Another classic Italian spot in River North, Thai cooking in Evanston and a restaurant with a rotating cast of dishes top our list of restaurants coming soon to the Chicago scene.
LAKEVIEW — At Entente, a new “casual fine dining” restaurant opening Oct. 14, balance is key — in flavors, in drink pairings, in decor. So if casual fine dining sounds like a contradiction, think of it more like a balancing act.
“Casual fine dining means very much ‘come as you are,’ as far as you don’t have to get dressed up to come here,” said owner Ty Fujimura of Fujimura Hospitality (Arami, SmallBar). “But the fine dining aspect is the attention to detail, the attention to… extraordinary food that is delicious but also visually appealing.”
Balance is evident on Entente’s menu as well, which won’t center around any specific type of cuisine, regional or otherwise. Rather, a selection of a la carte dishes will rotate regularly to reflect the experiences of its diverse staff: chefs Mari Katsumura (Grace, Acadia) and Brian Fisher (Schwa) and beverage director Angie Silberberg (Soho House, Cochon Volant).
“We want to be true to ourselves in terms of the dishes we’re putting forward, not necessarily (tied to) any type of cuisine,” Katsumura said. “It’s whatever is tasty to us and makes sense.”
Pairings will also be a prominent part of Entente’s approach. A chef’s tasting menu with on- and off-menu items will begin soon after opening and feature customizable — wine or mix-and-match — beverage pairings, all from Silberberg’s bar-stock of 60 spirits, 45 wines and a dozen-ish beers.
She said she focused on food-friendly beverages and sought out natural wines and local brews, including CH vodka and Whiner beer.
“We have the flexibility to create whatever we want. Obviously we will have recommendations on paper, but that’s half the fun for us: catering to an individual’s tastes as they come in,” Silberberg said.
Entente seats nearly 50 people — 20 in each of the front and back rooms, eight at the bar — in a cozy space accented with a variety of materials: concrete, live edge wood, brick and mortar and living greenery. Fujimura said he wanted “different textures and materials that play well together,” which seems to be the prevailing philosophy of this new haunt.
3056 N. Lincoln Ave., no phone number yet, www.ententechicago.com
EVANSTON – NaKorn Kitchen, a new Thai restaurant, soft-opened on Sept. 24. The selection is currently limited to a “Pre-Grand Opening” menu featuring dishes such as roasted duck breast and tofu steak. Drinks include Thai beers and a selection of cocktails. NaKorn hopes to celebrate its grand opening by the beginning of November, said a rep for the restaurant. 1622 Orrington Ave., Evanston, 847-733-8424, www.nakornkitchen.com.
RIVER NORTH — An update on Italian restaurant Mama’s Boy, which we first reported on in August: The opening is slated for later this month, according to the Rosebud restaurant group. The restaurant plans to serve weeknight dinners to start with plans to expand into daily lunch and dinner in November. 445 N. Dearborn St., 312-832-7700, no website yet.
RIVER NORTH — Griddle 24, the River North diner from the owners of White Palace and Hollywood Grill, will open Monday, reports Eater. We talked to owner George Liakopoulos last month about the diner’s menu and vibe.
STREETERVILLE — By late 2016 Streeterville should be home to a new location of Cupitol, the laidback Evanston cafe in Evanston specializing in”European-style” dishes. 455 E. Illinois St., no phone number yet, www.cupitol.com
EVANSTON — A pair of graduates from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management are planning to open a fast-casual Vietnamese restaurant called Viet Nom Nom. According to Evanston Now, co-owner Noah Bleicher founded Nom Nom as a catering and delivery service in 2015, and now, he and co-owner Alan Moy hope to turn the business into a destination storefront for healthy, grab-and-go fare such as vermicelli noodle salad and banh mi. 618 1/2 Church St., Evanston, 312-547-0618, www.eatvietnomnom.com
SOUTH LOOP AND BRONZEVILLE — Hyde Park coffee spot Sip and Savor is making big moves, announcing plans for a trio of new locations, per DNAInfo. The cafe’s third location will open in the South Loop, the fourth at the Rosenwald Court Apartments in Bronzeville, and the fifth’s location remains undetermined. 2239 S. Michigan Ave. and 4600 S. Michigan Ave., no phone numbers yet, www.sipandsavorchicago.com
LAKEVIEW — Real Good Juice will open its second storefront location on the Southport Corridor in Lakeview in December, according to DNAInfo, with plans to expand its food menu. 3548 N. Southport Ave., no phone number yet, www.realgoodjuiceco.com
WEST LOOP — Metric Coffee Co. will open its first cafe, per Eater. The company already supplies coffee for many restaurants in Chicago. 2021 W. Fulton St.
SOUTH LOOP — Good luck finding much information about Akrihah’s Praline Candy, Beignets and Coffee, which just opened in the South Loop and has hardly any online presence. Still, Sloopin reports the cafe is officially open. 1845 S. State St.
WHEELING — Boston Fish Market, the popular suburban spot in Des Plaines, has announced plans to open a second location in Wheeling, according to the Daily Herald. It is expected to open by March 2017. 412 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling
ICYMI:
Smoke Daddy 2.0 is coming soon to a hotel near you. Or at least near the Cubs…
Former “Check, Please!” host Alpana Singh’s new Evanston restaurant, Terra & Vine, is officially open.
The Publican Anker team tells us more about their plans for the bar and restaurant.
Closings:
Several local haunts announced recent closings on their respective Facebook pages: Division Ale House in Wicker Park had its last hurrah last weekend, while Old Town’s Doodles Donuts shut down six months after its start.
Meanwhile, Hard Water Bar, which has endured a spree of safety issues with patrons in its parking lot, will close instead of shedding its 4 a.m. license, since much of the bar’s revenue resulted from those late-night sales, according to the bar’s Facebook post.
One more closing: Piggyback BBQ has left the Loop, although Eater reports its other locations—one existing and one pending—will be unaffected.
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