Author Archives: Jody Heller

I never imagined that a little French Vietnamese storefront restaurant could make me feel like a member of the British aristocracy. I’ve always wanted to be waited on like one of the upstairs crowd on Upstairs Downstairs. I wouldn’t even mind being a royal. So what if Charles is a bit of a twit? I’ve […]

My temptations revolve around clothes and desserts. My daily cheap thrill is to power-walk past the Gap at the corner of Division and Dearborn to see if they’ve gotten anything in stock that isn’t muddy burgundy, muddy green, muddy teal, or muddy plaid. Then, instead of turning east so I can see the other window, […]

No two people I’ve discussed Wishbone with can agree on what to call the neighborhood it’s in. Since gentrification, everyone’s confused by all the new names for old places: River North or North Town, where Wishbone is located, at Grand and Wood just west of Ashland, is really West Town. Over in my part part […]

I hate nouvelle cuisine. And I’m not alone. There were no “grazers” until places like Ambria started listing things like rare liver with raspberries as entrees. That’s when people with functioning taste buds began ordering two appetizers, salad, and dessert. I of course ordered two desserts. Getting dessert, unless you want to stay home alone […]

People don’t ask “Do you want to eat Italian tonight?” anymore. Now everything’s Italian. Spaghetti joints have been replaced by ristorantes–and the trattorias that are supposed to be cheaper but aren’t–and pasta comes in every shape imaginable, even radiators. I don’t miss the limited menus of the past, but I still have an occasional craving […]