-posted by chicago pop
Multiple grub-conscious readers sent this blurb my way. I've been let down too many times to get too excited about this one -- Chant, Park 52, etc. all started off kinda okay, but weren't really and then went no-where - but this seems like it may be the real deal. From Eater Chicago:
Hyde Park is about to get a shot in the arm when the Promontory, a new restaurant, bar and concert venue, opens in early 2013. Even more exciting is the team behind the project: Longman & Eagle owners Bruce Finkelman (Empty Bottle, Bite Cafe), Craig Golden (Evanston's Space and Union Pizza) and chef Jared Wentworth will helm the kitchen.
At this point, much of the details, including the type of cuisine, have not yet been revealed. But seeing as L&E is Michelin-starred and Wentworth has been much heralded, it stands that this new restaurant, with a "hearth-driven kitchen," will likely gain a lot of attention. Should we expect a lot of grilled and smoked meats?
The Promontory, named for the nearby Promontory Point in Lake Michigan, is set to be part of the 53rd Street revitalization project, which already has a new Clarke's diner and Five Guys Burgers, and adjacent Harper Court project. The addition of another quality restaurant attached to a music venue, will not only give South Siders (in particular University of Chicago folk) a place to hang, it could help make the area more of a destination.
And from RedEye:
Longman & Eagle in Logan Square
(Barry Brecheisen/For RedEye / September 11, 2012)
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Empty Bottle’s Bruce Finkelman and Craig Golden, of Space in Evanston, are currently prepping their newest venture, The Promontory (1539 E. 53rd St.), for an early 2013 opening.
Finkelman—who is also behind Logan Square’s Longman & Eagle, a bar-restaurant-hotel hybrid that serves up contemporary American treats such as Kentucky fried quail and roast leg of venison—is keeping quiet about many of the details, including the style of cuisine The Promontory will serve.
He did confirm that the owners are currently renovating the building and the space will offer live music events and food.
The team behind The Promontory—named after Hyde Park’s nearby Promontory Point lakefront area, which in 1933-1934 housed Chicago’s second World’s Fair—will also include Longman & Eagle chef Jared Wentworth.
9 comments:
1539 E 53rd? Isn't that the Akira?
This is fabulous news. I have long thought that a "gastropub" (a beer-oriented place with great food) would do well in Hyde Park, where many of the grad students I interact with are very passionate about beer but are not much interested in wine or fruity cocktails, which seems to be what the few places in HP with licenses focus on. I was surprised that Park 52 chose not even to put in draft beer (they told me it was something to do with not having a basement for the kegs).
Yes, this is the Akira building. The building has about 60000 sq feet and Akira is only taking 15000 sq feet. The building has basically been stripped down to its frame during renovation. so that it can receive multiple street entrances and a new facade.
BY the way, does anyone have any intelligence on what is going on with the building that houses Jimmy's? The Dialysis clinic that used to occupy the entire western part of the building has moved out and the building permits in the windows seem to indicate the space is being divided into multiple retail locations.
This is spectacular-happy making news. L&E offers both food and drinks of a calibre that exceeds everything we have in the HP. Fingers. Crossed.
Two new restaurants have been announced for Harper Court. A Jamaican restaurant, Ja' Grill and a gastropub, Park Tavern. Oh, and a Starbucks, of course (isn't there already one at 53rd and Harper?).
From no gastropubs to two? Frankly, I can't see either of them surviving. They'll have to be cheap to serve the needs of grad students and those fruity cocktails are favored among many on the southside, which is why those other place survive....
Ginger-
There will also be a 130-room Hyatt hotel a block away, which will likely provide a steady stream of business to all the new restaurants.
I bet the University will be shifting most its reservations away from the Hyde Park Ramada to the Hyatt as soon as it possibly can. Today's discerning travelers are looking for more than crumbling facades, surly receptionists, stained ice buckets, and complimentary color television during their stays.
Yeahhh...Wow, I moved from the north side to Hyde Park 7 yrs ago. I'm SO happy is growing. I would drive to the north side to eat at 5 Guys, Clark's, etc...(I love Lincoln Park) I'm so proud of you Hyde Park (pat on the back). Now work on bring other restaurants, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Mariano's fresh market, baby.
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