First look at new Lyric Opera of Chicago eateries

Florian Opera Bistro's opulent decor includes a magnificent vintage costume from Lyric's collection. (Photo: balloggphoto.com/Lyric Opera of Chicago)


When ticketholders arrive on opening night of the 55th season of Lyric Opera Chicago, they'll be greeted by two newcomers: Florian Opera Bistro and The Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room.

Florian Opera Bistro, located on the third level of the building, is the more casual of the two though it's decked out in Euro-inspired decor, including the centerpiece of a magnificent vintage costume from Lyric's collection.

The à la carte menu offers budget-conscious fare such as open-faced sandwiches (turkey with pickle, asparagus, and cherry tomato; smoked salmon with celery root and cranberries), hearty soups and salads. And the best part about it is that most items are around $7 and the average meal is about $14 per person.



Jules Guerin's famed fire curtain makes a statement in The Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room. (Photo: balloggphoto.com/Lyric Opera of Chicago)


For a more formal feast before performances, guests can head to the street-level Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room, which occupies a space that once housed a bank.

Filled with Art Deco motifs—including the famous fire curtain designed by Jules Guerin—the elegant dining room complements the upscale $28 three-course, prix-fixe menu served here. Expect seasonal entrees from Jewell Events Catering like hoisin-glazed salmon with Asian rice noodles and sliced bistro steak with chive mashed potatoes drizzled with Cabernet sauce.

Only Lyric Opera ticketholders will be able to dine at both restaurants for dinner as well as matinee shows. The Pedersen Room, however, is reservation only at all times.

Official opening date is Sept. 30, before that evening’s performance of Tosca.

Piece, Love & Rock ‘n’ Roll . . .

Party like it's (Woodstock) 1969!


This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair—better known as Woodstock.

Of course there'll be celebrations nationwide, including right here at home. Bucktown's grooviest pizza parlor, Piece, gets in on the action with a free, daylong event that includes drink specials, live band karaoke and 1960s music (think Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly & the Family Stone, Joe Cocker, The Who, Jefferson Airplane).

And if you really want to get down, dress up in your hottest hippie threads. Now, can you dig it?!

Party kicks off at 11am and ends when The Man shuts it down.

Here's where else you'll want to be this weekend . . .

THURSDAY

Do your part in making sure no child goes hungry by attending the annual Taste of the Nation, which benefits Share Our Strength, at Ravenswood Billboard Factory (4025 N. Ravenswood Ave.). Hot Chocolate's Mindy Segal chairs this worthy cause, and she's recruited almost every celeb chef and mixologist in town. Look for appetizers provided by Michael Sheerin (Blackbird), Shawn McClain (Spring), Kristine Subido (Wave), Bill Kim (Urban Belly) and others. 6pm-midnight. $175 (general admission); $225 (VIP).

Likely one of the cheapest River North hotel restos around, Elate opened quietly this week in the stylish new boutique Hotel Felix. No item's over $12, and the sandwich-dominated menu includes a grilled skirt steak baguette and vegetarian black bean burger.

Blackbird's snappy $22 three-course, prix-fixe lunch menu's a big hit with those who work in the West Loop area, but it hasn't been updated in a while. We're excited about some new additions, particularly a grilled Tasmanian sea trout and a dessert of dark chocolate financiers with apricots, sassafras and bourbon ice cream. You're certain to go back to the office with a little buzz.

FRIDAY

We're beginning to think Juicy Wine Co. owner Rodney Alex lies in bed awake every night coming up with quirky new events for every week. This time it's Juicy Jams, which includes deejays cranking out the rarest of grooves and his staff pouring $5 glasses of homemade sangria and $6 hand-picked wines. Deejays Aaron Dae and Derek Foreal spin. 9pm-2am. No cover.



C-House chefs Toni Roberts (left) and Seth Siegel-Gardner. (Photo: C-House)


SATURDAY

While some local chefs get all the glory, others are undiscovered gems. One such unsung culinary star is Toni Roberts, the pastry chef at C-House. She's a genius at making every sweet treat under the sun, but we go absolutely mad over her handmade peanut brittle, berry roll-ups and salted fudge brownies. Catch her 10:30am demo at Green City Market. Free.

Believe it or not this is a helluva deal: The University Village location for Lush Wine & Spirits hooks up a family-style lobster feast served with crustacean-friendly vino. 6-8pm. RSVP mandatory. $85.

SUNDAY

This underground brunch's been going on for a few months now, but Empty Bottle fans have always been in the loop. At the Mixtape Sunday Brunch, diners can order items from the adjacent Bite Cafe and chow down as they listen to others' iPod playlists and mix CDs. The menu's a la carte and dirt cheap, with $5 bloody Marys and Mimosas. BYO iPod. Noon-3pm.

Mixologist face-off! Sepia’s Josh Pearson and Sepia alum Peter Vestinos go head to head with their interpretations of classic and contemporary cocktails. Go retro with Pearson's classic rye drinks (Morning Glory, Brooklyn) or keep it new school with Vestinos' versions made with tequila (Lost Afternoon, The Junta Starter). All bar tips benefit the Mae Tao Clinic. 6-10pm.

MONDAY

And yet another restaurant throws a Burger Fest. This time it's Park Grill showcasing a special menu of burgers, including a Peppercorn-Crusted American Kobe Burger, Wild Alaskan Salmon Burger and Grilled Turkey Burger with Guava BBQ Sauce. The week-long event happens today through Sunday, Aug. 23; prices range $12-$16.

He loves Chicago!

Fabio Viviani, who was the fan favorite on the fifth season of "Top Chef," headlines Chicago Gourmet this fall.


If you missed your chance to meet Top Chef super star Fabio Viviani when he was in town a few weeks ago, no worries. He'll be back.

Just found out the charming Italian-born cuisine king returns to headline events during Chicago Gourmet, now in its second year. He's scheduled to do a cooking demo as well as a booksigning for his new Café Firenze Cookbook.

Also scheduled to appear during the event, occurring Sept. 26-27, are a number of Chicago's most elite chefs, including the likes of Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill/Topolobampo), John Hogan (Tavern at the Park/Keefer's), Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia), Carrie Nahabedian (NAHA), Martial Noguier (Cafe des Architectes) and Michael Altenberg (Bistro Campagne).

Want a free, one-day pass to Chicago Gourmet?! Check out the Dine Around Deal for the scoop!

Get a lil Miami Spice in your life . . . for FREE!

The "rio" bar at SushiSamba rio (Photo: SushiSamba)


For this week's FREEBIE FRIDAY, we're doing it up BIG.

SushiSamba rio's offering the Miami Spice Menu throughout August, and you'll have a chance to indulge for free if you're following me on Twitter.

The vibrant Asian- and Latin-influenced eatery is in the heart of River North's action, plus we've never had a bad meal here yet.

We're particularly excited about this fabulous new five-course feast, which includes Almond & White Asparagus Gazpacho, an Organic Goat Cheese Salad and Japanese Mustard-Miso Marinated Beef Tenderloin.

And, oh hell. We're in such a great mood today, we're going to give away not one, but TWO dinners to two winners plus a guest (tax, tip and alcoholic beverages not included).

So, if you're already following at Twitter, you're in the running to win, but if you're not, you're gonna miss out . . .

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.

How did we miss this?!

Lindsay Lohan (left) and Samantha Ronson


Soooo, the Sun-Times' Bill Zwecker filed this report Monday about Lindsay Lohan's antics when she was in town for Lolla with her girl Samantha Ronson:

"Lindsay Lohan did make it back to town to help on-again (for now!) galpal Samantha Ronson toast her recent 32nd birthday over Lollapalooza weekend.

Ronson, of course, was here for her regular DJ-ing gig at the Hotel Sax's Crimson Lounge but reportedly had no idea Lohan was going to surprise her. LiLo arrived with little sis Ali Lohan in tow and proceeded to hit all of Our Town's hotspots this weekend. ...The fun quotient got amped up around 1:30 a.m. Saturday as the party moved on to Ronson's post-birthday bash at Angels & Kings. ... As the night wound down, both Lohan sisters were spotted at the Music Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel, catching the Virgins' show from backstage."

Crimson Lounge, Angels & Kings, Music Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel.

ALL 21+ spots. Ali Lohan is fifteen.

Someone please explain why and how she got in.

UPDATE: Publicist for Crimson writes: "Ali did not hit any of the hot spots. I was with them. She came to dinner and drank a sprite and ate Nachos. Between dinner, Lindsay, Ali and her assistant stopped by the music lounge at the Hard Rock.

She DID NOT come to Crimson or Angels & Kings. She went and watched movies in the Chairman's Suite at the Hotel Sax with Lindsay's Assistant. Lindsay came to Crimson and Angels with Annabelle Dexter Jones (Sam's step sister)."

If this statement is indeed true, someone needs to get Zwecker to issue a retraction STAT before these spots get in hot water with the city!

A feast of fashions

Randy Zweiban's glorious West Loop gem Province boasts a strong organic and local program, so it's no surprise its stylish setting was selected by the Chicago Fashion Foundation for the launch of The Moda Series.

The event showcases the amazing talents of Chicago's top fashion designers, and tonight guests will get to meet Nora Del Busto, winner of the first CFF scholarship award and designer for Macy's Fashion Incubator. Of course, guests will be able to check out her latest collection as they nosh on locally sourced appetizers and hand-crafted cocktails from Province. The $10 suggested donation benefits the scholarship fund for Chicago-area college students majoring in fashion-related studies. 6-8pm.

And for those who like to get down . . .

Incidentally, that's the title of the most popular album by Marques Wyatt, a Los Angeles-based deejay/producer considered the head honcho of house music on the West Coast. He spins a rare set tonight at Griffin Lounge for one of the city's top industry parties. Resident deejay Just Joey also performs. 9pm-2am. $10.

Also, the guys over at LUSH, in University Village, rescheduled the gaucho event from last week, so that's great news if you love mounds of meat. For twenty-five bucks you get to chow down on all the grilled meat you can swallow that's paired with wine. Starts at 6pm Wednesday.

And the Sweet Sixteen of Mixology returns for its bi-weekly turn at Perennial. Bartenders Zach Friedlander (Relax Lounge) and Lynn House (Graham Elliot) face off with signature sippers made with produce from Green City Market. Drinks, appetizers comped. 6:30-8pm Wednesday. Free.

Weekend Tweet Beat

Co-owner Mark Armantrout (left) with co-owner/executive chef Paul Fehribach (Photo: Big Jones)


What were Chicago's top chefs up to this weekend?! 312DD checks out their Twitter accounts:

Grant Achatz (Alinea): "(Chef de Cuisine) David Beran makes clay bowl. Baking wagyu shortribs inside. Guests will have 2 crack open w/mallet & get food out."

Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill): "A Lollapalooza party-er came n2 crowded (Frontera Grill) bar & didn't find seat, so set up Lolla folding chair & ordered."

Paul Fehribach (Big Jones): "Fresh hearts of palm just off the plane! With jumbo lump crab and avocado, Florida citrus vinaigrette."

Phillip Foss (Lockwood): "Suckling pig liver tacos for family meal today - prepared by our star cook, Karina Gonzalez!"

Mike Sheerin (Blackbird): "Bought a goat from Slagel and it came with the bast caul fat I've ever seen."

Giuseppe Tentori (BOKA): "I am addicted to Avec."