Bistro 110 to Close, Tony Mantuano to Take Over

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 2, 2011 3:40PM

It's not been a good couple of weeks for Chicago restaurants. 8 days after Kith and Kin closed unexpectedly, another shocker - Bistro 110, the Michigan Avenue French mainstay, is shutting down on August 4th. According to Chicago Magazine, Tony Mantuano, the Italian food impresario behind Spiaggia and Terzo Piano, will be revamping the property into an Italian bar, with "good espresso, homemade pastries, gelato to go, a mozzarella bar" and small plates.

Bistro 110, open for 25 years, wasn't on anyone's list of culinary destinations, and as more and more great restaurants opened in tourist country (Sable, Purple Pig) its offerings were getting somewhat stale by comparison. Many of the ideas Mantuano mentioned sound like they are straight out of his Wine Bar Food, one of our favorite cookbooks, and he mentioned in the interview that this idea is "really something coming from my heart."

On the other hand, it'll be a shocker to walk down Michigan without seeing that big sign and knowing that if we needed emergency frites, we could get them at a moment's notice. The only red flag? Mantuano compared the changeover to the change from Brasserie Jo to Paris Club - Brasserie Jo was good, but Paris Club appeals to more people. Since we're not fond of the toned-down aesthetic (or the crowd) at Paris Club, we hope Mantuano keeps the menu challenging.