May 14, 2005
Spicing up 5th Avenue
An elegant new restaurant, named Spice, is now open at corner of 5th & Bell where Chin-Chin's used to be. It's good news for the neglected eastern edge of Belltown, under the monorail.
Proprietor is the estimable Nazir Khamisa, founder of Chutneys and owner of the super-deli chain Beba's. He closed Chin-Chin's; successful at lunch, it died at night. No such danger for Spice: the lounge is twice the size of the dining room, there's a terrific happy hour, and a menu studded with enticing dishes from Latin America, Asia and India. Can it be true? Curry in Belltown at long last?
In the kitchen, veteran Vincent Rivera has an honest-to-goodness, authentic clay tandoor oven to bake perfect naan turn out dishes like Sonoran wild boar and clay-pit rack of lamb. As Nazir puts it on the menu, "It's Not About the Heat; It's All About the Flavor!" Yes!
May 13, 2005
Cornichon is on a new server!
If you notice anything unusual, please let me know!
May 11, 2005
Gibson at Gibsons
Chicago, Carl Sandburg's City of the Big Shoulders, has painted its toenails. A carpet of tulips runs along the Magnificent Mile of North Michigan Avenue. But don't get the wrong idea. This is still a city for meat-eaters.
Checking out the saloons, you might run into what the Canadians call "cougars." Women in their mid-to-late 30s, on the prowl. You find them in bars along Rush Street, nursing a drink. "I'm waiting for my husband," they tell you. Have a cocktail while you're waiting?
Gibsons, a venerable steakhouse, has the liveliest bar on Rush. The bartenders, beefy fellows like their (mostly male) patrons, shake hands with the regulars, and shake the best Gibsons in town. It's a huge drink, well worth the $8.50.
