T H E AST E R GAT ES : U K A RT P I C S / A L A M Y. B OT TO M , F R O M L E F T : A L EX WO N G / G E T T Y I M AG ES ; T H A D DA EU S M CA DA M S / W I R E I M AG E / G E T T Y I M AG ES ; S C OT T B . R O S E N / A L A M Y ; I STO C K
WorldMags.net FROM LEFT: The “vuelve a la vida” ceviche at Dove’s Luncheonette; inside Momotaro; a Chicago-style “duck fat dog,” on the bar bites menu at the Duck Inn.
DISHING DEEP Chicago has never wanted for ambitious cuisine. But the latest buzzy openings are giving the city new food-town bragging rights. Momotaro
Intro
Monteverde
The décor is classic at this three-level sushi and robata spot, but the 80-item menu broadcasts its bold ambitions. MENU STANDOUT “Momotaro Tartare,” a vegetarian starter of Japanese tomato and Maui onion. momotarochicago.com; entrées $16–$100.
Established and emerging chefs take turns manning this 98-seat Lincoln Park restaurant, remaking its identity each time. MENU STANDOUT The next menu hasn’t been announced, but past chefs have included Erik Anderson, formerly of Nashville’s Catbird Seat. intro chicago.com; tickets $75–$95.
After four-plus years at the helm of Chicago’s celebrated Spiaggia, Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg is opening a tribute to modern Italian cuisine in the West Loop this month. MENU STANDOUT Mozzarella-filled kale polpette and black-pepper bucatini. monteverdechicago. com; entrées $15–$35.
Dove’s Luncheonette
Duck Duck Goat
At this hipster-packed Wicker Park diner, Chicago soul and blues are a soundtrack for Mexican dishes that come with a Southern twist. MENU STANDOUT A shrimp-and-squid ceviche called “vuelve a la vida” (translation: return to life). doves chicago.com; entrées $12–$15.
The latest venture from Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat is a Chinese spot on West Fulton Street with a takeout window dedicated to Asian street foods. MENU STANDOUT Spiced goat dumplings. duckduckgoatchicago.com; prices not available at press time.
Duck Inn Set in a pre–Prohibition era tavern in the Bridgeport neighborhood, Kevin Hickey’s gastropub offers seasonally driven fare and creative bar bites. MENU STANDOUT The rotisserie duck for two, served with potatoes crisped in the drippings. theduckinnchicago.com; entrées $19–$34.
WHATEVER Reality Bites E! host Giuliana Rancic and her husband were welcomed to their new Gold Coast mansion this summer. Their paparazzi following? Not so much. The Meh Mayor Rahm Emanuel won a close runoff, but locals remain ambivalent about his ties to Republicans and the rich.
ABSOLUTELY DETESTABLE
Wrath at Wrigley Ongoing renovations have left angry Cubs fans waiting in restroom lines for more than an hour this season, and neighbors are protesting the excessive noise from a new Jumbotron.
Seeing Red Polls show that three in four Chicagoans want to get rid of the city’s red-light cameras, which have resulted in an uptick in rearend collisions.
WorldMags.net
I N S I D E R ’ S TA K E
Theaster Gates A word with the artist-activist–space developer behind the new Stony Island Arts Bank cultural center (rebuild-foundation. squarespace.com). How to see Chicago “Ride the green line, then the red line, then the pink line. See the city from above and below.” Top spot for art “The Intuit gallery (art.org) focuses on self-taught and Outsider art. It has some amazing pieces.” On the Windy City’s architectural legacy “Chicago has shown that it’s okay to depart from the traditional tropes of engineering, and that architecture can be more than one brick on top of another. It can be about reimagining how people live.”