David Burke Exited Primehouse, Top Chefs Making Soups For Immigrants, More Intel

—The River North steakhouse formerly known as David Burke’s Primehouse is now just named Primehouse. That’s because Burke, the New York-based celebrity chef, is no longer involved with the acclaimed restaurant in the James Hotel — and hasn’t been since 2014, Crain’s reports. That’s around the same time he "took a backseat" in his own company’s operations which was followed by forming a new company, a messy lawsuit, more shutters and openings in New York, and Burke reportedly still wants to open new restaurants in Chicago as well. He currently has zero restaurants in Chicago, however, as Grillhouse by David Burke shuttered in Schaumburg last September.

—More big-time Chicago chefs are banding together to make food to raise money for immigrants and refugees. The latest one is called Solidarity Soup, which is helmed by North Pond chef Bruce Sherman and includes heavyweights Rick Bayless, Stephanie Izard, Jason Hammel, and many more, both the Tribune and DNAinfo report. You can order the soups, sales of which benefit three local organizations, via this website.

—Stephanie Izard couldn’t commit to her guest-chef pizzas at Piece Brewery and Pizzeria this year, but there is a big-name replacement — Paul Kahan. There’s no word yet on the toppings for the pies that will be available in March.

—After bringing in former Radler chef/partner Nathan Sears last fall, the ROOF on the Wit is planning to reconcept in April. Reps aren’t revealing the new food concept for the Loop rooftop clubby hotel spot, however, but they are teasing that it will be "not only new to the hotel, but new to the city of Chicago," and that it won’t serve bar food.

—After it quietly closed and was briefly reopened by an alleged scam artist, Crocodile, the Wicker Park party bar at 1540 N. Milwaukee Ave., is back open legally with a new tavern license, DNAinfo reports, although members of a neighborhood group aren't happy about it. The man who opened it for one night two weeks ago was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor trespassing offense.

—And finally, comedian, actor, and Chicagoan Hannibal Burress writes about his love of mild sauce in Chicago magazine, calling it "the most overlooked condiment in the history of this entire galaxy." He recommends that people who haven’t tried the favorite south and west side sauce "to put your phone down and get off the toilet and head to the closest Harold’s or Uncle Remus or Coleman’s or Peeples Taco or any one of the many other places that carry this classic Chi-town concoction."