Zealous is spacious and monochromatic, backlit by translucent bays that emphasize the upscale airport lounge look. The flight attendants, in matching gray suits, are obsequious yet slow, presenting with grave earnestness the predinner “amusement,” which fits securely into a turbulence-resistant tray tabletop. The menu jets from cuisine to cuisine with alarming speed. Our attendant described […]
Author Archives: Leah Eskin
Posted inNews & Politics
The Purloined Menu
La Cumbamba rocks. “Hotel California” is turned up to 11, competing against El Beso Azteca banging it out in the basement clubhouse. Fresh salsa, drippy candlesticks, and expired gladiolus loiter on mismatched tables under the sulk of a Keith Richards portrait and nudie ceramic figurines. William Restrepo, chef, waiter, owner, and antagonist of “poopy Colombians” […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Book of Revelations
My husband, whose name is, in reality, Bob, was paging through the Sunday paper, the New York Times Book Review, to be exact. He read aloud a particularly pungent description of a fictional cad: “He needs his soon-to-be-ex lover to buy his plane ticket home.” This slimy scenario sounded mighty familiar. In fact, the same […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Purloined Menu
Souk is hazy and perfumey and inviting, like some Casbah hideaway, though it’s smack in the middle of Wicker Park. It’s amusing to watch the habitues hooked up to hookahs filled with scented tobacco–exhaling apricot, strawberry, mint, or apple has rescued a lethargic-old-guy tradition and turned it trendy–mesmerizing to wonder if the candles set into […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Purloined Menu
MK is cool and sleek, and–despite a certain degree of overage navel flashing–disarmingly pleasant. Michael Kornick’s got a nice-looking resume, what with Marche’s terrific menu (if annoying crowd) and Red Light’s vibrancy. So it probably won’t be long before he gets his latest eat-and-be-seen scene up to snuff. –Leah Eskin Malpeque oysters The strangest pair […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Purloined Menu
For years Le Bouchon had the best roast chicken in town, not to mention the most convivial atmosphere, especially if you like the sardine effect imposed by huge popularity and only 44 seats. So when the owners decided to go upscale and –more significantly–up-capacity, I was ready to wriggle into La Sardine. The new place, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Purloined Menu
I had been looking forward to my first Krispy Kreme for years, ever since everyone started talking about the famed doughnut’s migration north from Winston-Salem. Last month the franchise finally rolled into Chicago, or rather into suburban Summit. It took me a while to unfold the map and determine that the doughnut mecca is located […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Purloined Menu
That expensive new dress in my closet has been insisting I take it to Blackbird all summer. When I finally did it was in good company. Nearly everyone–overtired artist types, overfed business types–turned out in black or white, which look great against Blackbird’s sleek gray interior, sort of the minimalist haute diner effect. There’s no […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Purloined Menu
My local pizzeria is on auto dial, and the guy who answers knows my name, order, and baby’s nap schedule by heart. Even so, I usually end up with a tepid dinner in a freshly steamed cardboard box. Over congealed cheese I sometimes fantasize about a chef on wheels who would park his truck out […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Purloined Menu
Bistrot Zinc offers a confusion of options – the late-night crepeteria, the crowded (and, indeed, zinc) bar, a clubby lounge, and a wide dining room–all cluttered with the cliches of French dining: rattan chairs askew on the sidewalk, Edith Piaf on auto-reverse, and a taxidermied chicken on duty by the register. Dining here takes gumption […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Gone With The Wind
Stars made sense thematically. And their simple lines could be executed at 140 miles an hour.
Posted inArts & Culture
Digging Niches:flamingo attack
The flamingo planter must be discreet, calm, focused. He should have a good grasp of geography, an eye for spatial relations, a valid driver’s license. He must possess extraordinary sangfroid and, if caught, a healthy admiration for the absurd. After all, his nightly task is to creep onto the pristine suburban lawn, stab it with […]