Skip Whole Paycheck- go across the street Kingsbury Street Cafe

Honestly one of the most subtly beautiful and inviting eco-chic cafes in this city aside from Karyn's and Uncommon Gound, Kingsbury Street Cafe focuses on light, healthful meals.  The interior reflects the menu, as the walls and plates are stark white paired with natural inspirations throughout.  The long wooden tables and small cactus-like plants on each table are charming and elegantly restrained.  Kingsbury Street Cafe is lit with a sizable amount of natural sunlight as the front wall is 20 foot windows facing West, providing a refreshing place to start, or unwind from a hectic day.

The quality of the food is as outstanding as the interior; vivid, clean, and leaves an impression.  Nothing here is heavy or overbearingly rich, which is a nice contrast to high-profile restaurants that specialize in making the lunch/ brunch experience the most extravagantly calorie-rich meal of the day.  Kingsbury Street Cafe is playful and imaginative, but completely filling without regret.  Over the top brunch items I'm thinking of  include the Publican's Maple-Glazed Pork Shoulder and The Bristol's hangover breakfast with noodles, pork belly, and a poached egg.  I'm not knocking Chicago's move toward a decadent and deserved brunch, just offering an excellent alternative.

Bypass Whole Foods for once and venture across the street for lunch or brunch. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised and it won't make a huge dent in your wallet. I'm already looking forward to a return trip.

 Roasted beet salad 

with pistachio, edamame, red onion, red wine 

vinaigrette dressing with chicken

via

Grass Fed Beef Burger- crispy maple glazed bacon, sautéed 

mushrooms & onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle and a side salad in place of french fries

Sunnyside up: New spots for breakfast including Kith & Kin's replacement, Webster Street Cafe

In addition to Jam and Honey (opening on the corner of Sheffield and Webster in Lincoln Park), Brunch in River North, and City Provisions in Ravenswood two more breakfasts spots are on the horizon for hungry Chicago go-getters. The first is the hotly anticipated restaurant replacing Kith & Kin. While owner of the restaurant, Moe Taleb, admitted that he was unsure of what would become of former Kith & Kin space and concept, we doubt he could have predicted this. While we could be wrong, from the exterior it appears a jazzed-up Nookies or John's Place is moving in to serve-up ordinary American fair. High hopes for Chicago foodies everywhere can be laid to rest. Best bet is to follow Kith & Kin's head chef Andrew Brochu to high-end tasting menu driven El. We'll be eager to give Webster Street Cafe a try when they open with a review to follow.

{Former Kith & Kin is now W Street Cafe}

Right around the corner at Kenmore and Armitage, Butcher and Burger is getting ready to open its doors. The only preview they've made available is their breakfast menu. At this point it's unclear if the restaurant is going to focused solely on breakfast or will expand to lunch and dinner. Take a look below.

{Vintage apparel store Out of the West gets an internal make-over and will be Butcher and Burger}

CG Food Flash: Perennial Virant Now Open

If there's one thing that Paul Virant has mastered, it's the art of the Hollywood- in Chicago, entrance.

It's not uncommon to read rave reviews on Paul Virant's acclaimed suburban restaurant Vie in Western Springs, which is why Perennial (sans Ryan Poli who is off to open Tavernita) offered him the job as the new main man running and renovating his own vision. Naturally he said "Yes!" and tacked his name on the end to boot. Cuisine is centered on the "farm to table" concept, ideal considering Green City Market is right across the street. Decor is described as cozy, organic, and is if you're in someone's home. We're looking forward to the creative cocktails and highly anticipated pickled and canned fresh vegetables landing on our plate. Here are some photos of the new digs.

Gasp-worthy? We'll see. CG will be there tonight.

Perennial Virant
1800 N Lincoln ave
(312) 981-7070

A critical Eye: Kith & Kin

Kith & Kin

Head Chef: Andrew Brochu
1119 W Webster ave {Webster + W of Seminary}
(773) 472- 7070

It seems the turmoil following Kith & Kin can't be resolved- back or front of house. The service is consistently spotty and not confident. All in all they've got to step it up and ensure that the food matches the service, otherwise the imbalance leaves a sour taste.

I've been to Kith and Kin a total of 4 times and each visit varies in quality of service from spot-on to horrendous. We'll start with the good: an outstanding waiter with a heavy beard knows the menu in and out, gives great drink recommendations, and basically runs the floor. If you get him as your server you're safe- as for some of the others, well, back to the drawing board. Fast forward to the nightmare: a rainy Saturday night Kith & Kin was jammed but we managed to get a picturesque, romantic seat on a balcony overlooking the restaurant. After waiting 1 hour and 15 minutes for our scallops and chicken entree a girlfriend and I were forgotten and starved. Our server kept insisting that our food would be "Right out" and on came the cocktails. By the time the food arrived I didn't even remember it. We got a free sticky toffee pudding dessert and our bill reduced considerably. At one point, I'd say an hour after waiting, I actually got up and consulted the bearded server because he was so fantastic before and told him the situation. He of course took care of it right away and let me know that it was my server's second day on the job, still no excuse. That was the only time I've had to get up in a fine dining establishment and track down someone to get help. It really was absurd.

Don't let my bad experience steer you away. Kith & Kin is unique as it is elegant when everything lands on the plate. Fantastic cuts are complimented by bold, anything but precarious flavors. True to its roots the menu is seasonally rotating and incorporates shining southern delights like authentic hush puppies, buttermilk biscuits, and cornmeal grits. If you've got a hankerin' for great food from down south but don't want to pay Table 52 prices, go to Kith & Kin.

{Pimento cheese spread. Cue bold flavors. The cheese and spanish pimentos are very, very vibrant to the palate. The most comforting feature of cheese, naturally, is the warm, gooey consistency that melts in your mouth after its spread on the crisp baguette. You get so much that leftovers are inevitable and still delicious the next day}

{Buttermilk biscuits with honey butter. Fluffy, airy, baked to perfection}

{Bar Harbour Mussels in a heavenly spiced broth, candied shrimp and ciabatta bread for dipping. The mussels must have been given steroids, they were huge- I mean truly GIANT. The broth was divine, I could have sipped it right out of the bowl}

{Housemade corned beef with a pickled mustard jus and braised cabbage. The beef is phenomenal, the heavy, robust sauce pairs well with the cabbage and meat}

{Blackened tiger shrimp on top of smoked cheddar grits and scallions. In order to get to the shrimp meat you have to scrape it out of the shell of the shrimp, it's messy and labor intensive which hurts the favorability of the dish. But, when you get that bite- ah, it's so worth it. The intense blackened char flavor dances with garlic and onion spices. Well done}

Who to bring:

• A date. Candlelit dinner in a comfortable atmosphere will make any occasion more meaningful. 
• Meat eaters. They've got: rabbit, chicken, corned beef, and wagyu ribeye two ways
• Family small or large, there's something for everyone 

What to try:

• This is a MUST- the Moscow Mule cocktail (Vodka, Gosslings black seal rum, with lime and ginger beer. I wish this came by the pitcher)
• Foie gras starter
• Rabbit stew
• Buttermilk fried chicken thighs 
• Fried catfish

Take note:

• As the menu rotates so does the art. Kith & Kin uses their walls as an open gallery for local artists who wish to display their latest masterpiece
• Kith means friends and kin means family

Get Peeled

1571 N Sheffield ave {Sheffield + North}

(312) 266-PEEL


Super juice bar is right! Peeled is guaranteed to elevate your immune system, energy level, and spirits. The smell of fresh wheat grass overwhelms the senses the second you walk in, demanding a taste of a fresh smoothie, juice, or booster shot. With a vast menu boasting exotic blends and nearly impossible to come by ingredients, like the blue-green algae powder packed with an intense Vitamin B punch, Peeled offers a noteworthy alternative to breakfast/ lunch on the go. Raw, organic, high-quality fruits, veggies, and granola are ground to smithereens; but what's not diminished is any sense of guilt.
Highly recommend:
Strawberry Letter, Blue Magic, Eco-Trip, C'est la vie (Smoothy, juice)
Bassa Nova, Fluent in French, Flu Fighter (Breakfast blend, booster shot)

A critical eye: Taco Joint

1969 N. Halsted {Halsted + Armitage}
(312) 951-2457

When it comes to big taste in tiny tacos, congratulations Big Star, you reign supreme. Taco Joint just doesn't cut it. The service was attentive but nothing to be wowed by, as you'd expect from a casual Mexican-Cantina restaurant. Unlike Zocalo (Taco Joint was developed by the same business group and chefs) which I thoroughly enjoyed for its rustic, smoky flavors, and authentic Dia de los Muertos-esque space, the Mexican fare at taco joint was mediocre at best.
Moving my uncertain opinion (I was optimistic that Taco Joint would be a fantastic Zocalo mini-me) into an assertive "no thanks" is the atmosphere at Taco Joint. It cannot compete with the minimalistic, cool vibe and insane outdoor seating you get at Big Star. It's unfortunate the way this restaurant space was conceived, it's totally disjointed and feels like you're eating in a dark, single-lane bowling alley. The hot pink and green logo had to be a tacky oversight- it reminds me of something you'd see on a sign at a cheesy theme park like Disney World. Or worse yet, Great America.
The house margarita was generic and the salted rim was not properly done, what bartender at a self-proclaimed TEQUILA bar doesn't know how to salt the rim? Two steps: line glass edge with lime and dip in salt. The only taco I would recommend was the "Tinga" the house "guac-salsa" in the taco was bold and added some much needed zing.
Price and portions were minimal- succinct with the food and drink end result. Go to the bigger, better Taqueria in town, Big Star.