A 46-Year-Old Polish Restaurant Relic is Closing on the Northwest Side

— Old Warsaw Buffet, a beloved and kitschy kingdom of Polish food in Harwood Heights, is closing at the end of the month after 46 years in business. Ownership of the restaurant, known for its gut-busting buffet, paczki, and bright interior, told the Norridge-Harwood Heights News that he’s shuttering the restaurant for health reasons. The chain PDQ plans to take over and demolish the iconic space at 4750 N. Harlem Avenue in hopes to open there by the end of the year. Old Warsaw’s buffet will be available until July 15 and customers can order paczki until July 28, after which it will close for good.

— As one longtime local restaurant is closing, another will return. Grant’s Wonderburger, a Southwest Side institution that closed in 2014 after 60 years in business, is coming back. New owner Mike Grant, the son of original owner Alfred “Bill” Grant, plans to reopen the burger icon in late fall near its original location at 3333 W. 111th Street, The Beverly Review reports. Expect a smaller menu with its most popular items at lower prices when it opens.

— The 38th annual Taste of Chicago kicks off today in Grant Park and runs through July 15. The 2018 edition features 73 food vendors — including 26 new additions — as well as food trucks, cooking demonstrations by top chefs, and more. Check out the full lineup here.

— Here are a few news items at Rick Bayless’ restaurants: There’s a new private dining space named La Vista in the second floor of the Frontera complex on Clark Street; Elissa Narrow, a vet of Blackbird and Spring, is Frontera Grill and Topolobampo’s new pastry chef; Zach Steen is the new chef de cuisine at Topolobampo; and Lena Brava now serves a shared tasting menu named “The Baja Experience” which costs $55 a person, plus extra for wine and mezcal pairings.

— Former Moto executive chef and “Top Chef” contestant Richie Farina hosts a new Cooking Channel TV series where he takes on signature fair food dishes and the chefs who created them, the Tribune first reported. “Carnival Kings” premieres Thursday at 8 p.m.

— And finally, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler sampled some Chicago restaurants while in the area to play the Naperville Ribfest last weekend, including Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse and La Scarola.