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Real Urban Barbeque - http://www.realurbanbbq.com/ - is opening another spot in Lincolnshire in the new-ish shopping center at the northwest corner of 45 & 21.

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"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."
-- P. J. O’Rourke"

Hi, I just joined although I have been reading for a while.

I stopped by Ken's Madarin (on McCormick) on my way home tonight, but it looks like it has gone out of business.
There isn't a note or anything, but there also aren't any furnishings inside.

I dropped off some packages at the UPS store directly across from Ken's Mandarin the other day and some guys were there changing the locks of the empty storefront.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Wingtown Grill in Glendale Heights has closed.

Evanston's Casteel Coffee is closing and just sent out this email:

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Dear Longtime Casteel Customers,

After almost twenty years as one of Chicago land’s premiere coffee roaster/retailers, sadly we find we must bring this leg of our journey to an end. Our greatest pleasure has been serving our community and contributing to the experiences and relationships built within our doors.

We apologize for the short notice and any inconveniences this may cause. We took many measures to avoid this alternative, to no avail. Please contact our partner roaster, Uncommon Grounds of Saugatuck, MI. They have served as our roaster for the past several months and will be able to ship coffee directly to your door. You can contact them at (269) 455-5111 or uncommon1@accn.org. Please ask for Danielle and tell her you are a Casteel Coffee Customer.

We will briefly open our doors for an upcoming inventory liquidation event. We will not carry any whole bean coffee at that time. Please watch for notices of this event on our website or via email.

It is with a heavy heart that we make this difficult decision. We appreciate your overwhelming support over the many years.

With Sincere Gratitude,

Carol Harris
And
The Casteel Family

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Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm. ~Ambrose Bierce

Not quite sure how long the signs been up
@ Al Khaymeih ,4758 N. Kedizie, but the sign in the window says-
"Will ReOpen Soon"
(don't know what "soon" means!)

I was a customer of the original Casteel on Davis street in Evanston, so for me, this is the end of a very long, and tasty, journey. That was back when Lee Casteel was still the owner, probably between 1986 and 1987, when he used a custom 1 pound roaster for each batch of coffee when Casteel was the first custom roasting facility in Chicagoland. Lee kept index cards with each customer's preferences for roasting. Lee taught me that I prefer my coffee slightly under-roasted; his custom roasted Sumatran was a poor man's Jamaican Blue Mountain.

I always thought Casteel one of the best resources around for coffee, although I was shocked into finding an alternative provider for some of my coffee after Lee sold the business a few years ago, and inventory changed a bit.

While the new owners put in a good effort after the sale, they seemed insensitive to the facts that they were no longer the only premium provider for coffee around, and they couldn't consistently provide a product that supported the price premium they demanded. The cessation of roasting operations on premises removed the last reason to patronize them. If I wanted Uncommon Grounds coffee, I would have been ordering from them on the internet.

So I don't find this closing surprising; I am saddened a bit, but by no means surprised.

Hi- I am sorry to hear that Casteel has closed. If I would have known that they were closing yesterday, I would have gone there to purchase some coffee. I have not been there in a while, but I knew that the place had been sold a few years ago. When they were roasting the coffee themselves, I thought the coffee was fantastic. I wonder why they quit roasting it themselves?

If the place was closer to me, I would have gone there more often. There is somebodu selling coffee at the winter farmer's market at the ecology center in Evanston on Saturdays, but they only have one variety of coffee each week, and the coffee is $10 for a 10 ounce bag, or $3 a cup. I saw some small cups there yesterday, and I asked them if they were giving out free samples, and they told me no. It is some roaster in Chicago.

I'm not sure if they are still in business, but there used to be a coffee roaster near the Linden street L stop in Wilmette. I tried it once, and it wasn't bad,but they only had a few variates they roasted to choose from. Thanks, Nancy

This should be a great addition to North Center.

http://brickschicago.com/BigBricks/

I peaked through the windows and saw some stacked high chairs so they are playing it smart and will be family friendly. Also, looks to be 2 floors and along with a large biergarden. Looking forward to it!!

This will be a good addition to Vernon Hills...I've tried it in Highland Park and thought it was pretty tasty.

San Soo Gab San (the Korean BBQ place on Western in the city) is opening a new location in Niles...on Golf by Washington. Don't know the date though, but on the outside the sign was up already and it looked close to complete.

I saw that a couple of weeks ago (in a strip mall, south side of Golf, just east of Washington), the last time I had lunch at The Works. I wondered if they were affiliated with the "original" location. Very encouraging news.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Spit out the gum, sister!

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I thought I read somewhere online that they were affiliated with the Western location (of course I can't find the article now)...if I get more info I'll post an update.

My boss lives in Wilmette and brings us coffee from Alchemy Coffee House 416 Linden Ave.

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Leek
SAVING ONE DOG MAY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT IT CHANGES THE WORLD FOR THAT ONE DOG.
American Brittany Rescue always needs foster homes. Please think about helping that one dog.
http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org

I "liked" San Soo Gab San on facebook and indeed they are affilated

Well...damn! We just moved to the 'hood (about a 10-15 minute walk away) and I had intended to go this very day to try them out. Figures.


I guess I now have a chance to become acquainted with others in the vicinity.

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Gypsy Boy

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?” (Julia Child)

Rockwell Inn out in Morris has re-opened with new owners(same owners as Marie's in Morris I was told).

Went in for a drink this past Saturday(place was pretty packed). Old, handcarved bar from one of the last World Expositions in Chicago as magnificent as ever.

I was told they are only open for dinner right now. Dinner menu in the past was pretty good with a good salad bar, I preferred their lunch offerings of the reuben or a tenderloin.

Rockwell Inn
2400 W. Route 6
Morris, IL.

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

On the corner of Dempster and Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, we will be getting a That Burger Joint and another Oberweis, as soon as they build it.

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I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert. ~ Jason Love
There is no pie in Nighthawks, which is why it's such a desolate image. ~ Happy Stomach
I can't go to Hollywood. I got biscuits to make. ~ Dwight Henry

Late-Nite Eats Database

This is great news Jim! We usually go a few times a year and like you, I like their lunch the best. Maybe they will soon open for Sunday lunch at least.

Im hoping so as well.

The biggest thing for me is that the old wood bar isnt going to just waste away, or meet the wrecking ball.

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

My beloved Salerno's On Grove is suddenly no more as of a few weeks ago. Rumored to re-open only a block or two away though. You can go ahead and keep ordering your pizzas from the second best option in the vicinity at Villa Nova without interruption.

I AM JUST KIDDING ABOUT VILLA NOVA, RELAX.

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We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.

Manzo's at Irving Park and Kedzie is closed. Half the building has already been torn down, though I don't know if there are plans to tear down the other half (the half Manzo's was in). This day was long coming as the restaurant sat 95% empty 100% of the time -- it was a waste of real estate for what had basically become a carry-out/delivery business. And it seemed like they truly didn't care if it was empty -- the interior had clearly not been updated (or even particularly well maintained) in decades. Once they stopped doing their average but extremely cheap lunch buffet (seven bucks, soda and refills included!!), there was no reason to step foot in the restaurant any more -- the atmosphere was at once amusing for its nostalgic value and sad for the utter lack of care and effort that went into it. On the whole, dining in was an awkward experience.

Their phone message claims they will be opening elsewhere soon, but I have my doubts. When a long-standing but long-struggling neighborhood joint closes, it almost always stays closed whatever their future plans are. That's too bad because in my estimation they had some of the best old-school thin-crust in town.

Manzo's
3210 W Irving Park
Chicago
773 748 3070 (if you want to listen to their "we're reopening some where, some day" message)

I received today an email from a buddy of mine in Milwaukee regarding his sister's husband's (I assume that's Steve Harris, but the sister's husband was not named) restaurant called The Store Front Company here:

http://thestorefrontcompany.com/

Looks quite interesting, and Chef Bryan Moscatello apparently has a pretty good reputation. Named Best New Chef in 2003 by Food & Wine Magazine.

They haven't opened yet, but it looks like it may be "soon".

Cheers

-mm

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"Ash, that transmission - Mother's deciphered part of it.
It doesn't look like an S.O.S....it looks like a warning."
-- Ellen Ripley

Noticed this place on the way home tonight in the former North Coast Cafe/Istanbul Restaurant space.

Signature Pizza, Pasta & Burgers & Jimbo Top Gun Red Hots
3617 N Broadway
Chicago
(773) 868-9700
http://chicagopizza3617.com/

Signs in the window promise Red Hot Chicago dogs and 24 hour delivery. Supposed to open January 15th, no menu on the website as of yet but also says breakfast as well.

Austin's Tacos is open in Evanston, a place lacking, to the best of my knowledge, anything resembling a taqueria (Chipotle is most definitley NOT a taqueria). My first pass -- I had two brisket tacos on flour tortillas. VERY small, VERY expensive ($8 for two, and two were not sufficient for a meal). I know street tacos well, haivng lived in San Diego for six years; these should be about $1.50-$2.00 a pop. They look like they're trying for the Big Star thing, but they don't seem to hit Big Star's level of execution. To be fair, this is all on one, quick visit.

Austin's Tacos
622 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 6020.

FWIW if it is in the mall on Golf just east of Washington, (the mall with Aldi's), it is in Morton Grove, not Niles, (which will make it a candidate for a visit from the Table for Two crew from MGTV)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OMDm6tX ... msa8FALjvI

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You can't prepare for a disaster when you are in the midst of it.


A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks, and suffers the consequences.
Proverbs 27:12

That's in the former Al's Beef location.

Speaking of Evanston, Hota has replaced Jacky's on Prairie. Hota, which is the Spanish word for the letter "J", has menus featuring global fusion (I guess it's more properly called "pan-global") cuisine.

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

As I stated in another thread, I for one do not think Manzo's had to update the decor to atract people, particularly with the food being really good. Besides the pizza, pasta was a standout as well and on Fridays they served a pretty yummy clam chowder. We did not go there often but we did go once every couple of months or so and we almost always dined in. We usually saw the same staff (hostess and waitresses) and they were always stellar, super nice and knew our names and preferences despite the fact that we were not daily or even weekly visitors. Manzo's will sorely be missed in our household.

Where in Northcenter?