Local Chef Gets Dumped By Text Message

Ladies—and gentlemen—you take your chances when you date a chef.

They work loooooong hours, sleep a lot when they're off the clock, and can get pretty moody, says one chef at a popular Wicker Park restaurant who suddenly found himself single again over the weekend.

His girlfriend of several months got fed up and after not getting the response she wanted after wishing him a "Happy Three-Month Anniversary," she promptly dumped him by a series of text messages:

Introducing ‘The Underground Mixologists’

Todd Appel (from left), Daniel de Oliveira and Josh Pearson.


Watch out, these guys are about to set Chicago's mixology scene on fire with The LBA . . .

Ed Burns Couldn't Get Into Girl & The Goat

The award-winning actor/director was in town Friday promoting new movie, "Nice Guy Johnny," and managed to get some Giordano's deep-dish pizza, but wasn't so lucky snagging a reservation at West Loop hot spot Girl & The Goat.

Gastropunk, Pork . . . And Porn . . .

Three Aces' soon-to-be-infamous "pornographic wall." (Photo: Anthony Potenzo)


Opening Wednesday in Little Italy is Three Aces, a collaborative effort from three restaurant vets.

They're calling the restaurant's concept "gastropunk," blending a hard-rockin' atmosphere of elevated black leather Gangster booths with black glass chandeliers. And what should be intriguing to most patrons is the wallpaper patterned with microscopic pornography.

Avec Is Back On Track

(Photo: Doug Fogelson/DRFP)

Steve "The Hungry Hound" Dolinsky reports that avec will finally re-open next week.

We couldn't be more excited . . .

*&^%$# Madonna, She HATES Chicago . . .

That's right, Her Madgesty had the nerve to diss our city, but apparently she expressed these views in 1991 when she was filming "A League of Our Own."

Huffington Post has uncovered a letter that the pop star wrote to a friend complaining about "the lack of hot guys" in Chicago: ". . . when God decided where the beautiful men were going to live in the world, he did not choose Chicago."

Our Very Own Hip-Hop Chef . . .

(Photo: Connie Lovely Jackson)


. . . goes by the name of "Lovely," and bump what's going on with Bravo and its upcoming reality-style show featuring this so-called hip-hop chef, this girl's got some serious skills on the mic and in the kitchen.

If Lovely (real name Connie Jackson) looks familiar to you, then you probably remember her as one of the cheftestants on Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" a couple seasons back. She gave no indication on the show of being such a talented rhyme master who I can best liken to the earlier days of Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown (Ramsay would have probably backed down if she did!).

Suds & Sausage On The Way To Wicker Park

(Photo: Goody)


Looks like Matt Eisler's next venture is opening in two weeks, according to Eater Chicago, who filed a report Wednesday on Bangers & Lace.

They got a sneak peek of his Wicker Park project, which is situated in the old Mas space and not too far from his other night spots, Bar DeVille and Empire Liquors. Here are some of the highlights we have to look forward to: