Sneak Peek at Amy Morton's Found, Opening Oct. 23

Grid View

• The temporary front will reveal accordion windows
• While this will be the dining area, these "found" objects will be displayed throughout the restaurant
• These gorgeous leather chairs came from a women's club in Muncie, Ind.
• An antique bike sits on the bar, but will live somewhere else in Found
• Notice that phone? Yup, it's the original Booth One phone from the Pump Room

Eater had the chance to check out Found, Amy Morton's forthcoming Evanston restaurant with chef Nicole Pederson last week and it's going to be a solid addition to the North Shore dining scene.

The opening, set for Oct. 23, is still a little ways off, but the restaurant is coming together nicely. Morton hosted a party for friends, which included old friend and new Found GM Simon Lamb (Tribute), to preview the space and food, which features Pederson's French-inspired American dishes with locally sourced ingredients.

Pederson is still playing with the menu, but a number of the apps passed that night showcased dishes she plans to include, like a decadent chicken liver mousse with onion bacon marmalade on seeded bread; eggplant terrine with lemon yogurt cheese, oven-dried tomatoes and black kale on country bread; fried oyster tacos with bacon and spicy pickled cabbage; crispy sweetbreads with green tomato and squash jam; squash soup with harissa and radish greens; braised beef with celery root puree, pickled onion and mustard greens; and various flatbreads like white bean and tarragon puree with fresh cows milk cheese, purple tomatillos, pickled melrose peppers and arugula.

As Eater has reported, Found will be divided up into a number of distinct spaces, including the "dining hall" with banquette and table seating; the "kitchen counter," an area in front of the wood-burning oven that will feature these really cool refurbished double-booth stools for intimate side-by-side dining; the "library" that will have custom-built bookshelves to divide off the space but will be see-through enough so you can snag a glimpse inside; and the "Map Room," a private dining room in the back that will feature vintage maps throughout and gorgeous leather antique chairs that came from a women's club in Muncie, Ind.

To pay homage to her late father, steakhouse mogul Arnie Morton, Amy is planning to hang a series of sepia-toned photographs throughout the restaurant, just as her dad did at his original restaurants. But to make it more personal, Morton had friends pose for a photographer in boas, hats, jewelry, jackets and other pieces depicting the era between the 1920s and '50s both on or near her husband's motorcycle, which was wheeled into the restaurant for the night. As Morton has said, she wants Found to feel like "Gertrude Stein and Jack Kerouac met at a party."

Other pieces, like a vintage bicycle, found art, antler chandeliers, a chalkboard ceiling to write various quotes, cowhide screens to separate the dining room from the front lounge, antique couches and chairs will help create the warmth throughout the restaurant. The front lounge will have five small French cafe tables set in front of accordion windows that will open on to Chicago Avenue. And Morton and Pederson tapped graphic designer Jen Harrell (Trenchermen, Hot Chocolate) of Wyville USA to do the identity, which will soon be revealed.

Oh, and Morton acquired at auction the original Pump Room's Booth One phone. Yes, it still works and will be used, possibly at the host stand. So when you call Found once it opens this fall, you may be talking through a piece of history in a space paying homage to history. Pretty cool.
· Nicole Pederson Leaves C-House for New Amy Morton Project in Evanston [~EChi~]