IN THE NEWS: The Sun-Times Pat Bruno names Table Fifty-Two (52 W. Elm, 312-573-4000) as his Restaurant of the Year, and lists his most memorable meals of 2007, including the fried chicken at West Town Tavern on West Chicago. suntimes.com … The Trib’s Phil Vettel offers his best new restaurants of 2007: Aigre Doux (230 W. Kinzie St.; 312-329-9400), Sepia (123 N. Jefferson St.; 312-441-1920), and Table Fifty-Two . chicagotribune.com … Time Out Chicago’s cover piece is The 100 Best Things We Ate and Drank This Year (In No Particular Order), beginning with the beet salad at Sola (3868 N Lincoln Ave, 773-327-3868). … David Tamarkin reviews Powerhouse (215 N Clinton St between Lake and Fulton Sts, 312-928-0800), while Heather Shouse considers Violet (3819 N Southport Ave, 773-327-0234). timeout.com/chicago …

For the January issue, Chicago magazine’s Dennis Ray Wheaton compares and contrasts Rick Bayliss’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo Mexican/Southwestern menus with Texas equivalents Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth and Stephan Pyles in Dallas … Featured openings: Reel Club (272 Oakbrook Center Drive, Oak Brook, 630-368-9400), Sweet Collective (5333 N. Lincolnd Ave., 773-293-9400), Maya Del Sol (708-358-9800), and Pannenkoeken Cafe (4757 N. Western Ave., 773-769-8800). … The magazine also examines the line of successful local chefs who had a tour of duty at Charlie Trotter’s, including Rick Tramonto at Tru. chicagomag.com … ChicagoBites.com reviews Alinea (1723 North Halsted). … The Reader’s Mike Sula details the opening of Korean Seoulfood Cafe (560 W. Van Buren, 312-427-4293) and reports the closings of Timo, John Manion’s Mas, and the Grotto on State. … Other featured openings: Powerhouse, and Ethiopian restaurant Demera (4801 N. Broadway, 773-334-8787). chicagoreader.com … CenterStageChicago.com’s Misty Tosh reviews Ghareeb Nawaz (2032 W. Devon Ave., Chicago, 773-761-5300). … Menu Pages lists its Top 100 menus of 2007, topped by Tango Sur (3763 N. Southport Ave., 773-477-5466). menupages.com/chicago

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com

Filed under: Chicago Restaurants | Tags: , Aigre Doux, best menus of 2007, best new restaurants of 2007, Chareeb Nawaz, Charlie Trotter's, Frontera Grill, Grotto on State closed, Mas closed, Powerhouse, Sepia, Table Fifty-Two, Tango Sur, Timo closed, Topolobampo, Violet |