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A Chicago Brauhaus Documentary, Revolution Teams With White Sox, More Intel

Plus, Roister is a “Food & Wine” best new restaurant

Chicago Brauhaus_Live Music
There’s a Kickstarter to fund a Chicago Brauhaus documentary.
Yelp
Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

—Chicago’s German community went into panic mode in March after closing speculation spread following news that the Chicago Brauhaus was for sale. There’s no news on the Lincoln Square icon yet, but a filmmaker has organized an impressive online fundraiser to make a documentary about the restaurant. This Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $15,000. He shot some footage in 2012 and wants to continue filming this month.

—Did Lagunitas Brewing owner Tony Magee sell out or buy in? That’s what craft beer fans are left pondering after Heineken International picked up the option to buy the remaining half of the popular California-based brewery and take control of the company which has a massive Chicago facility and brewpub in the Hermosa neighborhood. Heineken bought half of Lagunitas in 2015 and part of the deal gives Magee a new title with the brand. It’s unclear if this deal will affect the Chicago brewpub, as Lagunitas hasn’t responded to a request for comment. Their news release claims the company will remain independent from the rest of Heineken. The initial sale two years ago was reportedly worth $500 million, but the Tribune and other outlets weren’t given a proper sales figure this time.

—Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas’ more casual Fulton Market restaurant, Roister, was named to Food & Wine’s 2017 Restaurants of the Year list. Roister, which opened in March 2016, is Alinea Group’s first casual restaurant, coming off the heels of fine-dining successes with Alinea and Next. The restaurant even serves lunch and features loud-ish music to help bolster a raucous atmosphere. Chef Andrew Brochu’s work earned the restaurant acclaim: “The menu is equally relaxed, each dish a playful rendition of a classic, so you never really know what you’re getting until it’s in front of you,” Food & Wine wrote.

Kokonas had this to say about the honor via email: “It's exceeded our expectations for food and experience. Awards are nice...anytime the press or your peers recognize your creativity and hard work it feels good.”

—No one has to tell the guys from Naansense that naan’s so hot right now. The fast-casual restaurant chain is launching a line of naan tacos, fusing Indian and Mexican flavors. Check them out and then do a taste test against ChurriNaan.

—The other first-place baseball team in town, the White Sox, made waves when it dumped MillerCoors as the stadium beer sponsor earlier this year. The team then forged a relationship with Modelo and now have a new official beer: Revolution Brewing. Crain’s broke the story. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Craft beer is a bigger part of the Sox Park experience as it also reconcepted the bar space underneath the right field bleachers with a bigger focus on local brews.

—Today is the first Friday that South Side favorite Cork & Kerry will host Food Truck Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at its beer garden. Aztec Dave’s Food Truck will be the first vendor. The owners of the Beverly bar told DNAinfo that they want to continue this summer promotion through Labor Day with a new truck each week. It’s a way to draw more people to their beer garden.

South Side Weekly this week unveiled its second-annual food issue. Many of the restaurants featured have already been covered—including Love Taco—but the highlight may be the feature on Bridgeport Chinese restaurant owner Jimmy Li and his spot, Tapei Cafe.

Chicago Brauhaus

4732 North Lincoln Avenue, , IL 60625 (773) 784-4444 Visit Website

Revolution Brewing

2323 North Milwaukee Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 227-2739 Visit Website

Roister

951 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 789-4896

Love Taco

109 E 51st St, Chicago, IL 60615 (312) 650-9635

Naansense

113 S Clinton St, Chicago, IL 60661 (312) 255-7268 Visit Website

Cork & Kerry

3258 S Princeton Ave, Chicago, IL 60616 (312) 842-0769