I learned a new word recently. It’s called “spontooning” and it represents the spontaneous art of doodling. We’ve all been there at some point – likely doodling random cartoons on napkins or menus or in school notebooks during a particularly droll lecture. But it takes a special talent to take that doodling to a legit level and find your work emblazoned across the menus at recently opened Acanto. The professional spontoonist behind the artistry is Jonathan Plotkin, a cartoonist with a penchant for restaurant illustrations.

For years, the lay of the Loop has been primarily comprised of financial businesses, State Street shopping, and lunch-focused restaurants that close on weekends. After 6:00 pm on weekdays, much of the Loop turned into a quiet ghost land as workers and tourists recede to their respective dwellings and hotels, or venture out to other neighborhoods with more nightlife options. Well, those days are quickly fading away, as a slew of new restaurants and bars set up shop in the Loop, transforming the neighborhood into the downtown destination it has the potential to be, alongside River North, the Gold Coast, and the West Loop.

The most visited tourist attraction in the state is about to get a lot more delicious. Long maligned as an overcrowded melee of tourist confusion, Navy Pier is currently undergoing a major re-haul, part of which includes raising the bar on the dining options. And who better to consult with the culinary revamp than one of Chicagoland’s most successful restaurant groups, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.