Chicagoist: Cafe Bionda: A Hot New Blond in the South Loop

jk

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 21:47:03 -0600

Chicago Magazine's "Dish" newsletter says: Bionda Reef, the café next door to Cafe Bionda (1924 S. State St.; 312-326-9800), is scheduled to open in the first week of November; expect Sicilian pizza, Italian sandwiches, and an oyster bar.

B News

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 02:00:02 -0600

Cheers Chuck, we thought you'd like this joint. Joe really did a nice job with this place. PS- Bridgeport has even been called South Loop. i.e. The South Loop Chamber of Commerce is at 3600 S. Halsted. Why does everyone question Chuck's map reading ability? Aren't these food reviews?

rob

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:58:19 -0600

Jeff: right on! as a resident, i prefer 'near south side'. Nothing south of roosevelt should be called 'south loop'. These bleeding and creeping of neighborhood lines makes me pretty angry, especially when its done just to make a buck. Back on topic, maybe we went there while they were working out the kinks, or we ordered the wrong things, but our dishes were fairly bland and uninspired -- nothing at all like rosebud. Our service was nice but a little on the creepy side. It's nice to see another restaurant in the near south side, but I don't think I'll be heading back too soon -- not with all the delicous options in chinatown just around the corner.

Chuck

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:30:04 -0600

Jeff: The restaurant is actually closer to Chinatown, Auto Row and the Historic Prairie District than the actual south Loop. I put it in the South Loop for a semblance of proximity.

Jeff

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:09:32 -0600

Thanks for this review, I may check it out. This is not a complaint over this article, or Chicagoist, but isn't there a better desciption of the neighborhood than the South Loop? Yes, it's south of the Loop, but 1900 south is as far south as Armitage is north(almost)! Would someone even sort of consider Armitage to be 'North Loop'? It seems to me this is a term invented by real estate people trying to sell condos to wealthy white people who might be hesitant to live in a neighborhood more accurately named.