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- Many Wicker Park commuters are feeling a little less caffeinated these days since Half & Half (under the Damen Blue Line stop) closed up shop. Owner Debbie Sharpe told Metromix that the quality of the building is to blame. The good news is Sharpe also owns the Goddess and Grocer down the street, and Half & Half's delicious commuter sandwiches and pastries will be available for purchase there. LTH commentors prophecy its space may become a Dunkin Donuts.
- Any vegi Wildcats out there want to back this up? PETA2, the youth branch of the national animal rights organizations has named Northwestern's dining halls the best in the country for vegans and vegetarians. PETA2 says NU won due to its, "wide range of delicious and cruelty-free dishes, which include veggie riblets, vegan pancakes, and veggie chicken pitas."
- Julia Langbein posts a love letter to Avec on Gourmet's Choptalk blog. She writes, "Basically, if Chicago's restaurant scene were a high school, it would be a really big public one that included a handful of famous prize-winning science nerds and a whole lot of really nice foreign exchange students. Avec, breezy and attractive, would be the school's hot cheerleader. It's the sort of food-homemade goose sausage with dandelion greens; supple cannelloni filled with wild boar, béchamel, and walnuts; perfectly seared whitefish with smoked paprika-that exudes effortless appeal... sometimes hot cheerleaders are popular for a reason."
- The Burrito Bracket has filled in three of its final four spots. El Taco Veloz, La Pasadita, and De Pasada have all won their regional brackets. In what must be the battle of the tournament, Irazu and Tecalitlan will face off for the final spot.
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Boooo Dunkin Donuts... I'll miss Half and Half... it's interesting to see that Feast will carry their breakfast sandwiches.
Yep - that's correct. She owns all three. The Metromix post I linked to explains it all...
like Clarissa?
Funny that they use the high school cafeteria metaphor: like my high school's cafeteria, Avec is ear-piercingly loud, the exact opposite of intimate, and you will be seated shoulder-to-shouder with strangers trying to talk over the noise, people you may or may not know, again much like a, well, a high school cafeteria. Too bad the food is so damn good, else I'd be forced to, you know, dislike it..
my cubemate says that half & half has a sign in the window that says "coming soon: goddess breakfast" or something like that.. like making it seem that the same people will be reopening in the same space. also, how much competition do you think they got from the new milk & honey across the street?
Veloz is tasty, but Tecalitlan shall be the wrap that rules them all!
Damn straight on Tecalitlan. They're the certified dark horse in this competition.
how much competition do you think they got from the new milk & honey across the street?
Great point.
I miss Half & Half too, but I won't be visiting any of Debbie Sharpe's other businesses.
On the Friday that Half & Half closed, I found her employees standing outside looking just as surprised as I was that she had closed shop so suddenly. When I asked them about it I learned that they hadn't even been informed that the store was closing themselves.
That is an indicator of a shitty boss and business owner. She knew that she would be closing her store on that day, and she could have at least informed her employees that they needed to look for a new job.
I did want to check out Feast, but you can bet I won't be going now.
I'm someone who has had the unfortunate experience of closing a restaurant and putting people out of work. I did "the right thing" and gave everyone a weeks notice.
Fast forward 7 days -- I had to cancel all the reservations and could only offer food service at the bar (with me behind it) because all I had left was the sous chef and one line cook. Everyone else had bailed, and not one bothered to inform me they weren't coming in.
People in the bar/restaurant industry aren't exactly the most loyal of employees, so you shouldn't judge Ms. Sharpe without knowing the facts.