Iliana Regan’s Japanese Pub/Restaurant, Kitsune, Hopes For Oct. 1 Opening

Signage is up at Kitsune, as chef/owner Iliana Regan (Elizabeth Restaurant) is targeting an Oct. 1 opening for her intimate Japanese restaurant and pub at 4229 N. Lincoln Ave. The opening date keeps on sliding further back into the calendar due to the usual city permitting delays. When announced in December, Regan hope the opening would happen in the spring, but then said August.

A sample menu that went up earlier in the year has been revised on the website with the prices also subject to change. For now, they’ll serve three different types of ramen. There’s also a family-style tasting menu with a beer or sake pairing. Regan will continue to stress seasonal and local ingredients at Kitsune.

"Kitsune" is the Japanese word for fox, and foxes hold a legendary place in the country’s folklore. Regan has opted to depict an innocent-looking, manga-styled and single-tailed red fox as her restaurant’s logo. That's opposed to the multi-tailed and angrier versions out there. But as Bunny The Micro Bakery showed, Regan’s got a thing for cute and cuddly. Stay tuned for more.