Restaurant News: Former La Pasadita To Be Another Taco Joint; Chicago Represents In Daily Meal's Best Restaurants List
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Mar 28, 2013 5:40PM
- The story of the original La Pasadita's past life as a White Castle imitator made waves across town last week when the story broke wide. DNAInfo Chicago has a follow-up on the space's future and tacos are going to be a major part of it. Division Street mainstay Picante Taqueria is opening a second outpost in the space at 1141 N. Ashland. We have to ask: Seriously? There were already too many taco options with two La Pasaditas on that block. But La Pasadita owner David Espinoza, Sr. said there is enough difference between his business and Picante that there's no problem with saturation.
- Food news website The Daily Meal published its list of the 101 best restaurants in America and Chicago is well-represented. The highest restaurant on the list is Girl & the Goat at number 9. Stephanie Izard's restaurant earns raves for its "sense of community and comfort" as well as the food. Alinea placed 14th on the list, followed by The Publican (35), Blackbird (38), Spiaggia (46), Next (50), and Tru (67).
- Now that Chicago has survived the news that an Olive Garden will finally open within the city limits, NBC Chicago reports a Vernon Hills Olive Garden comping the bill for a family after a 3-year-old told the manager her grandfather's house recently burned down. The receipt of the bill made its way to Reddit, where it quickly went viral amid charges the restaurant chain did it for the publicity. An Olive Garden rep told Consumerist that wasn't the case and that the family posted the receipt online themselves.
- Chicago magazine, responding to Food & Wine's gallery of their 27 best chicken spots in the country, listed six they felt could have made the list and we're having a hard time disagreeing with what Penny Pollack and Jessica Nikolich put together. Any list of the best fried chicken in Chicago is incomplete without Big Jones and it was nice to see it on the list. Pollack and Nikolich also gave a shout out to Honey Butter Fried Chicken which, our unappetizing photos aside, still remains one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the year.