Here's Where You'll Be Eating Soon in Logan Square

It’s no secret that Logan Square is one of the hottest dining neighborhoods in Chicago. With abundant craft cocktail bars, award-winning restaurants and accolades from the likes of Michelin and the James Beard Foundation, the Northwest side enclave is saturated with good food. But there’s always room for more, and Logan Square looks like it’s poised for a fresh new wave of culinary ingenuity. From fine dining omakases to Indian fusion, here’s what’s new — and on the horizon — in Chicago’s most dynamic dining neighborhood. 

 

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Pretty Cool Ice Cream: The first exciting addition to the ‘hood is a seasonally timely one. Pretty Cool Ice Cream is the handiwork of rightfully acclaimed pastry chef Dana Cree, who developed a bit of a cult following for her ice creams while serving as pastry chef at The Publican restaurants. She’s partnered with Michael Ciapciak from Bang Bang Pie for the new shop, which fills a pretty significant niche in a neighborhood saturated with restaurants, bars and coffee shops — but curiously very few places to get a scoop or two of ice cream or gelato. As the author of Hello, My Name is Ice Cream, she’s proven to be very well-versed in the world of ice cream, churning out flavors both classic and creatively whimsical, all using the utmost local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. Look for the shop to open any day now at 2353 North California Avenue.  

TBD Omakase Restaurant: One of the most acclaimed sushi chefs in the nation, Otto Phan, is leaving his stomping grounds of Austin for more Michelin-starred pastures, and he’s set his sights on Logan Square as his neighborhood of choice. Phan has long held the crown as one of Texas’ best Japanese chefs with his restaurant Kyōten Sushiko, with the restaurant reservations and pristine seafood dishes to prove it. Now, the chef is working on a brand new restaurant in Chicago to take his career and his ambitions to the next level. With the lofty goal of achieving two Michelin stars, he’s working on a highly refined omakase-style Japanese restaurant, which will contain a limited amount of seats and a spree of ever-changing dishes for lucky guests. Quality ingredients and an experience like this don’t come cheap, though, so expect to pay a pretty penny for a meal at what’s sure to be one of the most exciting developments in the city’s dining scene. 

Good Fortune: In other seafood news, the popular Good Fortune pop-up has found a permanent home elsewhere in Logan Square, after serving a limited run in the bygone Sink|Swim space. Now moving into The General’s former home, the restaurant seeks to elevate the ethos that earned it acclaim in the first place. That means an emphasis on sustainable seafood and fish, prepared in elegant style with a nod towards seasonality. It’s all courtesy of chef Charles Welch, formerly of Honey’s. 

X: The same folks behind Good Fortune are opening elsewhere in Logan Square and doubling down in the neighborhood with a lively bar that’s sure to be a game-changer for the area. Caribbean-inspired X (yes, that's the name) looks to be a tropical oasis in a different vein from the tiki revival, offering flavors, colors and music rooted in island lore. 

Indian Restaurant via Bombay Breakdown: Logan Square is becoming quite the hotbed for pop-ups-gone-permanent, as another popular concept has secured a location along the same burgeoning strip as Fat Rice, Lost Lake and Cellar Door Provisions. Bombay Breakdown is the handiwork of chefs Zeeshan Shah and Yoshi Yamada, who have both been serving up their inspired take on contemporary Indian fusion from a pop-up kitchen in The Long Room. The duo partnered with Jason Hammel, a veritable godfather of Logan Square’s dining scene thanks to his pioneering work at Lula Cafe, and signed on to open a full-fledged version of their pop-up along Diversey Avenue. 

Breweries: In beer news, two breweries are working on opening brewpubs in the neighborhood. Pipeworks Brewing secured a space at 2614 North California Avenue, while Middle Brow Brewing is going into 2840 West Armitage, both of which should beef up the neighborhood’s beer scene considerably. Both are due for a 2019 debut, and both will offer food as well.  

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