Three New Restaurants To Keep An Eye Out For This Year

By Anthony Todd in Food on Feb 12, 2016 5:47PM

New restaurants open every day, and often the news passes without very much more than an "oh, that's interesting." Rarely do we have a week where every new place that is announced forces us to get out our calendar and mark it down so we don't forget. Here are the highlights.

First, Tim Graham left Travelle to open his own place. Honestly, we've never loved Travelle, and then the whole thing recently re-concepted and went a bit more mid-range in price. So when we found out that Graham (who spent years cooking at Tru and is a great chef) was going out on his own, we were super excited. The Trib reported that he and his wife are looking for a location right now for a 3,500 to 4,000 square foot restaurant to be located outside of downtown/river north. Keep an eye on this one.

Then, we found out about Zoe Schor, formerly of Ada Street, and her new restaurant, called Split-Rail. Eater Chicago reported that she's just about to sign a lease for a new "eclectic american small plates" spot, and will be hosting preview dinners at White Oak Tavern (which is apparently Chicago's new hot spot for pop-ups, by the way).

Finally, just this morning we got details on David Posey's new place. The former blackbird chef is opening "Elske" (love in Danish) at 1350 W. Randolph St., and will be serving Scandinavian-inspired cuisine starting in the Spring.