At Prairie Fire, finesse elevates comfort food
At Prairie Fire, finesse elevates comfort food
Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris have returned to Chicago with the recent opening of their second restaurant. Like Prairie Grass in Northbrook, Prairie Fire on North Clinton Street features the two chefs’ signature American comfort food prepared with classic French sensibility and ingredients from local, sustainable farms.
Restaurants, thou shalt heed these tips
“It’s a great time to be a restaurant customer,” says Larry Huber, co-owner of Clean Plate Club, which operates six restaurants (including Pete Miller’s and Davis Street Fishmarket) in Chicago’s suburbs. “It’s no longer business as usual. We’re zeroing in on customer service, and I see operators all headed in the same direction.”
$4 Great Lakes Burning River pints, live Irish jam session (3-6 p.m.)
Quince review: Delicious new page follows storied past
For 20 years I’ve been driving up to this Evanston address, and it has rewarded me with a lifetime of dining memories. This unpretentious, multiroom space has been home to Café Provencal and Trio, their kitchens graced by such stellar names as Leslee Reis, Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, Shawn McClain and Grant Achatz. I can recall Achatz’s olive-oil ice cream sandwich amuse, Tramonto’s mushroom cappuccino, and the time Andy Reis refused my American Express card (he was feuding with the company at the time).