No More Graz[ing]

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Jun 5, 2007 9:00PM

The Stew is reporting that River North restaurant Graze is closing after a mere six months of business. We are sad to say goodbye to Graze because we generally thought Chef Bob Zrenner was a likable person with an interesting vision of fine dining for what was essentially three blocks off the Mag Mile.
When we interviewed him in January he told us, "Small plates bring that high level of cuisine to people on a much more affordable level. Our portions might be small, but two or three of our plates gives you three times the variety of a $30 entrée. This way, you aren’t committed to one thing, you still have a decent meal, but you can try a little more...."

So what happened? "The owners believed that the public was rejecting what we were trying to do," he told The Stew."I don't think the city of Chicago wants [small plates]. They're great in concept, but it's a hard sell. Everybody still wants to see a big steak." Zing!

Vettel wonders if small plates are good or bad; we think small plates are good in theory, but bad when they cost $10+ dollars a plate. $30 or $40 a person to feel almost-full doesn't really seem to cut it in our book (yes, we are looking at you Green Zebra). Chicagoist hopes small plates don't go the way of the Dodo, but can somehow, learn to live in harmony with steak, pizza, and desgustations in the Windy City.