The Dana is doing it big!

Reggie Brown, Obama impersonator (Photo: Reggie Brown)


Last night was the first of the Random Acts of Dana, and man we should've been there!

The boutique hotel staged Chicago native, former hotel employee and Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, to surprise two unsuspecting guests at a kick-off party with an over-the-top random act of kindness. The first recipient was extended a private dinner for six on the hotel’s rooftop lounge, Vertigo Sky Lounge, prepared by ajasteak Executive Chef Joshua Linton.

The second random act required group participation as all attendees to the kick-off party were given a hotel room key to test on the hotel’s Nirvana Penthouse Suite. One lucky cardholder gained access to the suite for a complimentary weekend stay at his/her convenience.

Through July 1 the hotel will extend more than 3,000 random acts of kindness to guests at the hotel as well as ajasteak, Vertigo and the spa at dana.

More Grocery Bistro drama

And so the drama continues . . .

MenuPages gets an interview with the lawyer for Grocery Bistro, whose executive chef called it quits on Sunday.

As 312DD wrote Thursday, the parents of former chef Andre Christopher staged a boycott outside the restaurant, claiming their son hadn't been paid in nine weeks.

Says the lawyer: "I have no idea why the van's out there when I've made an unequivocal offer of ‘let's sit down and try to work this out.' I think it's very unfortunate because the chef was a major part of making this a good restaurant. There's no question that his cooking and his work is what's helped make the restaurant what it is."

UPDATE: The chef claims the restaurant owes his entire family money. And an Ultimate Insider tells 312DD that Christopher is set to open his own restaurant, Little Bucharest, next week.

Fifty-One comments for a freakin' burger joint?!

So this happened again.

The Chicago Tribune's Cheeseburger Bureau Chief Kevin Pang (where the hell was this title when I was working there?!) writes about another Five Guys opening and folks go absolutely bananas.

Love the way people passionately fight over their favorite burger joints in the comments section, whether its for the chains or the locals (Kuma's Corner, Twisted Spoke, Top Notch Beefburgers) . . .