Epic Names Mark Pollard as New Chef

A few weeks ago, Epic chef Michael Shrader, who replaced opening chef Stephen Wambach, announced he was leaving to open Urban Union. Now the River North spot, which was named to Esquire's best new restaurant list last year, has announced it has hired on Mark Pollard.

Pollard, who has helmed the kitchens at Asia de Cuba in LA and at the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs, will revamp the lunch and dinner menus and will reveal those soon. However, some new dinner dishes include seared diver scallops with chorizo; Vietnamese braised pork belly with beet tapioca and soy caramel; chilean sea bass with truffled crab bisque; miso black cod with crispy rice; and braised lamb shank with dates, dark chocolate and pumpkin puree.

At lunch, look for candy cane beet salad with bulgar, haricot vert and arugula; free-range chicken salad with speck and tarragon aioli; a brat burger with kimchi sauerkraut, bacon and gruyere on a pretzel bun; Moroccan marinated half chicken; and tempura fish and chips with pickled vegetables and yuzu tartar sauce.

"Chicago is the place to be right now as a chef. From local comfort food to high-end restaurants people take pride in what they do and want to share it," Pollard said in a release. "Some people may call [my cooking] 'New American,' but I love to cook what I love to eat so every night I'm throwing a dinner party and everyone is invited."
· Longman & Eagle, Epic & Bayless' Red O on Esquire Top 20 [~EChi~]