New Chicago Restaurants Ready to Serve in the Climate of Covid

 

Here are five new restaurants that are experimenting with new approaches to the traditional model...and serving some of the best Chicago has to offer, in an environment that’s safe for diners and employees.

 

It’s no secret: the pandemic has wrought havoc among Chicago restaurants. Some mainstays of traditional Chicago dining, like Lawry’s the Prime Rib, and even somewhat newer places like the ground-breaking Blackbird have found themselves trapped in structures and business models that are challenging to make work in the new pandemic environment.

Restaurants that are just opening now, however, have a big *relative* advantage: they can build Covid-ready restaurants that are designed to function well in the new fully masked and socially distanced marketplace. There is no need to retrofit existing structures; these new restaurants are being designed to serve during the current and any future (ugh, it’s a possibility) pandemic.

Here are five new restaurants that are experimenting with new approaches to the traditional model...and serving some of the best Chicago has to offer, in an environment that’s safe for diners and employees.

 

Robert et fils

 

Robert et Fils. You don’t often see a French restaurant opening in Chicago, and it’s even less often that you see one opening as a take-out family-style-only operation…but that’s just the way Robert et Fils has opened, the better to serve a pandemic-weary public. The food is ideal for the task: whole roasted duck breast, beef Bourguignon and other classic French cuisine hold up well in transit, and all will make you very happy (to become even happier, note that Robert et Fils will also provide you with a bottle of Champagne or other wine).

PB&J. PB&J is new, and reflecting the changed drinking and dining environment, it’s set up to serve us during the pandemic at inside tables set close to large rolling doors so that you can sit almost outside, enjoying fresh breezes, while still being protected from the elements. There may be a national medical emergency in progress, but that’s no reason you can’t enjoy Pizzas, Burger, and the Jukebox at PB&J.

Gallucci. Open only a few months, Gallucci is pandemic-prepared with a selection of pizzas that can be offered for takeout or served in their heated patio or even their dining room. Heartily recommended is the white pizza with nduja (spreadable salami) or the red Margherita pizza with aged Parmigiana-Reggiano (play it safe: get both).

Mundano.. A relatively fancy place like Mundano is not the kind of restaurant where you’d expect to get takeout or delivery, but with the pandemic, you can receive your food that way or dine onsite on the patio (the dining room is also open if you’re comfortable eating indoors). Mundano’s food is genre-bending and fantastic; expect the unexpected in dishes like dan dan noodles with lamb chorizo and grilled sturgeon with charred peaches.

 

Gotham Bagels

 

Gotham Bagels. Gotham Bagels’ sandwich selections include the traditional lox and cream cheese as well as more innovative offerings like the veg-forward Woodstock or the OMFG, a fried egg along with Nashville fried chicken, all of which is perfect for a weight-bearing bagel. In years past, recently opened Gotham Bagels would have been a great place to bop in and order a dozen beautiful New York style bagels or a fantastic sandwich. Now, you order online and pick up your bagels contact-free.

 

 

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