Tepatulco
2558 N. HALSTED ST.
773-472-7419
Geno Bahena, chef-owner of the now-shuttered Chilpancingo and the original Ixcapuzalco, is back! His new Lincoln Park spot, offering regional Mexican fare, lacks the cozy feel of his earlier endeavors, but you’ll still find plenty of folk art livening up the room. The menu is pure Bahena: There’s a filet mignon with mole negro (market price), wood-grilled Alaskan sockeye salmon ($16.95) with a green mole in the style of the Mexican state of Queretaro, and garlic-marinated pan-roasted Maine lobster with creamy chipotle sauce and ribbon pasta (market price). But save room for the Oaxacan specialty picaditas de chapulines ($7); we tried ’em last weekend, and as the menu says, “you’ll never know you’re eating grasshoppers.”
Fleur de Lis Bistro
7207 S. STONY ISLAND AVE. NO PHONE YET.
Brian Jupiter, whose resume includes The Parrot Cage, Narcisse and Bella Lounge, is returning to his roots at this new South Shore eatery. The chef and co-owner is a New Orleans native, and his (nearly) round-the-clock BYOB Cajun and Creole-soul bistro opening in February will reflect his Crescent City inspirations. Look for Southern-inspired eats like short ribs with mac and cheese and spicy cole slaw, peach cobbler French toast, and red velvet cupcakes.
“There’s nothing around for this type of sit-down restaurant,” he says. “It’s not fine dining, but the level of service and the platings and presentations will be better than average.” The plan is to open around Valentine’s Day. Barring that, Jupiter hopes to have the place up and running by Feb. 20–which, of course, is Fat Tuesday.
Anteprima
5316 N. CLARK ST.
773-506-9990 (NOT YET CONNECTED)
Marty Fosse has been in the Chicago restaurant business for years. He’s been a general manager at Spiaggia, and a partner in Carlucci and Charlie’s Ale House. But with his new venture, a comfy, mid-priced Italian spot slated to open in Andersonville in mid-March, he wants make you feel a little bit more like family. “[There’s] not one thing on this menu I haven’t eaten in someone’s home,” he says. The menu, which will change with the seasons, focuses on rustic, regional Italian cuisine. And we like the sound of this: It won’t have any of that trendy small plate stuff. “There will be full-sized appetizers and full-sized entrees,” says Fosse. The wine list, he says, also stays true to the region: It’s 100-percent Italian.
Crust
2056 W. DIVISION ST. NO PHONE YET
How many times have you heard a restaurant brag about its “organic” ingredients? Ever wonder what the heck that really means? Too often, it doesn’t mean much. That’s why Michael Altenberg, a chef who earned his chops at places such as Bistro Campagne, has teamed up with Kendall College classmate Greg Kaminski to open Crust in the former Settimana Cafe address in Wicker Park by early March. And when these two say “organic,” they mean it. They will hire a firm to certify that at least 95 percent of the products they use, from pasta flour to dishwashing soap, meet organic standards. “It’s like cooking in a glass house,” says Altenberg. The menu will offer a lineup of woodfired pizza (they call ’em flatbreads), sandwiches, salads and soups–just don’t expect prissy health food. Even when it’s organic, says Altenberg, “heavy cream is still heavy cream and cheese is still cheese.”
OTHER RECENT (RE)OPENINGS
One of our favorite new brunch places, Over Easy Cafe (4943 N. Damen Ave. 773-506-2605) in Ravenswood, has reopened after a fire shut it down in last fall, just six months after it opened.
Sabri Nehari Restaurant, a Pakistani eatery that also closed due to a fire in November, has found a new home (2502 1/2 W. Devon Ave. 773-743-6200) across the street from its original location.
Look for second outpost of Cafe Bionda to open in Wicker Park (1467 N. Milwaukee Ave. No phone yet) in February.
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CLAMORTE@TRIBUNE.COM
