Your Friday Food Buffet

This Week's Theme: Rise and Fall

Fred Solomon Would Agree, Because He Likes Fire: We noticed that Kohan, the teppen grill and sushi bar on Maxwell Street, is expanding. They recently bought an empty space next to their current location and will be building it out. We also hear that once the expansion is complete, they'll focus more on the teppen grill side of the menu, including tableside teppen service. Chicagoist is pleased by this, as the quality of their sushi has become spotty since our initial review of the place last year.

What's In a Name, Anyway?: Chicagoist was introduced to Kim and Kelly, the sisters who own Carbón on 26th Street, the other night. They were appreciative of our review of the place, and after we glommed around LTHForum and read the sticks-in-mud weigh in with their accounts (to summarize: "they use a gas grill, it's false advertising!"), we can understand why some people can't be bothered with food. Either way, the remarks of a few - we include ourselves here - aren't hurting their business. In fact, the ladies and their other partners are working on obtaining a liquor license with the hopes of Carbón opening up a beer garden this summer. You know, nothing says summer in Chicago like drinking a beer with the Dan Ryan Expressway a couple hundred feet above your head. Of course, if they have a good beer selection, we'll be right there.

Get 'Em While You Can: Smelt fishing season ends on Monday. For the intrepid anglers who like to sing for their supper, however, it hasn't been a good season. The Sun-Times reported last week that smelt numbers are down in recent years. Or, maybe the commercial fisheries are catching the smelt quicker than the sportsmen. That same article reported that places like Boston Blackie's and Vito and Nick's have smelt in stock.

How Will Our Children Get Cavities?: Monday is also the final day of operations for Peerless Candy, which is citing "declining consumption of hard candy and the increasing prevalence of imports and offshore production" as deciding factors in their shuttering. The statement they released in January announcing the cessation of operations also stated that they made the decision while they still had the opportunity to offer employees a decent severance package. Peerless has been a Chicago staple since 1914. It may not have been on the level of a Marshall Field's or even a Brach's, but it will be missed nonetheless.

Smelt photo courtesy University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute via the Shedd Aquarium.