More, more, more . . . chef shufflings!

Mark Kasper is the new executive chef at Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club. (Photo: Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club)


An invite just landed in my inbox about a special tasting by Mark Kasper, who replaces Matt Stovey as executive chef at Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club.

Kasper's background includes some impressive stints at Aria and Sixteen, so it should come as no surprise that he completely overhauled the menu at the quirky Lakeview mainstay.

Highlights of the dinner menu include the Sofia Loren (hand-stuffed eggplant ravioli, in a parmesan Sicilian red sauce and aged parmesan regiano) and Charro (8oz prime marinated skirt steak, with chimichurri accompanied by fajita style pomme frites), but we were a little perplexed at the description of the Frank Sinatra entree. Hand-picked seasonal vegetables marinated in red wine sounds just fine, but what is up with the hummus glaze, falafel and tabbouleh?!

Would've expected a nice New York strip or pasta to honor the legendary crooner, but we'll check it out anyway.



New Frasca executive chef Jack Tapp has added a breakfast pizza to the menu. (Photo: Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar)


Another newly installed chef is Noah Sandoval, who now calls Green Zebra home (under Chef de Cuisine Molly Kipp) after overseeing the kitchen at Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge for only a couple of months.

The question is, will he be bringing his signature venison carpaccio to the West Town restaurant best known for upscale vegetarian cuisine?!

And in mid-July, Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar acquired Jack Tapp as its chef. New to the Chicago dining scene, Tapp is a Culinary Institute of America graduate and worked previously in the kitchens of Brasserie Dietrichs (Louisville), Stokes Adobe (Monterey, Calif.) and Cafe Lurcat (Naples, Fla.).

For now, Tapp's only released a new brunch menu that includes a breakfast pizza (with three easy eggs, sausage and cheese atop house-made crust), eggs Florentine (toasted brioche, smoked turkey, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce) and the Lincoln Avenue Omelet, made with goat cheese, asparagus, roasted red peppers and artichokes.