Shawn McClain has turned over the kitchen reins at Spring (2039 W. North Ave.) to chef de cuisine Darin Biek. The move will allow McClain to devote more time to Green Zebra (1460 W. Chicago Ave.), where original chef de cuisine Michael Bulkowski is leaving (to be replaced by Christine Kim), and to his next project, soon-to-open Custom House (500 S. Dearborn St.).
At Play called up Ina Pinkney, whose West Randolph Street eatery was the subject of a recent edition of CNN’s business show, “The Turnaround,” with Lettuce Entertain You restaurant guru Rich Melman and team in the business-coach role. Pinkney expected calls from viewers about the business tips she learned, etc. None, she says, rivaled one. “I said, `Hello, this is Ina.’ And [the caller] said, `I have one question.’ And I said, `What was that?’ And she said, `What color lipstick are you wearing?’ I said `L’Oreal Kissable No. 520.’ She said, `Thank you!’ and hung up.” For fashionistas keeping track at home, that’s a color dubbed “Mauve Amour.”
Va Pensiero (1566 Oak Ave., Evanston; 847-475-7779) is hosting a “Mafia in Pink” promotion May 15-20, consisting of four-course menus (priced at $25) based on recipes from top female chefs from Sicily. The notice includes a couple of tacky mafia jokes, is illustrated by a gun-wielding, bikini-clad babe, and raised the question: What were the Va Pensiero folk thinking?
Go online to mypyramid.gov and you’ll find the USDA’s new food pyramid, links to other informative sites and so on. Go to mypyramid.org, however, and you’ll see a copycat site that mocks the “United States Department of Agribusiness,” makes an ironic case for the “benefits” of irradiated meat and recommends eating highly processed grains to bypass “the pesky nutrient and fiber absorption step.” Somebody’s having fun.
Nibbles:
Mindy Segal has added brunch, lunch and a pastry case to her cafe, Hot Chocolate, (1747 N. Damen Ave.; 773-489-1747).
Golden Budha Chinese Steak House, (312 W. Randolph St., 312-609-0000) has gotten its liquor license. Let the Tsingtao beer flow . . .
Big-screen TVs, a Kentucky-style buffet and $4.95 Mint Juleps will highlight “Derby Day,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Foodlife (Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., 312-335-3663).
Mas (1670 W. Division St., 773-276-8700) will feature a four-course, tequila-infused menu for $50 per person, $95 per couple, throughout May.
The Noodle (1875 Grove St., Glenview, 847-724-2228 and 708 12th St., Wilmette, 847-251-2228) celebrates its 15th birthday with a month-long series of randomly awarded complimentary goodies at dinner, including free appetizer samplers on the actual day, May 15.
Tyler Florence, the star of Food Network’s “Food 911,” joins Chefs Terry Crandall and Graham Elliot Bowles of the Peninsula Hotel plus Guest Pastry Chef Gale Gand to co-host a wine dinner at the Peninsula’s Avenues Restaurant on May 12. Proceeds benefit Common Threads, a nonprofit group that teaches underprivileged children about different cultures through food and the arts. Tickets are $250. Reservations can be made through the Peninsula (108 E. Superior St.; 312-573-6695).
