Perfect Timing at Scylla

Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." So it seems with Bucktown's Scylla. Bon Apetit's annual restaurants issue comes out this week, and according to "the Extrovert" blog at Metromix, Bucktown's Scylla merits inclusion (the only Chicago restaurant to do so, apparently). And even that is for their grilled lamb with curried vegetables and grape and pine nut gremolata, not the inventive approach to seafood that earned the restaurant and chef Stephanie Izzard wide praise.

The inclusion of Scylla is bittersweet, as "the Extrovert" also reported a couple weeks back that Scylla is closing. In its place will be a new restaurant by Beard Award-winner Takashi Yagihashi (Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi in the State Street Macy's), set to debut this November. Izzard told "The Extrovert" that business was still good, but she wants to travel more and is even mulling a move to Seattle. If that happens, it'll be a gain for our friends in the Pacific Northwest.

We kind of saw this coming. The building that houses Scylla has been on the market for a while, but we never expected that a change would be in the works so quickly. Izzard is deserving of her reputation, working tirelessly to maintain Scylla's food to both a high standard of quality and an affordable price point. When the place finally does close, it will be missed.