Restaurants

Just two months after opening Dragon Ranch Moonshine & BBQ in River North, local nightlife group Rockit Ranch is gearing up to open another new hangout. Rockit Ranch CEO Billy Dec announced on his blog, A Chicago Thing , that Rockit Ranch has purchased River North bar Martini Ranch, a late-night bar just steps from the Chicago Avenue Brown Line station. As for what exactly Rockit Ranch will do with the space, it looks like that's to be determined with the help of Chicagoans.

Empty Bottle's Bruce Finkelman and Craig Golden, of Space in Evanston, are currently prepping their newest venture, The Promontory (1539 E. 53rd St.), for an early 2013 opening. Finkelman - who is also behind Logan Square's Longman & Eagle , a bar-restaurant-hotel hybrid that serves up contemporary American treats such as Kentucky fried quail and roast leg of venison - is keeping quiet about many of the details, including the style of cuisine The Promontory will serve. He did confirm that the owners are currently renovating the building and the space will offer live music events and food.

Ready to put your summer standbys to rest and try something new? Mark your calendars for these coming-soon bars and restaurants due to open in September, listed in order of estimated time of arrival. SEPT. 5 Jellyfish 1009 N. Rush St. Pan-Asian restaurant with a hidden entrance in the Gold Coast. WEEK OF SEPT. 10 Embeya 564 W. Randolph St. Contemporary Asian fare in the West Loop from chef Thai Dang, who's worked at Ria and L2O. MID-SEPTEMBER Chuck's Manufacturing 224 N. Michigan Ave. Flavored vodka and funky popcorn adjacent to the Hard Rock Hotel.

Review: Belly Q 1400 W. Randolph St. 312-563-1010 Rating:  !!!! (out of four) Already hot There's only one person who mentions the word "belly" more often than a gossip magazine's celebrity baby-watch section. That's Bill Kim, a fine-dining chef who's gone casual with his super-popular pan-Asian restaurants Urban Belly in Avondale and Belly Shack in Wicker Park. In late August, he welcomed a third baby to the Belly family, Belly Q. Since I've been waiting for Kim's latest creation with the bated breath of a Beyonce fan counting down to Blue Ivy's arrival, I was happy to brave the dinner crowds during the West Loop restaurant's second weekend open.

The Bento Box 2246 W. Armitage Ave. 773-278-3932 Fair warning: The space at this BYOB is extremely limited. Just 16 seats are available for diners hoping to nosh on a tight, rotating menu of dishes such as Korean short ribs and pork egg rolls. Marie's Rip Tide 1745 W. Armitage Ave. 773-278-7317 This legendary late-night dive is dead most nights before midnight, but you can bet the crowds will start flowing in once every other bar in the area is closed. Just mutter the cross streets “Armitage and Hermitage” to your cab driver and he or she will know exactly where you're going.

Trenchermen 2039 W. North Ave. 773-661-1540 Chefs (and brothers) Mike and Patrick Sheerin left their posts at acclaimed restaurants -- Blackbird and The Signature Room, respectively - to jam out together cooking seasonal, globally influenced American fare at their own restaurant in a unique space that was formerly bathhouse. Danny's 1951 W. Dickens Ave. 773-489-6457 It may look like just another house from the outside, but inside, this music-fueled bar can turn into one of the biggest dance parties in the neighborhood.

It's 10 a.m. Do you know where your sommelier is? If she's anything like Alpana Singh, she's already cracked her first bottle - for work, of course. This summer, Singh has been busy tasting more than 1,000 wines to narrow her selection for the 300 or so varieties she'll put on the menu at The Boarding House, a multi-level restaurant she's opening in River North at 720 N. Wells St. with her partners later this month. "I've been doing wine tastings in the party room of my building," said Singh, 35, who lives in the Gold Coast.

As long as there have been cities, there have been suburbs. Humans have lived their entire lives in both and turned out well. Yet as long as there have been cities and 'burbs, there has been friction between the inhabitants. The recent outrage about a phantom Kuma's Corner location in a Schaumburg mall remind us all of this ever-present yet thankfully bloodless conflict. The Kuma's story - which started when RedEye spotted a coming-soon note on a mall directory and quickly was dismissed by the restaurant - turned into the online Civil War. (Or was it the War of Suburban Aggression?

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 all inspection data, and found that about one in five restaurants at the time had failed an inspection over a two year period.

Is Chicago's most beloved burger joint opening a second location in Woodfield Mall in northwest suburban Schaumburg?     That's what it seems like from a look at the mall directory, but the restaurant said it's not the case. RedEye staffer Jessica Galliart snapped a photo of "Kuma's Corner*" on the mall directory's restaurant list. The asterisk indicates "coming soon. " The location noted on the map is an empty counter-service space near Ruby Tuesday and The Cheesecake Factory.