There’s still time to get into Thursday night’s Recipe for Relief event, 5:30-10 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of McCormick Place (2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive). Tickets ($50) are available at the door for the fundraiser to help Hurricane Katrina victims. There will be food by a virtual “who’s who” of chefs (85 total) and music.
Cuatro (2030 S. Wabash Ave., 312-842-8856) has opened–sans liquor license, for now. “We’re open for dinner only this week, then lunch next week, and we’ll add brunch the week after that,” says Matt Navarro, owner and general manager of the nuevo Latino concept.
Carnivale (702 W. Fulton Market, 312-850-5005) has opened in the old Drink space. This is the latest from Jerry Kleiner (with partners Bill Marovitz, Sam Madonia and Bob and Bud Cataldo), a pan-Latin concept whose over-the-top design includes 35-foot velvet drapes and 7-foot-long silk light fixtures.
Carnivale’s pastry chef, at least for the time being, is Christine McCabe Tentori, keeping her skills sharp after the demise of Sugar, the dessert bar that quietly closed in early September. But Tentori and Sugar partner Ed Suqi are negotiating for a new location (they hope to have a lease signed by next month).
Also newly open is Banana Moon (730 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, 847-948-1110), the contemporary-American restaurant by chef/owner Alan Wolf (ex-Carlos’), maitre d/owner Marc Stein and pastry chef Jason Gottlieb.
For two years, Charlie Trotter has been developing a seafood restaurant (designed by Michael Graves) that was to have opened in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan–putting him side-by-side with such culinary luminaries as Thomas Keller (Per Se), Masa Takayama (Masa) and Gray Kunz (Gray’s Cafe). But Trotter, citing runaway costs, pulled the plug last week. “It got to the point where we were approaching $12 million,” Trotter says. “[The developers] wanted to simplify the look even more, and I wasn’t comfortable continuing to strip dollars out of the design.”
Feeling wicked? Trattoria No. 10 (10 N. Dearborn St., 312-984-1718) is offering a dinner-theater package to selected performances (Oct. 27, 28, 29) of “Wicked.” The package includes orchestra seats to the show and a three-course pre-performance dinner. Cost is $150, including tax and tip; tickets are available in groups of four.
Harry Caray’s marks its 18th anniversary with 18 days of Italian food and wine through Oct. 24. It will feature a la carte specials of food and wine from selected regions downtown (33 W. Kinzie St., 312-828-0966) and in Rosemont (10233 W. Higgins Rd., 847-699-1200). There will be a special reception of food and wine tastings 6-8 p.m. Oct. 23 (Rosemont) and Oct. 24 (Chicago), priced at $40.
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pvettel@tribune.com
