Restaurants

The Michelin Guide's second annual Chicago edition was released today, and chefs around town are seeing stars - but fewer than last year, it turns out. The famous French guide is notoriously tightfisted when it comes to awarding its star designations (three means exceptional, two is excellent and one is very good). In this year's guide, 21 Chicago-area restaurants received stars, down from 23 last year. Of the two restaurants - Alinea and L20 - that received three-star ratings in Michelin's first Chicago guide last year, only one, Grant Achatz's renowned Alinea in Lincoln Park,...

Tim Graham, the former executive chef of Tru and Paris Club, is helming the restaurant at The Langham, Chicago hotel, which is set to open in July. Located at 330 N. Wabash Ave., Travelle will serve Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in a setting that's more upscale than Paris Club but less fine-dining than Tru, a balance Graham describes as "casual elegance. " The space features a backlit wall with a 30-foot digital art display that changes from day to night, four bars arranged in a pinwheel pattern and a mix of custom and vintage seating.

All around Chicago, restaurants and bars are in a constant cycle of opening and closing. As the lights go out at a kitchen in Andersonville, a new tavern is putting up signs in the South Loop, and it's all just part of the circle of nightlife. But if you look closely, you'll see a handful of in-the-works hangouts making a few already hot downtown blocks even hotter. Read on for four good guesses as to where the city's foodies and scenesters will be flocking in upcoming months. CLARK BETWEEN ILLINOIS & HUBBARD This block of River North has been celeb chef Rick Bayless' row for years, but now...

Months ago, rumors started swirling that Shake Shack , a popular fast-food eatery that started as a food cart in New York's Madison Square Park, would be opening a Chicago location.  This month, the company has made it official with an announcement that it is planning its first Illinois location at 66 E. Ohio St., which is part of the Shops at North Bridge complex.   The restaurant is slated to open in late 2014, according to Greg Waters, senior manager of marketing and communications for Shake Shack.  Details have not yet been released about the Chicago...

Mark your calendars for these coming-soon spots due to open in the last weeks of the year, listed in order of estimated time of arrival.   DEC. 1 Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House 58 E. Oak St. Gold Coast steakhouse in the former Esquire Theater space. DEC. 3 Suite 25 2529 N. Milwaukee Ave. Sports lounge in Logan Square from the owner of Rio's d'Sudamerica.  Park Tavern 1645 W. Jackson St. Sports bar serving craft brews near United Center.

Jam 3057 W. Logan Blvd. 773-292-6011 During the day, nosh on unique breakfast and lunch dishes such as pork belly eggs benedict and malted custard French toast with pink peppercorns. Once the dinner hour hits, you can order one of the diner-inspired blue plate specials such as meatloaf with tomato jam or venison stroganoff. Bonsoiree 2728 W. Armitage Ave. 773-486-7511 Got a special bottle of wine or two saved for a special occasion? Make a dinner reservation and then uncork it over a five- or nine-course feast at this...

The South Loop has seen a flurry of bar and restaurant openings in the past year and a half, and four of them happen to be on the west side of Michigan Avenue between Roosevelt Road and 16th Street. If you haven't paid these bustling blocks a visit, let this mini-map serve as your guide. Karamela Coffee, Sweets & Crepes 1250 S. Michigan Ave. 312-322-0400 Opened in: October This just-opened cafe offers Julius Meinl espresso and a pastry case full of sweets for a quick-grab snack as well as crepes, sandwiches and salads.

The West Loop will soon have not one, but two new Mexican spots to add to its growing restaurant roster. Zenba Mexican Grill (605 W. Lake St.) opened May 2, and Blue Agave Tequila Bar & Restaurant (555 W. Kinzie St.) - a second location of the Gold Coast spot with the same name - is scheduled to open in mid-June. Expect traditional Mexican fare at Zenba: guacamole, enchiladas, fajitas, grilled skewers, and entrees such as carne asada and grilled blackened tilapia (nothing's more than $15)

Spooked by the sight of blood, let alone the thought of eating it? Ingredients like blood, bones, organ meats and insects may seem more trick than treat to some Chicagoans, but in many parts of the world (and many parts of the U.S.), they're common -- even celebrated. Mexican chef Manuel Bañuelos, who opened Oaxacan restaurant Mezcalina in the Loop in August, said that grasshoppers -- a high-protein, nutritious snack -- are considered a delicacy in Oaxacan cuisine. And Thomas Elliott Bowman, partner and co-executive chef at ...

In his 15 years working at restaurants, Justin Vrany saw a lot of waste. “I've seen so much garbage go out the doors,” Vrany said. “It bugged me.” Vrany had always dreamed about opening his own restaurant, but he also wanted it to be sustainable. He achieved both goals at Sandwich Me In (3037 N. Clark St. 773-348-3037), the quick-serve BYOB sandwich spot he opened in Lakeview back in May. Food is served on trays lined with compostable parchment paper to cut down on the water used washing dishes and all of the fruit and vegetable waste is...

Review: Kabocha Japanese Brasserie 952 W. Lake St. 312-666-6214 Rating:  !!! 1/2 (out of four) Heating up Chef Shin Thompson's former restaurant, Bonsoiree in Logan Square, was a darling of the foodie crowd. It also demanded a commitment, both in time and price, to sit down for a multi-course, multi-hour meal. When he teamed up with Ryan O'Donnell (Gemini Bistro, Rustic House) to open Kabocha in the West Loop, they decided to loosen up a bit. "I wanted to make it more fun for people," Thompson said.

La Cuchara 1521 W. Madison St. 312-291-9344 Rating:  !! (out of four)  Give it some time What's a restaurant's website for if not to stoke your appetite? La Cuchara's definitely features some appealing claims that fueled my anticipation, but upon arrival, the real-life restaurant didn't quite live up. A location "perfectly nestled in Chicago's  West Loop " is apparently PR speak for a strip mall neighboring  Dunkin' Donuts  and Subway. The bi-level space has two bars and a glassy facade with a prime view of ... the parking lot out front.

A wave of new Mexican restaurants opening over the past two months has us wondering whether there's something in the water. Tequila, maybe? We enlisted a team of taco-and-guac obsessives to fill up and report back on three new entries and got the lowdown to whet your appetite about four others.  Takito Kitchen 2013 W. Division St. 773-687-9620 Since opening about a month ago in the former Sabor Saveur space in Ukrainian Village,...

EAT Dining Out for Life Various locations Grab a meal at one of 78 participating restaurants - including Acre (5308 N. Clark St.), Baker & Nosh (1303 W. Wilson Ave.) and Tapas Gitana (3445 N. Halsted St.) - at this 21st annual fundraiser for HIV/AIDS services taking place in 59 cities. A portion of your check - up to 33 percent - benefits local organization EdgeAlliance. List of participating restaurants: diningoutforlife.com/chicago . All-You-Can-Eat Tacos D.S. Tequila Company ...

Guests at cocktail-centric hot spots used to have just a few, bland options if they didn't want to order alcohol with a meal - basically, water, iced tea or ginger ale. The tide is changing, though, as restaurants apply the same attention to detail once reserved for cocktails to non-alcoholic drinks. Unconventional and exotic ingredients such as sweet potatoes and pickled plums are finding their way into house-made sodas and syrups, while fresh juices and herbs replace canned or pre-mixed ingredients.

Chicago Chop Shop, a combination butcher shop, restaurant and event space, is set to open in July in a 100-year-old Wicker Park warehouse.  Located at 2033 W. North Ave., Chicago Chop Shop's counter-service butcher shop will open at 9 a.m. to offer meats along with sandwiches and antipasto salads. “Chicago loves their meats, and everyone I know has a grill and enjoys every moment of nice weather Chicago gets,” co-owner Nick Moretti said.  Co-owner Mario Minelli brings the meat cred from Minelli's Meat & Deli in Niles.

It's never too early to start thinking about bacon--which is why the lineup for this year's Baconfest should excite Chicago. More than 120 chefs and restaurants are providing the goods for this year's event. The Greater Chicago Depository is a partner for the event, and a portions of the proceeds will go to their efforts to end world hunger. In what may be the most perfectly timed coincidence of all time, Baconfest will take place on April 20. But fear not, pig lovers--you can check the website now for a list of participating restaurants.

Keep calm, chow down. Yes, some foodies may have been frustrated this weekend at a report that Logan Square's Longman and Eagle failed its food inspection Aug. 9. According to city records, the award-winning spot had several health code violations, including overflowing garbage containers without locks and chains, a cluttered basement and a partially unsealed ceiling basement. But the failure isn't a death sentence, and should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Last year, the Tribune published an analysis of...

Corned beef hash on a brunch menu probably doesn't raise any eyebrows. But how about a fried plantain, black bean and hominy hash? Or spicy chickpea, yogurt and kale hash? These global twists on the starchy breakfast staple are the focus at the appropriately named Hash restaurant, which opened March 20 on Western Avenue near the border of Wicker Park and Humboldt Park. "If I just did American hashes, it would really be quite boring," said owner Maggie McCoy, who  ran the now-closed Bagel on Damen.

Hey college grads, are you fed up because you paid all that money for a degree and can't use it because the job market is saturated? Are you thinking about the 20-something Hail Mary pass of grad school because you don't know what else to do? Maybe you don't have to. Instead of diving deeper into college debt, let me present another option: the restaurant industry. I know, you're all thinking something like, "But I have a degree in business/philosophy/sandwiches! I'm gonna do bigger things than wait tables!"