In its quest to atomize its content and compete with the glut of online dining opinions, the Michelin Guide has announced a trio of Chicago additions eligible for Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand status.
The tire guide praised Anelya, the Ukrainian restaurant full of comfort foods in Avondale run by the husband-and-wife team of Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim. The chef couple is behind another of Bibendum’s favorites, formerly Michelin-starred Parachute. While the Korean restaurant tapped into Kim’s Korean background, Anelya is a tribute to Clark’s Ukrainian heritage.
Anelya, which features its zakusky cart — a playful portable display of small plates like tart roe tarts, carrot salad, and sunflower seed hummus — was noted for its “product-focused menu”: “Green borsch is enhanced with dill and nettles, stocked with boiled egg and slices of fingerling potato, while the freshly baked, butter-glazed, challah-like pampushky bread is a perfect pairing with the soup.”
Kim and Clark have been busy this month reviving their first restaurant, launching the more casual Parachute Hi-Fi, a laid-back neighborhood pub that’s more casual than the Michelin-starred original.
Next is the reborn Bayan Ko, a restaurant that’s been worthy of recognition for years. It’s another wife-and-husband duo, with Raquel Quadreny and chef Lawrence Letrero serving both Cuban and Filipino favorites together. Earlier this year the couple revamped their restaurant going more upscale with a four-course menu. They would move the casual dishes a few doors down with a second restaurant, Bayan Ko Diner.
The guide highlights dishes like black rice and lobster poached in calamansi butter and grilled wagyu beer with black bean and plantain purees: “The new format is far from stuffy, thanks to a relaxed dining room and a zippy menu.”
When informed by Eater of the inclusion, Letrero says now that Bayan Ko is on Michelin’s radar he knows he’ll need to maintain excellence. He’s gunning for a star.
Finally, Michelin adds Beity, a rare Lebanese tasting menu restaurant. The upscale affair, located in Chicago’s trendy Fulton Market, is from chef Ryan Fakih.
“He makes a strong impression with a mezze of parsley hummus with lamb, falafel in yogurt sauce, and generously charred pita,” according to Michelin. “Such a spread shows both heart and refinement.”
Look for more on Beity from Eater soon.
Trump falls downward, dog
Hot dog stand The Wieners Circle loves to take shots at former President Donald Trump, and after Tuesday, September 10’s debate, the Chicago institution had plenty of material. On Wednesday morning, a digital image of the Lincoln Park stand’s sign began circulating with the words “Eat Dogs Here” underneath, a reference to a bizarre racist conspiracy theory pushed by the former president. Many outlets celebrated the new meme. But for passers-by who walked by the stand on Clark Street, the sign read differently — “Hickey’s For Life.” (The stand routinely rents out its sign to the public for special messages). The morning meme was digitally altered sign, “fake news,” to use Trump’s term. Later on Wednesday afternoon, The Wieners Circle adapted the meme’s message and changed the sign, adding the phrase “Immigrants Eat Our Dogs” to its north-facing sign. Alas, the 24/7 news cycle is taking a toll on everyone, even our beloved hot dog stands.
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