these “military dependents’ villages” in Tapei before he immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 14. He’s watched with interest and concern as villages like the one he grew up in dwindled amid a governmental push for “urban renewal” across the island nation.

    Renderings show a sleek, minimalist aesthetic.
    Minyoli

    Juàn cun initially emerged in the late 1940s toward the end of the Chinese Civil War to house Chinese military personnel and their families. Over time, these enclaves generated unique culinary and cultural mash-ups, and at their height numbered more than 800 throughout the country. However, they have grappled with issues of poor housing construction, disrepair, dereliction, and abandonment. As of 2019, fewer than 30 juàn cun remain in Taiwan. The beef noodle Wang will serve originates from juán cun.

    “It was rough and provisional housing, and as you can imagine, a lot of Chinese culture suddenly merged into these small neighborhoods and engendered a unique cuisine only found in Taiwan,” he says. “It’s great that people are moving into better neighborhoods, but I want to remember the cuisine.”

    The restaurant’s debut will realize a long-held goal for Wang, who at age 30 left a career as a corporate attorney for the hospitality industry. His culinary chops extend beyond the U.S. border, as Wang cooked for three years under lauded Cantonese chef Tam Kwok Fung at his Michelin-starred restaurant in Macau.

    Wang has also spent a month at a hand-pulled noodle “boot camp” in Lanzhou, China (a city famed for its noodles) where he earned an official certification in the technique. While he won’t have the staff or time to make hand-pulled noodles at Minyoli, the experience was memorable. “It was the middle of December for eight hours a day, seven days a week,” he says. “There were no breaks and no heat — I was wearing my down jacket pulling noodles for a month.”

    In Andersonville, his team will braise tofu, eggs, and meats in the same master stock as the soup to complement the noodles. Wang also promises a small cocktail menu featuring Taiwanese liquors, beer, and cocktails, as well as a dessert menu with ice cream flavors like taro, black sesame, and red bean.

    A rendering of a bar inside a restaurant.

    Minyoli’s Taiwanese focus will extend to the bar menus.
    Minyoli

    Minyoli’s long and narrow 1,775 square-foot space on Andersonville’s main drag is undergoing a facelift with an abundance of light natural wood, woven basket lampshades, and exposed brick walls. Wang also notes that while the overall aesthetic leans into subtlety, it will also feature pops of a very particular shade of aquamarine.

    “That specific color, you can find it everywhere in juàn cun, probably because it was the cheapest paint available at the time,” Wang says. “That color specifically reminds me of my childhood.”

    Minyoli, 5420 N. Clark Street, scheduled to open in early April.

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    Naomi Waxman

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  • Restaurants with a sense of humor make for the best dining experiences (32 Photos)

    Restaurants with a sense of humor make for the best dining experiences (32 Photos)

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    Camry

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  • Bittersweet Pastry Shop Expands Into Pilsen and 12 More Openings

    Bittersweet Pastry Shop Expands Into Pilsen and 12 More Openings

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    Winter may seem like a quiet season in Chicago, but a peek under the hood of Chicago’s hospitality industry will show that even the chilliest time of year can provide plenty of surprising, exciting, and delicious restaurant and bar debuts all over the city. The following are just some of the restaurants that have opened — or reopened — their dining rooms, patios, and takeout windows. It will be updated periodically.

    Know of a restaurant that’s opening? Email chicago@eater.com with details so they can be included when this post is next updated.

    February 20

    Chatham: Maxine’s, a new Italian restaurant from the owners of soul food hit Oooh Wee! It Is!, debuted on Wednesday, February 14 in a space connected to its sister restaurant at 33 E. 83rd Street, according to Block Club Chicago. Owner Mark Walker named Maxine’s after his mother, the late Rev. Maxine Walker, and hopes to honor her legacy of elaborate dinner parties with a menu featuring king crab linguine, Caesar salads prepared tableside, and an unusual salmon Pop-Tart presented in a gold-plated toaster — a riff on Chicago’s distinctive genre of Black-influenced egg rolls. Maxine’s, 33 E. 83rd Street, Open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

    Lincoln Park: Kosovo-based restaurant chain Pasta Fasta opened its first U.S. location on Tuesday, January 30 at 2468 N. Clark Street, operators announced on Instagram. The quick-serve brand specializes in a variety of pasta for takeout and delivery, but patrons can also dine in at the counter-service spot. Pasta Fasta Lincoln Park, 2468 N. Clark Street, Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.

    Logan Square: A long-awaited outpost of mini-chain Wake-N-Bakery, known for serving food and drink infused with Delta-9 THC, opened in early February at 2757 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Locals have waited since signs first went up in 2022 for the sixth location from the Illinois-based company to debut. A combination of permitting and construction issues pushed back the opening twice, manager Sean Parsons tells Block Club, which gave the team plenty of time to outfit the space with colorful weed-themed murals. Menu items include a variety of lemonades, hot and iced lattes like Lucy in the Sky (lavender, French vanilla), and edibles (infused or not) such as brownies, gluten-free scones, and cookies. Wake-N-Bakery Logan Square, 2757 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Open 8 a.m. to 8 pm. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

    Logan Square: Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar Wave Sushi & Sake opened in early February at 1858 N. Western Avenue. Located next door to Dark Matter Coffee’s Electric Mud Coffee Bar, the low-lit spot offers both traditional and creative maki alongside donburi and Asian-style carpaccios. Wave Sushi & Sake, 1858 N. Western Avenue, Open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

    North Park: Faiza Chicago, a new halal restaurant serving Uyghur cuisine, opened in early January at 3315 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue inside the former home of Korean BBQ House, owners announced on Instagram. It’s a rare spot where diners can find the food of China’s persecuted Turkic Muslim minority (there’s also Uyghur-owned Café Alif in West Ridge) featuring lots of dumplings, noodles, stir-fries, and grilled meats. Faiza Chicago, 3315 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

    O’Hare International Airport: Travelers passing through Terminal 5 at O’Hare International Airport have two new dining options: The Hampton Social, a mini-chain from Nisos Prime owner Parker Hospitality; and West Loop’s Bar Siena, according to a rep. Both restaurants opened in late January amid the latter stages of a $1.3 billion expansion and renovation on the terminal. The Hampton Social, Terminal 5 – M6, Open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; Bar Siena, Terminal 5 – M34, Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

    Old Town: The owners of Nepal House have at long last unveiled a 45-seat new location at 158 W. Division Street after massive renovations to the former home of Sarpino’s Pizzeria. Nepal House has locations across the city and runs Chicago Curry House in South Loop. Nepal House Old Town, 158 W. Division Street, Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

    Pilsen: Sweets stalwart Bittersweet Pastry Shop & Cafe, a premiere Chicago bakery in Lakeview for over three decades, unveiled its second location on Friday at 2019 S. Laflin Street. It’s a major expansion for owner Esther Griego, a Mexican American who is partnering with Top Chef alum Katsuji Tanabe on a special menu only available in Pilsen featuring creative and traditional Mexican favorites like conchas and palmiers. Griego and Tanabe have also tapped the talents of Marcos Carbajal, the second-generation owner of Carnitas Uruapan and a 2024 James Beard semifinalist, for a carnitas quiche. Bittersweet Pastry Shop & Cafe Pilsen, 2019 S. Laflin Street, Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

    Streeterville: Chef Steve Chiappetti, a hospitality veteran who last year took over ground-floor restaurant the Albert inside the Hotel EMC2, opened new pizzeria and wine bar Archive Lounge on Friday, February 9 on the second floor of the hotel at 228 E. Ontario Street, according to a rep. A casual, 40-seat spot, the lounge offers a rotating lineup of Sicilian-style pizzas (opening options include a smoked duck pie with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese) and snacks such as salsiccia and peppers. Archive Lounge inside the Hotel EMC2, 228 E. Ontario Street, 2nd Floor, Open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

    Uptown: Mao Bar, a new cocktail bar serving a wide range of Asian spirits, debuted in December 2023 at 4949 N. Broadway inside Thai restaurant Immm Rice & Beyond, owner Drew Suriyawan announced on Instagram. Suriyawan, who opened Imm in 2015, tells Block Club that he aims to fill a cocktail void in Asia on Argyle with drinks like Siam Square (Kura Pure Malt Japanese Whisky, A.E. Dor V.S. Cognac, Bodega Martinez Lacuesta Rojo Vermouth, aquavit) and Paper Tiger (pineapple amaro, Nonino Amaro, Alta Verde Amaro, blood orange sour). Mao Bar, 4949 N. Broadway, Open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

    West Loop: Local barbecue heavy-hitter Soul & Smoke launched its fourth Chicago area outpost on Friday, February 16 at 500 W. Madison Street inside the Accenture Tower skyscraper, according to a rep. The team is serving chef D’Andre Carter’s popular prime brisket sandwich, shrimp and grits, smoked meats by the pound, and a handful of salads and bowls. Soul & Smoke West Loop, 500 W. Madison Street, Open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

    West Town: Modern Relish, the hotly anticipated replacement for longtime hot dog stand Duk’s Red Hots, opened in late January at 636 N. Ashland Avenue, the Sun-Times reported. Duk’s closed in December after business partners Anthony “Tony” Pagliuca and Angela Villanueva bought it from founder Mervyn Dukatte. They’ve applied for a liquor license and plan to sell wine and beer once it’s approved. In the meantime, patrons can count on street food staples like Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, and pizza puffs. Modern Relish, 636 N. Ashland Avenue, Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

    January 5

    Fulton Market: Sushi stall Madai opened in December inside Time Out Market Chicago, according to (guess who) Time Out Chicago, bringing a Japanese option to fill a void left by the exit of longtime favorite Arami. Madai is helmed by chef Ismael Lucero Lopez (Japanais, Rebar, TenGoku Aburiya, Arami), who will bring some Latin influences to options like El Baja (panko ebi, tuna, avocado, marinated jalapenos) and Tres Ronin (tuna, hamachi, salmon, cliantro, poblano, lime zest). Madai, 916 W. Fulton Market inside Time Out Market Chicago, Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

    Garfield Ridge: After a lengthy shutdown and renovation process, Villa Rosa Pizza reopened on Thursday, January 4 in a new space at 5786 S. Archer Avenue, owners announced on Facebook. Originally founded in 1972, the neighborhood pizzeria was shut down by the Chicago Department of Public Health in September 2022 and has been under construction ever since, with operators regularly updating fans with pictures of the buildout on social media. “We want to thank you, all the Villa Rosa fans, friends, and family for your patience and support and look forward to seeing you!” they write. Villa Rosa Pizza, 5786 S. Archer Avenue, Hours not yet available.

    Lincoln Park: Brun, a cookie shop from the team behind vegan empanada business Fons, opened Tuesday, January 2 at 2566 N. Clark Street. The counter-service spot has replaced the original Fons location, though a trio of empanada outposts remain. Brun is decidedly not vegan, with a menu of cookie flavors including strawberry, banana pudding, “brookie” (read: brownie cookie), and birthday cake, plus stuffed cookies such as Biscoff and Nutella. Brun Cookies, 2566 N. Clark Street, Open noon to 10 p.m. daily.

    Lincoln Square: Cafe Mas, a vegan coffee shop and cafe from the owners of Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria, opened in late December at 2310 W. Foster Avenue, the team announced on Instagram. The Mexican-owned cafe is awash in brightly colored murals and serves a variety of hot and cold coffee drinks, as well as dishes like the Power Burrito (refried beans, spinach, kale, pico de gallo, avocado). Cafe Mas, 2310 W. Foster Avenue, Open noon to 5 p.m. daily.

    The Loop: Celebrity chef Fabio Viviani will launch his latest project, “sexy” Mediterranean restaurant and cocktail bar Seville, on Saturday, January 6 on the 16th floor of The Canopy by Hilton Chicago at 243 S. Franklin Street, according to a rep. Viviani (Siena Tavern, Bar Siena, Prime & Provisions) promises a sharing-friendly seasonal menu that traverses the costal regions around the Mediterranean Sea with opening dishes like grilled octopus (fingerling potatoes, nduja) and paella-style risotto (clams, mussels, shrimp, chorizo, chicken, saffron). The 5,900-square-foot rooftop dining room is lined with windows for views of the city and there’s a 1,700-square-foot outdoor bar and lounge space that will be open almost year-round with heaters. Seville, 243 S. Franklin Street, 16th Floor, Open Saturday, January 6, Reservations available via Seven Rooms.

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  • Lake Norman farm-to-table restaurant expands its menu, unveils new name

    Lake Norman farm-to-table restaurant expands its menu, unveils new name

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    SCREEN SHOT FROM EAT. DRINK. SHOP. MOORESVILLE ON FACEBOOK

    A farm-to-table restaurant in Mooresville near Lake Norman is rebranding with a new name beginning Monday and will add breakfast plus other menu items, management said this week on the Facebook community group “Eat. Drink. Shop. Mooresville.”

    The former Johnny’s Farmhouse on River Highway (N.C. 150) is now Mooresville Family House. The new sign went up on the building Thursday and the restaurant has been closed a few days while crews continued refurbishing the interior.

    The restaurant will reopen at 7 a.m. Monday and will be open daily until 9 p.m., management said.

    “Breakfast classics and everything in between,” Mooresville Family House posted on Facebook Saturday afternoon, promising to post its menu later in the day.

    Mooresville Family House also has added vegetarian and weight-watching meals, according to its Facebook post earlier in the week.

    The restaurant has “upped the quality” of its food while reducing prices, according to the post.

    Mooresville Family House is affiliated with the China Grove Family House farm-to-table restaurant on Main Street in China Grove, Rowan County, management said.

    “Our new menu is something that our owner has worked extremely hard on!” according to the Mooresville Family House Facebook post. “With definite improvements! We have options for everyone. We have mainly focused on quality products and pricing for our customers!”

    Related stories from Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news.
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  • 3 restaurants in the Triangle make Forbes list of the very best in the world

    3 restaurants in the Triangle make Forbes list of the very best in the world

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    Three Triangle restaurants were named Forbes Travel Guide Star Award Winners in a recent report, highlighting the very best restaurants in the world.

    One was ranked a five-star restaurant, earning that accolade from Forbes alongside only 77 other restaurants across the globe in 2024.

    The Forbes Travel Guide’s 2024 Star Awards reflect the best hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises, taking into consideration “destinations offering meaningful experiences, as well as smaller U.S. cities that are often overlooked.”

    Six restaurants in North Carolina made the list, with restaurants in Charlotte, Asheville and Highlands.

    This is FTG’s 66th annual list of Star Awards winners. To read the full list of 2024 winners, visit forbestravelguide.com/award-winners. You can filter the list to specific areas across the world.

    Here are the three restaurants in the Raleigh area that received high praise.

    Herons, located inside the Umstead Hotel in Cary, is an elegant, contemporary setting.
    Herons, located inside the Umstead Hotel in Cary, is an elegant, contemporary setting. Juli Leonard jleonard@newsobserver.com

    Cary’s Herons named a 5-star restaurant

    Forbes declared Herons — a nature, art and wellness-inspired restaurant within Cary’s luxury Umstead Hotel and Spa — a five-star spot.

    “A passion for locally grown fruits and vegetables and farm-fresh meats and seafood is evident in the often-flawless fare. Fresh flavors, surprising combinations, and eye-catching presentations are the hallmarks of the dining experience here,” FTG wrote.

    Herons is one of only 78 five-star restaurants in the world on Forbes’ 2024 Star Awards list.

    Herons’ chef de cuisine Spencer Thomson, left, laughs with executive chef Steven Devereaux Greene in the Cary restaurant’s kitchen at the start of dinner service on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2019. Thomson and Greene have worked together for years at various restaurants including Devereaux’s.
    Herons’ chef de cuisine Spencer Thomson, left, laughs with executive chef Steven Devereaux Greene in the Cary restaurant’s kitchen at the start of dinner service on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2019. Thomson and Greene have worked together for years at various restaurants including Devereaux’s. Juli Leonard jleonard@newsobserver.com

    Here are FTG’s Inspector’s Highlights from the restaurant:

    • The intimate 98-seat dining room features a full-view kitchen, original artwork and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the wooded grounds.

    • You can choose a three- or four-course meal, or opt for the chef’s signature eight-course kaiseki dinner. Each course showcases Herons’ style of food in an intricate and artful form and creatively puts a regional spin on American cuisine.

    • There is generally a pleasant background murmur of voices from fellow diners, hotel guests and bar patrons. It allows for conversation without feeling stuffy. Plus, there’s piano music and live jazz on Friday and Saturday evenings.

    • The dining room is elegant and hushed with an open, soundproof kitchen that often mesmerizes guests as they watch Heron’s culinary masters in action.

    • A stellar wine list features more than 1,600 wines. Craft beer and signature cocktails are also available.

    In 2019, The News & Observer named Herons the top restaurant in the area for the second time.

    “[Executive chef Steven Devereaux] Greene, a James Beard Award semifinalist, returned to Herons as executive chef in 2014 and has never failed to deliver a memorable meal when I’ve eaten there,” wrote The N&O’s then-restaurant critic Greg Cox.

    “But the last one was an experience that rose to the level of transcendent. I indulged in an eight-course tasting menu called The Art Tour, with each course inspired by a work of art on the premises of the Umstead Hotel.”

    Herons is located at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. Photographed Dec. 18, 2009.
    Herons is located at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. Photographed Dec. 18, 2009. JULI LEONARD jleonard@newsobserver.com

    To contact Herons:

    To learn more about Forbes’ five-star review of Herons, visit forbestravelguide.com.

    Pittsboro’s Fearrington House Restaurant named 4-star restaurant

    Forbes declared The Fearrington House Restaurant — described as a charming dining room just a few miles south of Chapel Hill in Pittsboro — a four-star eatery.

    “Dinner lives up to the lovely surroundings. The upscale menu is American, with techniques borrowed from France and robust flavors taken from the surrounding region. The thoughtful, seasonal menu is complemented by a deep international wine list that features close to 500 selections with a focus on California varietals,” FTG wrote.

    Fearrington House Inn & Restaurant in Pittsboro announced this week that its longtime chef Colin Bedford would depart, and that sous chef Paul Gagne had been tapped to lead the famous kitchen.
    Fearrington House Inn & Restaurant in Pittsboro announced this week that its longtime chef Colin Bedford would depart, and that sous chef Paul Gagne had been tapped to lead the famous kitchen. Krystal Kast

    Here are FTG’s Inspector’s Highlights from the restaurant:

    • Removed from the city and sitting adjacent to grassy meadows, the restaurant and luxury inn exude peace and quiet. You’ll hear crickets and the trickling fountains when walking to the restaurant’s doorway at dusk.

    • The gardens surrounding the old 1927 farmhouse are worthy of a pre-dinner stroll. Take a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs under the ancient oak trees to watch the Belted Galloway cows make their evening migration from one meadow to the other.

    • Ingredients often hail from nearby farms, including eggs from Lu’s Farm, cheeses from Looking Glass Creamery and micro greens from Duckwood Farms — reminding you of the rural setting of this fine-dining locale. Some ingredients, like the honey, come straight from the Fearrington property itself.

    Head chef Paul Gagne told The N&O in 2022 he was drawn to Fearrington because he found the kitchen to be a rare blend of artistry and cutting-edge techniques, then seeing fine dining in a whole new way.

    “Building the plate, sure that’s artistry. But I always saw the cooking side as science,” he said.

    Fearrington House’s then-Executive Chef Colin Bedford, working in the kitchen with 9 other members of his staff in preparation for dinner.
    Fearrington House’s then-Executive Chef Colin Bedford, working in the kitchen with 9 other members of his staff in preparation for dinner. clowenst@newsobserver.com

    To contact The Fearrington House Restaurant:

    To learn more about Forbes’ four-star review of The Fearrington House, visit forbestravelguide.com.

    Durham’s Fairview Dining Room among best restaurants in the world

    Fairview Dining Room is located in the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, a premier hotel in Durham that Forbes says intertwines tradition with a high-end class.

    “Executive chef Troy Stauffer’s menu is one that’s filled with New American cuisine done with subtle preparatory winks to the old South. Parties of all shapes will enjoy the seasonal dishes — and while a few of them will tap their feet to the nightly piano tunes, all will certainly leave with a smile,” FTG wrote.

    Murray Healy photographed at Fairview Dining Room in 2014.
    Murray Healy photographed at Fairview Dining Room in 2014. COURTESY OF TORIANO FREDERICKS

    Here are FTG’s Inspector’s Highlights from the restaurant:

    • Fairview has a more refined feel. Servers’ uniforms are clean, conversations are muted and window adornments are classic. But it’s not to be taken too seriously.

    • Many tables look directly onto the Duke University Golf Course.

    • At breakfast and lunch, the energy is quite bright. A lot of this is because the floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the greens.

    • At dinnertime, the mood is still easy, many thanks to the nightly piano tunes.

    To contact Fairview Dining Room:

    To learn more about Forbes’ review of Fairview, visit forbestravelguide.com.

    This story was originally published February 14, 2024, 1:57 PM.

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    Kimberly Cataudella (she/her) is a service journalism reporter for The News & Observer.

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  • Fruity Pebbles and a Michelin-Starred Restaurant Fuel a Wacky Paczki Lineup

    Fruity Pebbles and a Michelin-Starred Restaurant Fuel a Wacky Paczki Lineup

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    Sweet-toothed Chicagoans are counting down to Paczki Day, the last day before Lenten season and better known as Fat Tuesday outside of Chicago. Locals descend upon city and suburban bakeries annually and line up for boxes of the traditional Polish treat, which essentially packs 40 days’ worth of sugar and butter into a holeless doughnut.

    Kelly Ijichi, a Japanese American chef, has kept an eye trained on the calendar. On Tuesday, February 13, she and a cadre of hospitality collaborators will unveil their unusual and inventive paczki creations. They will host a paczki party on Fat Tuesday in the former home of Big Kids in Logan Square. The irreverent sandwich shop closed on Sunday, February 4, after three years. The festivities will also serve as one last hurrah.

    Chaos cooking has extended to paczki.
    Cori Black

    For Ijichi, who ran a pop-up and food stall called Mom’s, this isn’t the first time she’s dabbled with paczki. Chef Lorraine Nguyen has concocted a pastry with malted sunchoke cremeux, dark chocolate, and cacao (“In my head, it tastes like a very good chocolate milkshake from Steak ‘n Shake,”), while baker Rosie Est is stuffing hers with guava citrus cardamom filling and topping them with vanilla icing and puffed rice for a satisfying crunch. Cheesemonger Alisha Norris Jones is tapping into her memory of a standout cheese board at Michelin-starred Lutèce in D.C. for her take, featuring curry comte honeycomb cream.

    Not to be outdone, Ijichi promises two paczki, a milk chocolate version with hatcho miso and hazelnut praline; and an old favorite, her truffled paczki. It’s stuffed with truffle honey cream and showered with shaved winter truffle and edible gold leaves. That’s all on top of special walk-in-only offerings, like Nguyen’s Fruity Pebbles-inspired option with strawberry mousse filling and makrut lime glaze. She estimates that each year, the team makes around 600 paczki. It’s a goofy, sugar-soaked time, and Ijichi’s way of forming partnerships with friends and hospitality players, with past participants including Roshelley Mayén of to-go cocktail business Juanitas Bebidas and Palita Sriratana of Thai food brand Pink Salt.

    Ijichi began making paczki five years ago when she ran Mom’s out of Marz Community Brewing in Bridgeport. Every year, the Polish- and Korean-owned brewery hosts a Paczki Fest featuring sweet treats from neighborhood bakeries as well as special seasonal beers. Neither Ijichi nor her collaborators are of Polish descent, but the Chicago tradition piqued their interest and presented an opportunity to experiment with questions of food and identity.

    “As people who had multicultural experiences growing up, it’s always fun to look at food as something that evolves,” Nguyen says, noting the prevalence of Western chefs who build careers by interpreting cuisines from other parts of the world. “But I think there’s something really powerful and great in flipping that scenario. Instead of a Western lens looking globally, it’s a global lens looking at something Western.”

    Four packs of paczki (one of each flavor) and truffle paczki are available for pre-order online through Thursday, February 8. Pickup is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, February 13 at Big Kids, 2545 N. Kedzie Boulevard.

    1834 South Kildare Avenue, , IL 60623



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  • Newly Awarded Distinguished Restaurants of North America Named

    Newly Awarded Distinguished Restaurants of North America Named

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    Ninety-eight restaurants join the ranks of the most celebrated dining establishments in North America


    NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y., February 1, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRōNA) Award of Excellence – one of the most prestigious awards in the industry – has just added 98 establishments to its list of renowned restaurants.

    “We are thrilled to announce the addition of this outstanding selection of restaurants to our distinguished list,” noted Scott Breard, CEO of DiRōNA. “This achievement is a testament to the relentless pursuit of culinary excellence and the unwavering dedication of their exceptional staff. The DiRōNA Award of Excellence symbolizes a restaurateur’s tireless efforts and commitment to providing an exceptional dining experience.”

    Restaurants that were added to the DiRōNA Award of Excellence list during 2023 include:

    360 Bistro – Nashville, TN

    368 Maine – Greenville, ME

    715 Restaurant – Lawrence, KS

    ALC Steaks – Austin, TX

    Alouette Bistro – Vancouver, BC

    Apollon – Appleton, WI

    Appalachia Kitchen – Snowshoe, WV

    Arroyo Vino – Santa Fe, NM

    Bacaro – Providence, RI

    Barberian’s Steak House – Toronto, ON

    BarZola – Palo Alto, CA

    BE.STEAK.A – Campbell, CA

    Black+Blue – Toronto, ON

    Black+Blue – Vancouver, BC

    Blackstone Steakhouse – Melville, NY

    Blue Talon Bistro – Williamsburg, VA

    Buonasera Ristorante – Jupiter, FL

    Buvette Restaurant and Wine Bar – Burlington, ON

    Charlie Gitto’s On the Hill – St. Louis, MO

    Christopher’s at the Wrigley Mansion – Phoenix, AZ

    Coast – Vancouver, BC

    Criollo Restaurant – New Orleans, LA

    Cucina Toscana – Salt Lake City, UT

    Dakota’s Steakhouse – Dallas, TX

    DaNico – Toronto, ON

    David Burke Tavern – New York, NY

    Delmonico’s – New York, NY

    Dino’s Steak and Claw House – Grapevine, TX

    Dumbwaiter Restaurant – Mobile, AL

    Estela Restaurant – Rincón, PR

    Farina – Kansas City, MO

    FK – Toronto, ON

    FOUR – Oyster Bay, NY

    Giulietta – Toronto, ON

    Glowbal – Vancouver, BC

    Gorji Restaurant – Dallas, TX

    Harbourfront Restaurant – Pembroke, Bermuda

    Haywire – Plano, TX

    Hoku’s at The Kahala Hotel & Resort – Honolulu, HI

    Horn and Cantle – Big Sky, MT

    Hydra Estiatorio – Vancouver, BC

    Il Capriccio Ristorante – Whippany, NJ

    Italian Kitchen – Vancouver, BC

    John’s Grill – San Francisco, CA

    La Quinta Cliffhouse – La Quinta, CA

    Lazy Betty – Atlanta, GA

    Lidia’s Kansas City – Kansas City, MO

    Lovechild – La Crosse, WI

    Ludivine – Oklahoma City, OK

    Marco’s Kitchen – La Grange, IL

    Matthew’s Restaurant – Jacksonville, FL

    Mediterra Restaurant & Taverna – Princeton, NJ

    Nesso – Indianapolis, IN

    Nouveau Monde – Sandy Hook, CT

    Novello Restaurant & Bar – Boca Raton, FL

    Ocean Restaurant – Birmingham, AL

    Old Vinings Inn – Atlanta, GA

    Ott’s Good Earth Garden – West Creek, NJ

    Palace Prime – Santa Fe, NM

    Piccolo Sogno – Chicago, IL

    Plane & Level – Spring, TX

    Plane & Level Coastal – Fairhope, AL

    Prime at Sky Meadow – Nashua, NH

    Proudfoot & Bird – Des Moines, IA

    Restaurant Beck – Depoe Bay, OR

    Restaurant Martin – Santa Fe, NM

    Rib N Reef Steakhouse – Montreal, QC

    Riley’s Fish & Steak – Vancouver, BC

    Saffron Social – Peoria, IL

    Shanahan’s Steakhouse – Denver, CO

    Shapley’s Restaurant – Ridgeland, MS

    Stone House Restaurant – Colleyville, TX

    Sundance The Steakhouse – Palo Alto, CA

    Sybaris Bistro – Albany, OR

    TABLE No. 2 Restaurant – Detroit, MI

    Tardif’s American Brasserie – San Antonio, TX

    Teatro – Calgary, AB

    The Alden – Chamblee, GA

    The Bay House at Salishan – Gleneden Beach, OR

    The Elkridge Furnace Inn – Elkridge, MD

    The Russian Tea Room – New York, NY

    The Steakhouse at The San Luis Resort – Galveston, TX

    The Wilde on 27 – Calgary, AB

    Tim-Bir Alley Restaurant – Littleton, NH

    TOCA – Toronto, ON

    Todd’s Unique Dining – Henderson, NV

    Top Of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant – Vancouver, BC

    Trattoria Stella – Traverse City, MI

    Trio Restaurant – Waterloo, ON

    Tycoon – Flower Mound, TX

    Victoria’s Steak & Seafood – Hamilton, ON

    Vintage Steakhouse – Coarsegold, CA

    Wandering Vine at the Castle – Shawnee, KS

    Washington Prime – South Norwalk, CT

    Weso Steakhouse – El Paso, TX

    West Texas Chophouse – Airport – El Paso, TX

    West Texas Chophouse – Cimarron – El Paso, TX

    West Texas Chophouse – Las Palmas Center – El Paso, TX

    Founded in 1990, DiRōNA was established to identify and honor exceptional restaurants that provide an extraordinary dining experience. To view more information regarding our awarded restaurants, please visit our website at www.dirona.com or download our mobile app from the Apple or Android app stores.

    Source: Distinguished Restaurants of North America

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  • Cafe Selmarie Plots Its Exit and Seven More Restaurant Closures

    Cafe Selmarie Plots Its Exit and Seven More Restaurant Closures

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    Despite the charms of Chicago winter (see: cozy fireplaces, hot drinks, cuddling), the coldest season is always a challenging time for the city’s hospitality industry. It’s hard to lure customers out of their homes when it’s freezing outside, exacerbating the already razor-thin margins of many local restaurants.

    Below, Eater is cataloging both temporary and permanent restaurant closures in Chicago. If you know of a restaurant, bar, or another closed food establishment, please email chicago@eater.com. We will continue to update this post.

    For fall closures, go here.

    January 31

    Edgewater: Mango Pickle, a multiyear Michelin Bib Gourmand honoree known for modern Indian cuisine, will permanently close after service on Sunday, February 4, at 5842 N. Broadway Street, owners Marisa Paolillo and Nakur Patel announced in an email newsletter. Founded in 2016, the restaurant garnered a following for its ability to balance a casual atmosphere with ambitious techniques, including whole-animal butchery. “We’ll be venturing into new culinary endeavors and adventures, including ‘eclectic pop-ups,’ culinary training, and catering in 2024,” Paolillo writes.

    Hyde Park: Jade Court, one of the city’s top Chinese restaurants, will close at the end of February inside the Harper Court development that’s owned by the University of Chicago, says owner Carol Cheung. The restaurant faced numerous difficulties, including adequate staffing and rising food and labor costs.

    Lincoln Square: Cafe Selmarie owner Birgit Kobayashi has announced her intention to close the neighborhood bakery favorite around mid-February, though a closing date is not yet finalized, according to Block Club Chicago. Kobayashi first notified fans in the fall that she planned to retire and shut down the cafe in 2024 after 40 years at 4729 N. Lincoln Avenue. She and co-founder Jeanne Uzdawinis founded Cafe Selmarie when they were 29 and introduced the neighborhood to its first espresso machine.

    Lincoln Square: Chef Darnell Reed announced on Tuesday that he would close Luella’s Southern Kitchen, a culinary ode to his grandmother, in October after nine years at 4609 N. Lincoln Avenue. Nevertheless, he’s on the hunt for a new location.

    River North: Etta, a high-profile daytime spot known for brunch and food cooked in a wood-burning oven, has closed its outpost in River North after more than three years at 700 N. Clark Street. The news came as a surprise to employees, several of whom say management alerted them just hours before their shifts were scheduled to begin.

    River North: French restaurant and wine bar Marchesa permanently closed on Saturday, January 20, after six years at 535 N. Wells Street, restaurant manager Francisco Montiel and partner Kathryn Alvera announced in a Facebook post. A gallery-style space with an Art Deco bent, Marchesa opened in 2016, filling the long-vacant former home of Crofton on Wells. “We will always be grateful that after the pandemic we were able to continue with our dream, and indeed grow our business to new heights, but bankrolling a dream such as this one can be cost-prohibitive,” they write in part. “Having the honor of taking care of each of you has been the privilege of a lifetime for our entire team.”

    South Loop: Thai restaurant stalwart Siam Rice will permanently close on Wednesday, January 31, at 1906 S. State Street after more than two decades in business so its owners can retire, they announced on Instagram. Originally located on North Wells in the Loop, Siam Rice relocated in 2021 and took over a former outpost of Opart Thai House.

    Uptown/Palos Heights: Meat-free street food spot Meek’s Vegan Kitchen has permanently closed its stall inside Uptown’s newish vegan food hall XMarket, as well as its original location in suburban Palos Heights, owners announced in an Instagram post. “While this chapter closes, the spirit of Meek’s lives on in our hearts and memories,” it reads. “We’re immensely grateful for the journey we’ve shared with you.”

    January 19

    Lincoln Park: Local mini-chain Broken English Taco Pub is closed after seven years at 2576 N. Lincoln Avenue, reps announced in early January on Instagram. The third iteration of Adolfo Garcia and Phil Stefani’s taco-focused cantina marked by a frenetic approach to design, the restaurant opened in 2017 following sister spots in the Loop and Old Town, which remain open.

    Logan Square: Passion House Coffee Roasters will permanently close its Logan Square cafe on Wednesday, January 31 after seven years at 2631 N. Kedzie Avenue, according to owner Joshua Millman. The cafe was the first from Passion House, opening in 2017 in the former Bow Truss coffee space. The company also had an outpost inside shuttered food hall Politan Row. Millman says the closure will allow him to focus on the brand’s five-year-old Goose Island cafe located off Division Street and finally unveil a long-awaited new cafe in March in the same building as its roasting plant in Fulton Market. “As this chapter closes, we wish to thank each and every one of you who contributed in helping Logan become an integral part of Passion House’s evolution, and we to see each of you again in the not too distant future,” Millman writes on Instagram.

    January 18

    Fulton Market: Well-known West Town sushi spot Arami, one of the original vendors at Time Out Market Chicago when the food hall debuted in 2019, has exited its stall at 916 W. Fulton Market after five years. The hall has seen significant turnover throughout its tenure and has already filled the vacancy with a new sushi restaurant, Madai.

    Gold Coast: Cafe Sophie, a European-style all-day cafe originally from the company behind splashy steakhouse Maple & Ash, is permanently closed. After an ownership split at Maple & Ash’s parent company, the cafe was no longer affiliated with the Gold Coast steakhouse as the the cafe was operated by partner David Pisor’s reformed company which also includes Etta. Pisor says River North has changed since the pandemic, with folks worried about safety and a lack of foot traffic. He also points to challenges with the building and his growing frustration over spending more money on the space. In July 2022, Pisor’s attorneys blamed design flaws in the building for the cafe’s failures.

    Cafe Sophie first opened in 2022.
    Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

    Lakeview: Casual Chicago mini-chain Big & Little’s has permanently closed its last standalone location at 1034 W. Belmont Avenue after a decade and removed the address from its website. The brand’s sole remaining outpost is at Midway Airport.

    Logan Square: Roundhouse, a neighborhood sports bar that garnered local attention for unusual food like Italian beef fried rice, is permanently closed after a year at 2535 N. Milwaukee Avenue, according to a former employee. A replacement for 12-year-old fixture Rocking Horse, Roundhouse sought to channel Chicago’s dive bar culture with an ownership group that shared investors with the now-shuttered Uproar in Old Town.

    Portage Park: American comfort food spot Bluebird has temporarily closed its second location after a wiring-related fire in early January gutted its space at 3938 N. Central Avenue, according to Block Club Chicago. First responders extinguished the blaze and reported no injuries. Owner Zachary Lucchese-Soto, also behind the original Bluebird in Lakeview, tells reporters that he intends to rebuild and reopen in five or six months. He also aims to raise $3,000 via GoFundMe to help support his staff during the closure.

    Rogers Park: An outpost of breakfast chain restaurant Honey Berry Cafe is permanently closed after just four months at 6606 N. Sheridan Road, according to Block Club Chicago. Both Honey Berry Cafe and its predecessor, Bulldog Ale House, are owned by Midwestern restaurant company WeEat Hospitality Group, which operates more than a dozen locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Texas.

    Chicago Heights: Chicago street food stalwart Enzo’s will close in March at 1710 Chicago Road in suburban Chicago Heights after nearly 80 years in business, third-generation owner Kyle Hallberg tells the Tribune. His grandfather, Enzo Tribo, started selling Italian beef in 1946 inside an old body shop. By the late 1960s, Tribo moved across the street into the former EZ Snack diner, which he bought with business partner Albert Tocco, an infamous local figure in his own right. Enzo’s last day will be Sunday, March 31, according to a Facebook post.

    75 E Lake St, Chicago, IL 60601
    (312) 929-3601



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    Naomi Waxman

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  • Sip, sip, hooray! New bill would allow drinking on public streets in designated areas

    Sip, sip, hooray! New bill would allow drinking on public streets in designated areas

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    Imagine a California where you can buy a beer at your favorite bar or restaurant, take it outside and drink it on the street with a friend. That could soon be a reality, if state and local officials clear the way.

    A bill proposed by California Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would allow the consumption of alcohol on public streets in zones designated for tippling.

    The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 969, would give municipalities and counties the power, starting in 2025, to designate local “entertainment zones” where people could consume “alcoholic beverages on public streets, sidewalks, or public rights of way,” according to the bill.

    Wiener says the legislation could help revitalize California’s downtown districts, where businesses have struggled since the pandemic eviscerated foot traffic.

    “People want to be outdoors; they want to gather with their community,” said Wiener. “We have these very strict alcohol laws in California that sometimes need to be made more flexible.

    “This is really about giving cities the ability to decide what works for their public spaces,” he added. “And for some cities, whether it’s in the downtown area or a town square or a particular block, they should have the ability to create an entertainment zone to allow bars and restaurants to sell both food and alcohol onto the street. Let’s allow people to enjoy themselves with their friends and neighbors.”

    Wiener said the legislation would also be a boon beyond downtown neighborhoods, helping cities and local businesses that have struggled since COVID-19 caused companies to close offices and send employees to work from home.

    Current laws allow street festivals to get one-day permits for vendors to sell alcohol for consumption on public streets. Wiener believes that should be extended to local businesses.

    A University of Toronto study showed that many downtown areas in California are getting 60% to 90% of the traffic they saw in 2019. For downtown Los Angeles, the figure is 83%; San Francisco has 67%; and Sacramento is at 66%.

    San Francisco and San Jose have given the bill their support.

    “When safely implemented, SB 969 would make it easier for local businesses to host block parties, wine walks and events that bring us all together to help drive the vibrant future of our downtown,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in a statement.

    The entertainment zones designated by municipalities would have specific days and hours of operation, like any business; people wouldn’t be free to imbibe in the street whenever they please. And California Penal Code Section 647(f) would continue to make it a crime to be intoxicated in public. Bars and restaurants would still be subject to state law that does not allow for the sale of alcohol between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

    Wiener proposed similar legislation in 2021 and last year; both passed the Senate unanimously. But they ran into trouble in the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, which blocked the entertainment zone provisions in 2022, then watered down and limited them to San Francisco County in 2023.

    The 2024 bill has not yet been referred to a committee.

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    Noah Goldberg

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  • California Pizza Hut franchises to lay off more than 1,100 delivery drivers ahead of wage hike

    California Pizza Hut franchises to lay off more than 1,100 delivery drivers ahead of wage hike

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    Ahead of statewide minimum wage increases for fast-food workers, hundreds of California Pizza Hut franchises announced cuts in their delivery services, laying off more than 1,100 drivers, according to federal and state filings.

    The Pizza Hut locations, run by two different franchise operators, reported the change to their business models for restaurants from Orange to Stanislaus counties, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications filed to the California Employment Development Department.

    The layoffs of more than 1,100 delivery drivers are expected to go into effect as soon as February, just weeks before the state’s $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers is set to go into effect.

    The pay increase is the result of Assembly Bill 1228, which applies to California workers employed by any fast-food chain that has more than 60 locations in the United States. California’s minimum wage is currently $15.50 for all workers. Statewide, the increase is estimated to affect more than 500,000 workers. The legislation also created a council of representatives of workers and employers to partner with state agencies to recommend minimum standards for work hours and other working conditions. Restaurant owners opposed the legislation, arguing they couldn’t bear the increased costs without raising prices for their customers.

    It wasn’t immediately clear if the new wage requirements were a factor in the move, but the notifications said the companies “made a business decision to eliminate first party delivery services and as a result the elimination of all delivery driver positions.”

    Officials with the two Pizza Hut operators, PacPizza affiliates and Southern California Pizza Company, did not immediately respond to questions from The Times. The PacPizza operators include Southern PacPizza, CalPac Pizza II and Cal PacPizza.

    The restaurants affected include those in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Tulare and Kern, among others.

    The parent company of Pizza Hut, in a statement to Business Insider, said it was “aware of the recent changes to delivery services at certain franchise restaurants in California.”

    “Our franchisees independently own and operate their restaurants in accordance with local market dynamics and comply with all federal, state, and local regulations while continuing to provide quality service and food to our customers via carryout and delivery,” according to the statement.

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    Grace Toohey

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  • Raydiant Releases Findings From Voice of the QSR and Fast Casual Restaurant Owner 2023 Survey: Navigating Labor Shortages, Leveraging Tech, and 2024 Expansion Plans

    Raydiant Releases Findings From Voice of the QSR and Fast Casual Restaurant Owner 2023 Survey: Navigating Labor Shortages, Leveraging Tech, and 2024 Expansion Plans

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    Press Release
    •

    Dec 19, 2023


    SAN FRANCISCO, December 19, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Raydiant, the leading in-location Experience OS for retailers and restaurants, today released the findings from its latest report, “Voice of the QSR and Fast Casual Restaurant Owner 2023“. 

    The survey, conducted from October 31, 2023, to November 15th, 2023, engaged 201 owners and partners of QSR and fast casual restaurants across the United States. Raydiant’s objective was to gather comprehensive insights into the current state and future outlook of the industry. This initiative reflects Raydiant’s commitment to understanding the evolving dynamics of the restaurant industry, offering data-driven guidance and solutions to restaurant owners navigating the challenges and opportunities of today’s market.

    Bobby Marhamat, CEO of Raydiant, commented, “The findings of our latest report reaffirm the dynamic shifts within the QSR and fast casual space. Despite facing challenges like labor shortages and tech integration, these restaurants are innovating and expanding in remarkable ways. It’s evident that the future of dining hinges on adapting to these changes, with a strong emphasis on in-location experiences as a key differentiator”. 

    Key Findings: 

    • The biggest challenge restaurants face today is labor shortages. Other top challenges include increased competition and supply chain disruptions.
    • Because of this, two out of three have changed their hiring strategies. New initiatives include offering additional benefits, increasing starting wages or overall salary packages, and implementing flexible work hours
    • The biggest challenge to effective employee communication is finding a time when everyone can meet. Other challenges include limited access to technology among employees and employees not checking or responding to messages in a timely manner
    • 41% believe technology will be a major driving factor in the future. Top tech solutions in use today are online ordering and delivery platforms, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and mobile apps for order and loyalty programs.
    • High upfront costs or investments are the biggest barrier to tech integration. Other barriers include difficulty in training staff and concerns about data security and privacy.
    • 55% feel positively about their overall experience with third-party delivery platforms. Also, to fill delivery orders, 61% are operating a ghost kitchen either exclusively or as part of their traditional space.
    • Expanding to new locations is their top priority for 2024. Other priorities include menu innovation, improving customer experience, and employee training and retention.

    To access the full, non-gated report, visit here: https://insights.raydiant.com/restaurant-owner-report-2023 

    Source: Raydiant

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