Scoop on latest Lettuce project

From Chicago Tribune's Phil Vettel in "The Stew":

"We now have a name for the latest Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurant, the one going in the old Ambria space (2300 N. Lincoln Park West) and featuring star chef Laurent Gras.

The restaurant, opening in the spring, will be called (drumroll): L.2O.

The name is easy to pronounce (el-two-oh, like H2O, reflective of the restaurant’s seafood emphasis) but a big pain in the patoot to write, as it includes a subscript numeral 2, plus an entirely superfluous period after the L. Most people are just going to write L2O, I’m guessing.

In addition, we’re told, the restaurant will feature modern décor with sen (a light Japanese wood) paneling, ebony tabletops, white leather chairs and white onyx accents.

The memorable line in the press release (parenthetical comments mine): 'Gras’ goal is to bring fish and shellfish from their natural state to a finished presentation (i.e., cooking them) without compromising their inherent qualities (i.e., ruining them).'

Sounds like a plan to me."

Very interesting. Seems like LEYE is updating all their restaurants these days. First there was Osteria Via Stato (620 N. State St.) adding Pizzeria via Stato to its front room. Then Frankie's Fifth Floor (900 N. Michigan Ave.) took over the open space in front of Tucci Benucch. Now this. Don't be surprised if you start hearing buzz about some of their older restaurants like Scoozi! (410 W. Huron St.) getting a facelift soon.