Restaurant News: Dusek's Board and Beer Open, Courtright's Closing
By Anthony Todd in Food on Oct 2, 2013 4:20PM
Photo via Facebook.
- Dusek's Board and Beer, the epically-massive project from the guys that opened Longman & Eagle and The Empty Bottle, is officially open for business. Located in Pilsen's Thalia Hall, the enterprise is actually three businesses in one. Dusek's is the main floor restaurant, Punch House is a cocktail bar in the basement and there's also a music hall that isn't quite ready to open yet. We stopped by yesterday and the buildout is beautiful, keeping the original character of the 1892 building. They're so committed to maintaining the story and function of the space (originally owned by John Dusek) that the restaurant's sign emphasized that they are "re-established 2013," not starting from scratch. The menu, designed by Chef Jared Wentworth, includes a ton of local and seasonal favorites, a full selection of oysters and a huge craft beer selection. Check out the menus below.
- Courtright's, one of the only suburban Chicago spots to get a Michelin star (before losing it in 2012) is going out of business. The Tribune reported that the restaurant, open since 1999, will serve their last meal on New Years Eve. According to critic Phil Vettel, "The food was excellent and the wine list phenomenal, but I think the owners worked harder at hospitality than anything else, and it showed. I will miss this restaurant a lot."
- Yet another underground/pop up dinner is about to get a permanent space. From the team behind the Ice-Cubed truck comes The Octagon Mode (if they open another place, it had better be called the DoDecahedron room), a permanent pop-up on Lawrence Avenue. The head chef is Erika Stone-Miller, and they're going to implement an interesting feature with their pricing. When you sign up, you get a chance to show off something about yourself that will contribute to the dinner - a skill, a talent, or an interesting fact. If it's good enough, you might get a $15 discount off the normal $100 price. This will either lead to amazing dinners or raging narcissism festivals. In any case, yet another high-end food destination is coming to the Northwest side on October 11. Tickets are available online.